Dear Reader,

This will be my last email to you about the unfair reservation system in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’ll be a short one (I promise). And if it still matters to you that public lands should stay in public hands, I’m going to ask you to send an email or make a phone call to the leaders at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) this week.

Here’s what I need you to do: Write or call Superintendent Sidles and Park PR officer Kyle Patterson and tell them to scrap the reservation system for 2023. 

Here are their email addresses: Kyle_Patterson@nps.gov and Darla_Sidles@nps.gov.

You may also wish to include four other people: 

• Kate Hammond (Kate_Hammond@nps.gov)  is the Acting Regional Director for the region RMNP is located in and is the immediate superior of Superintendent Sidles.
• Mike Reynolds (Michael_Reynolds@nps.gov) was the former Acting Regional Director for the region RMNP is in.
• Chuck Sams (Chucks.Sams@nps.gov) is the current director of the entire National Park Service.
• Wendy Rigby (WRigby@prariemountainmedia.com) is the lead reporter for the local paper in Estes Park, The Trail Gazette. 

NPS’s own rules encourage them to notify the public ahead of time of policy changes like Timed Entry. I asked Superintendent Sidles to host an in-person meeting in December—before any decision about Timed Entry or using another Categorical Exclusion to approve it is made. That request has been ignored.

Our best bet now is for you to speak for yourself. Speak directly to the people who are, I believe, improperly making significant decisions about Park access without any accountability to anyone–especially to ordinary people like you and me. Maybe they’ll listen if enough of you reach and contact them directly. 

It’s not all bad news. Three quick updates. 

1. First, Yosemite National Park scrapped its reservation system late last week. It had been in place for each of the last two years. The Park is exploring a long-term solution to balancing visitation with preservation. But they’ve taken the sensible and respectful approach to include the public as an equal partner in the decision making process. 
2. Second, the reservation system in RMNP may have been improperly approved, in direct violation of NPS rules and guidance on major decisions. Since I last wrote to you I learned through a Freedom of Information Act request about the exact details which lead to Timed Entry in 2021 and 2022.  I won’t bore you with the details of the process. It took me months to force the Park to reveal the use of an exemption called a ‘Categorical Exclusion’ which allows Superintendent Darla Sidles to sign a simple form and keep tens of thousands of Americans from getting into the Park. If you’re interested in hearing more about this, leave a comment on the homepage of the petition and I can give you the details. 
3. Third, as a result of this discovery, I filed a whistleblower complaint with the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General. The Department of the Interior has oversight of the National Park Service. To my knowledge, their investigation of my complaint—that the Superintendent is in violation of her own agency's rules and may be in violation of an Executive Order as well–is ongoing. It beggars belief the Superintendent would approve ANOTHER ‘pilot’ system for 2023, when an investigation of the previous one is still underway.

One suggestion: I always try to be respectful in my communication with RMNP officials and I encourage you to be the same. We all love the National Parks and want what’s best for the Parks and the people. That doesn’t mean you can’t be passionate and express your strongly held views, though.

It’s now or never. Speak up and be heard.  Public lands belong to the people, not unaccountable and unelected administrators. 

The Superintendent and her staff have refused to answer numerous, direct, and detailed questions about whether they are following their own rules. I believe them to be in clear violation of their obligations to the public. I believe it’s only a matter of time before this becomes widely known and is publicly acknowledged. I expect people to be fired or resign. If you write to them in the next 48 hours, you can help end the reservation system for good. 

Thanks again for your support over these last few months. I’m sure there are thousands more people like you who want to preserve our Parks for future generations AND guarantee that access to them is fair and without discrimination or reservation.

Tell Superintendent Sidles and her superiors  to scrap the reservation system for 2023, like Yosemite has, and approach this issue by treating the public as an equal partner.

All the best,

Dan Denning

PS I know it’s a short week with the Thanksgiving holiday, and that many people may be traveling. If you don't have time to write an email, you can call and speak directly to someone or leave a voicemail. The number for the Public Affairs Office is (970) 586-1363.

PPS A third ‘pilot program’  for reservations in RMNP for 2023 is completely unjustified. Given Yosemite’s decision to scrap its reservation system for 2023, and the ongoing investigation by the Office of the Inspector General into whether RMNP’s leadership is in violation of its own rules and guidelines,, there are compelling reasons for the Superintendent to scrap the program now, before any more people are excluded from RMNP.

PPPS The photograph in this email comes from the summit of the little trail behind the Alpine Visitor's Center at the top of Old Fall River Road. I took it in August when me and my brothers rode our mountain bikes up. It was a great experience. It reminded me that the worst visitor experiences to Rocky Mountain National Park are the ones that never happen--no photos, no stories, no memories--because ordinary people are prevented from getting into the Park.