The email addressed to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) Information Office where I volunteer said, “Two weeks ago we lost our house in the Marshall Fire. My two sons are so upset that their junior ranger badges were in the fire. They were so proud of them. Is there any way that you could send us replacements for the badges? We will gladly pay for any mailing costs. Thanks so much, (name).” I immediately responded, “We are so sorry for your loss and would be happy to send new badges. We hope you will be able to return to the park soon. Best wishes.”
On other occasions, we have received phone calls to the Information Office from distraught visitors describing lost “passport (to your national parks) books.” This spiral bound full color travel guide is 6’’ x 4’’ and includes 112 pages where people can collect time dated stamps and purchase colored stickers from the parks they visit. Every one of our visitor centers has a “passport” center that is popular with park attendees. People have collected these stamps for years and are proud of their well-travelled books. We are always happy to try to reunite visitors with the books or to help them get new stamps for the dates they visited.
These two examples illustrate the value that citizens place on national parks. Our parks have never been funded to the extent needed compared to the importance most people place on them. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan stated in 2016: “The parks are the Declaration of Independence applied to the landscape. They are the belief in equality made manifest, stating for the first time in human history that a nation’s most magnificent places should no longer be the exclusive preserves of royalty or the rich; they should belong to everyone and for all time.”
Parks provide economic engines for communities like Estes Park and protect our nation’s history, wildlife, and cultural heritage. We can learn about our country’s past, present, and future in the national parks.
More than 320 million people visited America’s national parks in 2025. Over four million visits were to RMNP. This popularity cannot be divorced from deep concerns over ongoing staffing and budgetary cuts and attempts to erase history and culture across America’s park system.
The popularity of national parks is not surprising. What is astonishing is the federal government administration’s relentless attacks on these places. In the past year, a quarter of park service staff have been fired or forced to resign. Park protection and outreach work has been eliminated in the name of keeping parks open. Thank goodness we continue to mandate a timed-entry system during the busiest times of the year at RMNP. It is controversial, and yet, is what keeps the landscape and wildlife from being overrun by people.
I am adamant about ensuring the history, science, and culture of our national parks are protected. I want young people to love the park through the Junior Ranger program. I want the opportunity for all folks to visit parks. Parks make life better.
Totally agree!
The irreversible changes are the most devastating. Perhaps imma Pollyanna but I am still hopeful these ridiculous policies will be overturned. The ones that scare me the most are the land regulations re: use and ownership and the reduction in staffing that prevent us from protecting what we can. How ridiculous for people to think this is about reigning in a wasteful government.
The irreversible changes are the most devastating. Perhaps imma Pollyanna but I am still hopeful these ridiculous policies will be overturned. The ones that scare me the most are the land regulations re: use and ownership and the reduction in staffing that prevent us from protecting what we can. How ridiculous for people to think this is about reigning in a wasteful government.