There's a story in western Colorado involving Colorado National Monument that bears watching. The gist of the story is that some local community organizations are in support of redesignating the monument as a national park, but only if they can veto Park Service decisions on what uses the monument is appropriate for.
Onlookers believe that this ties in to past efforts to have a professional bike race -- the 2013 USA Pro Challenge -- course through the national monument along the 23-mile-long Rim Rock Drive. In the past, officials all the way up to the director of the National Park Service have said that would be an inappropriate use of the national monument.
Now, earlier this spring the West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association passed a resolution in support of renaming the monument a national park. That resolution was similar to one adopted earlier by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as one passed by the Grand Junction Economic Partnership. The kicker is that the groups want the legislation to give community stakeholders veto power over any Park Service decisions on uses the agency finds are inappropriate for the monument...such as a professional bike race.
Whether legislation will be introduced into Congress this summer by either U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton or U.S. Sen. Mark Udall to redesignate the monument as a national park remains to be seen.
Park advocacy groups, though, are keeping an eye on this issue and are stressing that the Park Service's hands should not be tied when it comes to what is appropriate for Colorado National Monument.
At the National Parks Conservation Association, officials have said it is good for the Park Service to meet with local stakeholders to discuss the future of Colorado National Monument. But David Nimkin, senior director for NPCA's Southwest regional office, has made it clear that NPCA strongly opposes a professional bike race through the monument.
Simply put, he says, the commercialization of the national monument is out of bounds.
Also watching the issue is the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, which also opposes a professional bike race in the monument. While that group believes it is doubtful that Sen. Udall would offer legislation that would provide local stakeholders veto power over the Park Service, the Coalition nevertheless has notified him of its position on the matter. If the senator or any other congressional representative offers legislation to rename the monument as a national park for the significant natural resources and history of Colorado National Monument, the coalition will offer its official position on the matter at that time.
Comments
"BTW,where you here crying when parts of Yellowstone was shut down so the Obama family could visit? Or are political purposes OK - (as long as they are left leaning)?"
That's called national security. And I think it's sad that the president of the United States -- ANY president of the U.S. -- cannot go to a national park or for that matter, the local Dunkin Donuts, without an armed guard. But that's how it's been for a long time, for Republicans and Democrats alike.
Back to the subject: I think national parks would be better off by NOT allowing special events that use public lands, curtail normal visitors and park activities, whether they are for profit or not for profit. Would the park lose some possible income? Who knows. Would surrounding communities lose some potential business. Again, who knows. But at least the rule would be clear and there would not be room for someone's subjective judgement about what is "appropriate" or "deserving."
But that rule itself reflects subjective judgement. But that's OK if its YOUR selective judgement right?
As to the President visiting the park. To the best of my knowledge he had never been to Yellowstone before and I am guessing he is unlikely to go again. In fact that may be true for any major Park that involves more than a drive through. He will be President for 8 years. He has had/will have 70+ years when he isn't President to visit. Presidential visits to Parks are pure political grandstanding, especially by those that have done nothing for them, and are even less appropriate than commercial activities.
"As the first family strolled the boardwalk around Old Faithful, Duffy and Superintendent Lewis chatted with the President about other topics such as Obama’s visit to Yellowstone with his mother and grandmother when he was eleven years old..."
http://www.ypf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5255
Gee that sure verifies his long love for the Parks.
EC, your partisanship is showing. My guess is the president -- any president -- has more on his plate to deal with these days than traveling to and fawning over the parks.
Kurt,
No doubt I am partisan but not on this issue. The point is that the President - any president- has plenty of opportunities to visit the Park when he is not President and when it won't result in major sections of the Park being closed. Any such visit, expecially by one who has otherwise shown no interest in the Park, is pure political grandstanding - no matter the party. Such grandstanding which blocks access is far more annoying to me than commercial activities that may draw thousands of extra visitors.
Oh, and being dragged to a Park by your grandmother at age 11 as part of a tour of the west and never returning doesn't count as "interest".
Oh, for pete's sake, partisan. On ALL issues.
When he visited Yellowstone he was then chastised by partisans of your ilk for how few parks he had visited as President. That's the definition of partisan - blame him for a sunny day, blame him for a rainy day.
And you were there forty years ago to see him "dragged", or is that again just your partisan phrasing. I didn't make it to Yellowstone until I was in my 40's for my first visit. Doesn't mean I wasn't interested, just means I hadn't been able to get there until then.
Life is a matter of what color sunglasses you wear, and everything you say here is through your own partisan prism.
I was assigned to two presidential visits: President Nixon to Grand Teton and President Carter, to Yellowstone and the Tetons. My sense of it was that people were thrilled to see their Presidents in a national park and did not mind the inconvenience of slower traffic and swarms of Secret Service personnel and lots of rangers. I remember President Carter watching Old Faithful along with the crowds of people that normally congregate for an eruption. He shook a lot of hands. The security just is a sign of the times.
Rick