An 83-year-old widow facing eviction from her home in Rocky Mountain National Park celebrated the unanimous passage of a bill in the U.S. House on Wednesday that would spare her, while at the same time negotiating a short-term extension with the National Park Service.
Park officials agreed to let Betty Dick stay in her leased cabin until the end of her usual summer residency rather than the fast-approaching July 16 deadline, just as the House passed a measure by Colorado U.S. Rep. Mark Udall that would allow her to live there for the remainder of her life.
“I’m just extremely happy that we have moved this far, and I’m certainly very grateful to the congressmen in the House of Representatives who got behind me and supported this,” she said.
Udall, a Democrat from Eldorado Springs, said Dick has been an excellent steward of the 23-acre property in the park and that she didn’t deserve to be kicked out because of a heartless bureaucracy.
“She has simply asked that she be allowed to continue to contribute to the park and the community, and enjoy this property for the rest of her life,” he said.
Park officials, who acknowledged that Dick is a good neighbor, said that delaying her eviction will allow the political process in Washington to play out this summer, and, if it fails, they expect her to clear out by next spring.
“But if it doesn’t get resolved before she leaves, she certainly doesn’t have to have a moving truck there when she leaves in October,” said park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson.
Although originally owned outright by Dick’s late husband, Fred, the inholding was sold to the park by his first wife over his objections and despite his legal first right to purchase the property.
Fred Dick sued the Park Service and in 1980 signed an agreement allowing him to lease the property for 25 years. He died in 1992.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., has introduced an identical “personal bill” for Dick in the Senate.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
