Lakewood – More mountain biking, better visitors’ centers and the preservation of starlit skies over the Grand Canyon were some of the suggestions on how to improve national parks offered Wednesday night.
The federal government is holding 19 “listening sessions” across the country to learn what people see as the future for their parks. The sessions are in preparation for the National Park Service’s centennial celebration in 2016.
The Denver area’s session drew more than 140 people to a Sheraton hotel meeting room, where parks employees scribbled suggestions on butcher paper and promised to consider them as part of President Bush’s $3 billion National Park Centennial Initiative.
“Denver’s not a gateway to a national park, so this is a good turnout,” said Mike Snyder, director of the Park Service’s Intermountain Region. “I hope this starts to connect Americans with their parks. I’m very worried we are losing our relevance.”
Parks are reeling from declining attendance, and studies show young people are not going to parks as they once did.
“We need to go with a new mantra, ‘No Kids Left Indoors,”‘ Snyder said.
The Park Service’s 2008 budget proposal calls for an increase of $230 million over the $1.8 billion from 2006. The centennial plan calls for $100 million more each year leading up to the agency’s 100th birthday.
Questions at Wednesday’s session included: What are the public’s expectations? What role should the parks play in people’s lives? What projects should be completed by 2016?
Dennis Erickson of Montrose wants repairs to the Cimar ron Canyon Rail Exhibit in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The city of Montrose leased the 19th-century narrow-gauge train and trestle to the park in 1973, but the display has fallen into disrepair.
“We want to see them preserve and maintain it for future generations,” Erickson said.
Deborah Tuck, of the Grand Canyon National Park Foundation, traveled from Arizona to make sure the needs of her favorite park were addressed, including preserving the quietness and darkness of the park.
“If you are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you’ve never seen stars like that,” she said. “It needs to be preserved.”
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
