Death by a Thousand Cuts

Colorado by the numbers1

 730,000 acres of park land

 5,811,546 visitors in 2012 National Park Service  $319,000,000 economic benefit from National Park tourism in 2011 National Park Units in Colorado

 10 threatened and endangered species in National Parks

 6,912 archeological sites in National Parks

Sand Dunes National Park Rocky Mountain National Park

Blog.ymcarockies.org

Empoweringparks.com Colorado National Park Service Units2

 Bent's Old Fort Historic Site  Hovenweep Monument  Black Canyon of the Gunnison Park  Mesa Verde Park  Cache La Poudre River Corridor  Old Spanish Historic Trail  California Historic Trail  Pony Express Historic Trail  Colorado Monument  Rocky Mountain Park  Curecanti Recreation Area  Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site  Dinosaur Monument  Santa Fe Historic Trail  Florissant Fossil Beds Monument  Yucca House Monument  Great Sand Dunes Park & Preserve

1 http://www.nps.gov/state/co/index.htm?program=parks 2 http://www.nps.gov/state/co/index.htm?program=parks Colorado

Boasting both breathtaking Rocky Mountain National Park habitats and remarkable ecosystem diversity, the national parks of Colorado provide a myriad of benefits to visitors and the local environment alike.

Sand Dunes National Park showcases the result of the unique act of colliding winds blowing through the mountain ranges of the area, resulting in the tallest sand dunes found any- where in the country.3

The dramatic and majestic The Haber Motel peaks of the Rocky Mountains charac- terize the rugged and resilient nature of Colorado’s wilderness. Few places in the country boast as much wildlife and ecosystem diversity as Rocky Mountain Park, further illustrating the critical importance of protecting this iconic land- scape.4

Effects of Sequester Cuts

At Mesa Verde National Park, the sequester cuts led to a budget reduction of $335,000. This forced the park superintendent to leave unfilled full time positions vacant, while also reducing the number of vehicles in the parks fleet.5

Colorado National Monument

At Rocky Mountain National Park, the sequester cuts forced the park superintendent to close the Moraine Park Visitor Center for the entire summer, and reduce the Beaver Meadows visitor Center summer hours, closing at 6pm instead of 9pm. Additionally, summer interpretive pro- grams were reduced by 35% from the year prior and Glacier Basin Campground was forced to close through the entire 2013 season.6

Rocky Mountain Magazine

3 http://www.nps.gov/grsa/naturescience/sanddunes.htm 4 Wilcox, Bruce A., and Dennis D. Murphy. "Conservation Strategy: The Effects of Fragmentation on Extinction." The American Naturalist 125.6 (1985): 879-87.JSTOR. Web. 26 July 2013. 5 http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20130413/NEWS01/130419795/Sequestration-trickles-down-- 6 Lieurance, Betty. "Re: From NPS.gov: Effect of Sequestration on National Parks". Email to Megan Brumbaugh. 8 April 2013.