Estes Park Makes National News!

The recent National Geographic Traveler just wrote up favorite National Parks and the towns that one passes through to visit. Rocky Mountain National Park made the list. Too bad it was so negative. Here are some examples...
"Deep blue glacial lakes and majestic mountain views" in a "totally overstressed" park. "Traffic, condo developments, and noise around the sappy, touristy town of Estes Park lessen appeal."
Tom Pickering told one Estesparkian that he spoke with the magazine and they said they would never use the writer again, apologized... blah, blah.
The same enterprising Estesparkian called the magazine and they said... No way! Pickering never called and the writer has been on the staff since the 1970's so he wasn't going anywhere.
Tom Pickering is a liar.
Here's some more fact from that respected magazine, we all need to read this and act by ridding the Town of the current administration. Vote Home Rule, get a charter that is inclusive of public input, get rid of this lousy marketing department, and the $1.75 Million visitor center that no one voted on and start fixing the Town.
The exhaustive survey was conducted as follows:

››About the Survey

Evaluating an entire destination—both park and gateway—requires weighing such subtle issues as aesthetics and cultural integrity, as well as balancing good points against bad. Since simple numerical measures cannot do justice to the task, we turned to informed human judgment: a panel of some 300 well- traveled experts in a variety of fields—ecology, sustainable tourism, geography, park management and planning, travel writing and photography, historic preservation, indigenous cultures, archaeology.

We asked panelists to evaluate just the places with which they were familiar, using six criteria weighted according to importance: environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of any historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and the outlook for the future.

Experts first aired all points of view by filing comments about each park and gateway (anonymously, to ensure objectivity). In a version of a research tool called the Delphi technique, panelists then reviewed the comments and filed their stewardship scores.

The resulting Stewardship Index score, then, is an average of informed judgments about each place as a whole, taking into account its many faces. Like the cards that Olympic judges hold up, our experts' scores incorporate both measurable accomplishment and the intangibles of style, aesthetics, and culture. And like an athlete, each destination has a chance to improve.

To help, Traveler, the Center for Sustainable Destinations, and the Conservation Fund have assembled an online "Community Toolkit" of resources. If you live in a gateway town or visit one often, visit our Sustainable Destinations Resource Center.. found at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/

Now, the survey didn't leave us hanging, they actually give guidelines as to how to fix what is broken, with surveys, classes and numerous resources to find out how to fix our town. The current administration and staff defend their position by saying they have all the answers, they have been here awhile and anyone who questions them is just a whiner.
Here's some more of what they said about Estes Park. This, from 300 knowledgeable travel writers, based on their experience...

Rocky Mountain National Park, COLORADO
Score 56

"Attempts to better-manage traffic flow to and from Bear Lake are critical to protecting the high country landscape, but will quieter and less-polluting shuttles or masses of cars dominate the road after reconstruction? Estes Park, of course, continues to exemplify what gateway communities should avoid."

"Another crowded, well-loved park that tells the story of its physical grandeur with minor attention to the peoples who once inhabited it."

"Neighboring communities are becoming overcrowded and geared mainly to serving the tourist trade. This is robbing them of their authentic character."

"The National Parks Conservation Association's State of the Park assessment shows that the park's top predators are gone, which has led to very high elk populations and overgrazing of certain plant communities important to beaver and other species. Decades of fire suppression have caused a great increase in fuel loads. Nonnative species edge out many native species. Visibility in the park is somewhat impaired 90 percent of the time, although views still can be dramatic."

What has our idiot staff of so called experts done to fix these problems? Blame someone else! We need changes, and a good beginning is the following:
Citizens have begin the heritage segment by starting the Heritage Days Celebration, Saturday, August 27, 2005. This will be a day full of activities and education that will celebrate our Western Heritage. Congratulations to the organizers (not the Town) for making this happen. This is what we need more of. We need a marketing company that is educated in a changing society, not a staff of bloated liars who only care about covering their butt. The time is now. Get involved to make a better community.