|  Cultural
resources in Rocky Mountain National Park include historic
structures (such as roads and bridges), cultural landscapes,
prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, museum artifacts,
and historic buildings and trails. The park also works with
Native American groups to understand and protect those resources
in the park that are important to native cultures.
When Congress passed the Rocky Mountain National
Park Act in 1915, the legislators focused on Rocky's scenic
and natural wonders. Still, what became the park held many
cultural treasures including ancient trails, game drives,
cattle ranches, and lodges. Early Superintendents tried to
develop roads, backcountry cabins, and trails to blend with
the surroundings. Rangers manipulated the landscape to look
more "natural;" they suppressed fires, planted seedlings,
and controlled predators. The National Park Service purchased
private lands and removed buildings, roads, post offices,
driveways, irrigation ditches, and fences.
After World War II, with park visitation
increasing across the country, the National Park Service implemented
Mission 66, a nationwide development and improvement program.
Rocky, like many parks, suffered from outdated facilities.
Mission 66 brought new comfort stations, overlooks, employee
housing, campgrounds, and visitor centers to Rocky Mountain
National Park.
During the 1960's, as cultural revolutions
swept the nation, Congress passed significant environmental
laws to protect the American landscape. Many of these effected
the management of both natural and cultural resources in the
National Parks. Every year, more cultural resources are identified
and protected in Rocky Mountain National Park. Today a team
of cultural and natural resource specialists work together
to protect the park's resources.
Every visitor to the park encounters cultural
resources: Trail Ridge Road, Beaver Meadows Visitor Center,
Holzwarth Trout Lodge, and the Ute Trail are just a few. You
are the steward of this national park, its past and its future.
|
As a federal agency, the National Park Service
has a responsibility to maintain and preserve its cultural
resources. Numerous cultural resource and environmental laws,
proclamations, executive orders, and other regulations protect
Rocky Mountain National Park’s prehistoric and historic
resources. These stewardship duties ensure that sites, landscapes,
artifacts, and structures are not inadvertently demolished,
substantially altered, or allowed to deteriorate. The National
Park Service is required to consult with the State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) at the earliest phase of the planning
process to help minimize any possible harm to historic structures.
The legal
mandates for cultural resource care and protection can
be found at the National Park Service website. |
