2024 Rocky Mountain National Park Partnership Award Presented to Rocky Mountain Conservancy

Rocky Mountain National Park is pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Partnership Award. This award recognizes organizations that have made a substantial contribution to the management of Rocky Mountain National Park through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, support and/or co-production of science and research.

Estee Rivera Murdock, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Conservancy, receives the Rocky Mountain National Park Partnership Award on behalf of Rocky Mountain Conservancy during the 2024 Biennial Research Conference in March 2024.

Image Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Conservancy

Rocky Mountain Conservancy

Under the leadership of Executive Director Estee Rivera Murdock, Rocky Mountain Conservancy (RMC) has demonstrated outstanding flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration with Rocky Mountain National Park to address emerging management challenges. RMC works closely with the park to manage grants, fund high-priority research, foster the next generation of park stewards and scientists through internships and employment opportunities, expand education efforts for learners of all ages, and provide administrative support that significantly increases Rocky Mountain National Park’s overall capacity.

In recent years, RMC has been integral to accomplishing high-priority research, restoration, and education by undertaking new grants management roles and substantially increasing project funding. RMC stewards nearly $1 million in grants. These funds support wetland restoration efforts in the Kawuneeche Valley and the Indigenous Connections Project focused on integrating Indigenous perspectives and culture into the storytelling framework of the park. Special project funding, totaling nearly $2.5 million for 2024, supports projects in Resource Stewardship, Interpretation and Education, Visitor and Resource Protection, and Facility Management as well as other parkwide efforts. Over $125,000 is directed toward applied research and analysis that contributes to the adaptive management of the Park.

Bailey Fellow Nick Parker conducts ptarmigan surveys in the alpine tundra. The Bailey Research Fellowship is one of many RMC sponsored programs that support research and the next generation of park stewards.

NPS Photo

Through its efforts to foster the next generation of park stewards and scientists, RMC has made a profound impact. Its support of the Partnerships and Intern Engagement Program, the Bailey Research Fellowship, the Scholar-in-Residence Program, and its growing Conservation Corps programs have opened doors for the park's future leaders.

We express our deepest gratitude to Rocky Mountain Conservancy for its significant contributions. We are honored to present RMC with this Partnership Award in recognition of their unwavering commitment to the mission of Rocky Mountain National Park