Sundance Buttress Closure Added Other Closures Removed Or Continued To Protect Nesting Raptors in Rocky Mountain National Park

Red-tailed Hawk in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Courtesy Ann Schonlau Rocky Mountain National Park

News Release Date: June 12, 2015

Contact: Kyle Patterson, [phone]

Each year to protect raptor nesting sites, Rocky Mountain National Park officials initiate temporary closures in the Lumpy Ridge and Sheep Mountain areas of the park. To enable wildlife managers to gather information and ensure that raptors can nest undisturbed, specific areas within the park are closed temporarily to public use during nesting season.

Due to raptor nesting activity, Sundance Buttress in the Lumpy Ridge area has been added to the closure areas. The following sites will remain temporarily closed until further notice – Alligator Rock, Twin Owls, Rock One, Sheep Mountain and now Sundance Buttress. These closures include all climbing, approach and descent routes for the indicated formations on all sides of those formations.

The following closures have been lifted - Batman Rock, Batman Pinnacle, Checkerboard Rock, Lightning Rock, Thunder Buttress, No Name and Parish. The National Park Service is committed to preserving birds of prey. The same cliffs that attract raptors also appeal to climbers. The cooperation of climbing organizations and individuals is essential to the successful nesting of raptors in the park.