Astronaut donates important plot of land to Rocky Mountain National Park

According to Rocky Mountain National Park officials, former astronaut Vance Brand has donated a 40-acre parcel of land to Rocky Mountain National Park, adding to the 265,000 acres already found at the destination.

The donation process started in 2019, when the Brand family donated the land to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, a non-profit that's partnered with Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The inclusion of this land into the boundary of RMNP was officially approved with Congress authorization in 2021, with the park and the Brand family formally meeting to celebrate the donation on September 12, 2022.

While 40 acres might seem like a small contribution in relation to the size of the greater park, this contribution is especially important because of where the land is located. Adjacent to the eastern boundary of the park, the land provides protection for the park's fragile high-elevation ecosystem, acting as a natural buffer between private lands and three popular trails – Estes Cone, Storm Pass, and Eugenia Mine Trails.

Former astronaut Vance Brand's ties to Colorado run deep, with Brand being born and raised in Longmont before attending college at the University of Colorado (and then UCLA). After being selected as a pilot astronaut in 1966, he served as the commander in three Space Shuttle missions and was the last member of his astronaut class to remain active with NASA.

In a statement by brand released by Rocky Mountain National Park, he said the following:

“To me the park is a wonderful place that must be preserved – and where possible expanded. The numerous hiking, camping, and (non-technical) mountain climbing experiences that I had there in my youth led me to purchase land along Rocky Mountain National Park’s eastern boundary in 1967. Over time my family has developed an appreciation of the natural beauty of the land and have encouraged keeping it as it is. I’m thankful that there were early national park enthusiasts like Enos Mills and Teddy Roosevelt who had the foresight to encourage establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park and our entire national park system. The National Park Service does a terrific job of maintaining our national parks. In short, my family and I sincerely hope that this donation to the national park will keep the land in its natural state for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations of Americans.”

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