Longmont native and NASA astronaut Vance Brand will be able to donate 40 acres to Rocky Mountain National Park after bipartisan legislation was passed last week by Congress.
Congressional approval was required before the National Park Service could accept Brand’s donation, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
The property is adjacent to the eastern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park and would provide additional protection for the region’s high-elevation ecosystem, according to the news release. The 40-acre parcel also will provide recreational access and connectivity through a “scenic, natural buffer between private lands and three popular trails: Estes Cone, Storm Pass and Eugenia Mine trails,” the new release states.
The three trails connect to a larger trail network comprising hundreds of miles available to the park’s 4.5 million annual visitors, according to the release.
Brand praised the work Bennet, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse put in to get the legislation passed.
“This bill will enable our family’s beautiful land that is so worthy of permanent protection to be added to Rocky Mountain National Park,” Brand states in the Bennet news release. “Our family loves that land and we are proud to donate it to the people of the United States for their enjoyment.”
