Rocky Mountain National Park Open, Why Not Mesa Verde?

Above, Mesa Verde's Cliff Palace Tower in 1941 by Ansel Adams.  Source: National Archives and Records Administration.

The Durango Herald is wondering why is Rocky Mountain National Park is open but not Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, Colorado.

According to the Durango Herald's article:

Governors won the right to reopen national parks in their states last week, if they paid for them. Colorado responded by reopening Rocky Mountain National Park, whose gateway community, Estes Park, is struggling to recover from flooding in September. 

But the state has no plans to reopen Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes or Black Canyon of the Gunnison national parks, said Gov. John Hickenlooper’s spokesman, Eric Brown. 

Brown said the governor’s office has not received requests from Southwest Colorado officials to reopen Mesa Verde. 

That’s about to change. 

State Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, plans to send a letter to Hickenlooper today asking him to reopen all of Colorado’s national parks.

I visited Mesa Verde National Park twice and it is one beautiful park with plenty of Indian ruins to explore. It is close to Durango, Colorado and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

To read the full article, go here.