Plan to join us for dinner, volunteer recognition, and a fascinating presentation by Ruth Alexander, Professor of History Emerita at Colorado State University. Ruth is the author of the recently published book, Democracy’s Mountain: Longs Peak and the Unfulfilled Promises of America’s National Parks.
At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak towers over Colorado’s northern Front Range. Longs has been a site of legendary climbing achievements since the 1870s, yet it has also been a site of significant risk and harm—to climbers and rangers, the fragile alpine environment, and American ideals of freedom and equality. In telling the history of climbing on Longs Peak, Democracy’s Mountain reveals Rocky Mountain National Park’s century-long struggle to balance three fundamental obligations—to facilitate visitor enjoyment, protect natural resources, and manage the park as a site of inclusive democracy. In recent decades the park has made progress in aligning these obligations, yet more work needs to be done. Ruth’s nuanced account of Longs Peak reveals the dangers of undermining national parks’ fundamental obligations and presents a powerful appeal to meet them fairly and fully.
Ruth’s expertise as a teacher and scholar includes American environmental history and the history of national parks. She was a founding member of CSU’s Public and Environmental History Center and has conducted research for Rocky Mountain National Park and other NPS parks and monuments.
This is an evening you won’t want to miss! More details to come.
