Coalition To Protect America's Parks Asks Colorado National Monument Superintendent To Rule Out Pro Bike Race

Nearly five years after the director of the National Park Service said professional bicycle races had no place in national parks, two superintendents have expressed an openness to consider such events, a move that has drawn concern from the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.

Both Intermountain Regional Director Sue Masica and Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh told the Traveler last month that they were evaluating a request to have the Tour of Utah race start in Zion. Since then, the new superintendent for Colorado National Monument in Colorado was quoted in a local newspaper as being open "to discuss the potential of a competitive bicycle race" in the monument.

Both positions, though preliminary, seem at odds with Director Jon Jarvis' statement in March 2011 when he sided with then-Colorado National Monument Superintendent Joan Anzelmo in denying use of the red-rock park in western Colorado for one leg of the Quiznos Pro Challenge.

“Closing the park to accommodate the needs of a commercial bike race goes against our management policies, would adversely impact park resources, and would deny access to the park to other visitors,” said the director at the time. “Federal law and NPS policy restrict commercial activities in national parks to those that are ‘necessary and appropriate’ to park purposes. This bike race is neither necessary nor appropriate in the park."

Inquiries Tuesday to both the Park Service's Washington, D.C., headquarters and the Intermountain Regional Office as to whether Director Jarvis had changed his position were not immediately answered. A call to Colorado National Monument Superintendent Ken Mabery was not immediately returned.

The Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, formerly known as the Coalition of National Park Retirees, last week wrote Superintendent Mabery with a request that he voice support for the 2011 decision "to deny the proposal to conduct a stage of a professional cycling race in the Monument" as soon as possible.

The Coalition has long strongly supported these actions by Superintendent Anzelmo and senior leaders in the NPS because this decision is the right one for the Monument. However, such decisions are also important for the purpose of consistency throughout the National Park System. In 2010, a similar request to stage part of a professional bike race in Yosemite National Park was denied. Many of our retired and currently working colleagues have also faced the challenge of making decisions to deny all manner of commercial events in our parks for the same reasons. And, at the moment, the Superintendent of Zion is considering a request that a portion of a commercial bike race in Utah be allowed in that very popular national park. Part of our advocacy is to make every effort to assure consistency in decisions that reflect the goals and values of parks as expressed in law, regulation, and policy. In this case, we are not aware of any changes in applicable NPS management policies that would justify a reassessment of the previous decision.