Astronaut Vance Brand's 40-acre gift expands Rocky Mountain National Park

Vance Brand, a former NASA astronaut, purchased 160 acres next to Rocky Mountain National Park in 1967 and, with his family, donated 40 acres of pristine forest to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy in 2019. Because altering a national park’s limits needs federal consent, Congress enacted the Rocky Mountain National Park Boundary Modification Act, sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner and Representative Joe Neguse, and signed it in January 2021.

The transfer was finalized with a ribbon-cutting event in September 2022, adding the land to the park’s eastern edge near Longs Peak. The parcel, covered in aspen and pine and crossed by streams, serves as a buffer between private homes and three popular trails. Officials highlighted that the donation required no additional federal spending and enhances wildlife corridors in high-elevation ecosystems. The National Park Service now manages the area permanently for public enjoyment.