Tahosa Valley Landowners Association
PO Box 1605
Estes Park, CO 80517
Minutes of 2025 Annual Meeting, Saturday August 09, 2025
Dao House, Main Lodge Meeting Room
6120 SH-7, Estes Park, CO 80517
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Check in and Registration
Coffee and donuts were available along with TVLA Membership Forms, Wildfire Funding and Project Resources, Dark Skies flyers, and the Allenspark Fire Protection District (AFPD) Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).
Guest Speaker Gary Ingram, Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park
Gary Ingram was our guest speaker again this year. He is starting his second year at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The superintendent began with general remarks about RMNP, then proceeded to an open Question & Answer (Q&A) session.
General Remarks
Supt Ingram emphasized the two primary concerns of RMNP:
Visitor safety
Preservation of the park
Lily Lake is a significant focus for visitor safety. Plans include building out the parking lot on the lake side of Hwy 7 and not allowing pedestrian traffic to cross Hwy 7. Until this occurs, Ingram is working with his team to change the flashing lights at the Lily Lake crosswalk to newer technology that is brighter and attracts more attention. Ingram also recommends no parking anywhere on Hwy 7 for Lily Lake.
Housing is a massive need for the park. Ingram is taking advantage of the current administration’s focus on enhancing infrastructure to address park housing.
So far, the park is keeping up with staffing and funding cuts. Ingram is dedicated to serving the public. He anticipates and is planning how to handle further cuts without adversely affecting visitors. One focus is on raising revenue, including fee areas such as Longs Peak and Lily Lake. Rocky Mountain Conservancy, the nonprofit partner of RMNP, will likely play a larger role in the future with maintenance and upkeep of the park.
Q&A
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): RMNP has examined all interpretive information and signage. Everything was found to be accurate and has not changed. The park is constantly working with the tribes to ensure the tribes are accurately represented according to the tribes’ wishes. Some tribes prefer that the park does not tell their story.
Fire Mitigation: Fire mitigation is continuing “full steam ahead.” This includes prescribed burning as well as thinning the forests.
Longs Peak Campground: The future of Longs Peak Campground is an ongoing issue. While many prefer to keep it as is, there is a valid case for turning it into a parking lot. Parking along Longs Peak Road is currently unsustainable. Illegal camping, fires, and trespassing on private property is rampant along Longs Peak Road. Park Service vehicles and emergency equipment have difficulty accessing the area. Signage along Longs Peak Road will be enhanced while more permanent solutions are developed.
Development at Periphery of RMNP: Cheri Yost is Park Planner for RMNP. She handles planning and compliance for development adjacent to the park. Yost has been with the National Park Service for over 20 years. Contact RMNP to set up a meeting with Yost.
RMNP Timed Entry Reservation System: The Timed Entry system at RMNP will be continued for now. It was instituted to address ongoing issues involving emergency vehicles, visitor protection, visitor resources, parking issues, and damage from people parking off road. The system has worked pretty well overall. Many reservations are made the night before. Local residents have learned to log onto www.Recreation.gov at 7:00 PM to secure tickets for the next day. Access to the Bear Lake corridor is available without a Timed Entry Permit prior to 5:00 AM and after 6:00 PM. Access to the rest of RMNP is available without a Timed Entry Permit prior to 9:00 AM and after 2:00 PM. Ingram is adamant that the system is flexible and can become more or less restrictive as needed, based on science and data. Data support the current time restrictions.
Break 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Call to Order – Business Meeting
Roger Sherman, President, called the business meeting to order at 10:15 AM.
Minutes from 2024 Annual Meeting
Minutes from the 2024 Annual Meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report
Jonathan Dings, Treasurer, reported that TVLA has approximately $18,000 in investments and $6,000 in bank accounts. Ongoing, regular expenses are modest and include a PO Box, Website, and the Annual Meeting. Balances have held pretty steady for the past few years. The organization is doing well.
Remarks from the Chair
Roger is thinking about stepping down as President. He has been President for 20 years and is ready to welcome someone to take over that responsibility. He agreed to continue to serve as President one more year before retiring in 2026. TVLA needs new and preferably younger members to serve as Board members and officers if the organization is to survive for future generations.
Roger was able to hike up to Cabin Rock recently, the home of Joe Mills, younger brother of Enos Mills. From Cabin Rock, Roger was able to see the entire valley and reflect on how things have changed since the summers he spent in the valley as a teenager. Camps are still a main feature of the valley, although fewer horses are present today. Larger homes are being built, and visibility is increasing due to fire mitigation efforts. However, overall, the valley seems slightly less commercial than decades ago. Some buildings have been removed, eg., at the Salvation Army. The 35-site campground that was on John Pickens’ property until the late 1970s has since shut down. Although Airbnbs have increased, it’s important to note that many cabins were frequently rented in the summers, albeit for longer time periods. The valley also has many more year-round residents, which has probably changed the area in the most ways.
There were also things Roger could not see from Cabin Rock; eg, the financial crises some property owners are having with taxes, insurance rates, etc., as well as the rising values of homes and changing lifestyles that are causing more people to sell rather than keep properties in the family.
Roger has been wondering about how the valley now envisions its future, as well as the future of the TVLA. The Board has had several good meetings about the future of TVLA and agrees it is time to revisit our Mission and Vision to ensure they stay relevant to current and future conditions and residents. One of our younger Board members, Eli Reese, drafted a new Vision/Mission Statement, printed below. In lieu of a traditional business meeting with Old and New Business, we held an open discussion about the future of the TVLA.
Proposed TVLA Vision/Mission Statement
Tahosa Valley Landowners’ Association
Protecting the Valley We Call Home
Vision Statement
Our vision is a Tahosa Valley where natural beauty, dark skies, and rural character are preserved through collaborative stewardship, responsible land use, and a shared respect for the environment and community.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Tahosa Valley Landowners Association (TVLA) is to preserve the natural beauty, rural character, and environmental integrity of the Tahosa Valley—qualities that brought us here and make this place our home.
We are a voluntary association of landowners—including private residents, camps, and ranch operations—united by a shared commitment to protecting the Valley’s tranquility and unique character. Guided by mutual respect for the land and one another, we work collaboratively to:
Limit inappropriate commercialization
Promote wildfire mitigation and preparedness
Protect our night skies from local light pollution
Support responsible land use consistent with private property rights and the law
We are dedicated to responsible land stewardship and to ensuring that development in our community reflects the values of conservation, sustainability, and legal compliance.
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Open Discussion about the Future of the TVLA
A robust discussion was led by Board member Eli Reese with extensive input from attendees. Highlights included the following:
The Board is looking for 4-5 people to be on a working panel to refine the TVLA Mission and Vision over the next year. Can TVLA be more relevant, proactive, inclusive? Meetings will be via Zoom and/or in person.
We want to focus as an organization on things we can do and things we can empower to impact our communities in a positive way. Wide-spread participation is encouraged, including camps.
TVLA is a respected organization with good visibility and influence with government officials. This is an opportunity to maintain and increase our visibility and impact.
The longevity of TVLA depends on having members who are under the age of 70s and 80s dealing with concerns of the valley. An economic study on the Peak-to-Peak Highway concluded that “Less is more.” This has been a guiding principle of the organization. What we have now is great. The challenge is to keep it.
TVLA covers the geographic area from Wind River Pass to the north and Wild Basin to the south.
Two things that are important to TVLA members are information about what’s going on in the valley and the social aspect of getting together with other people who live here. Annual meetings address both concerns and should be continued.
There has been a drastic increase in the number of people climbing Longs Peak and Twin Sisters. The improvements made at the Twin Sisters Trailhead and the addition of new trails up Storm Pass and Estes Cone from Lily Lake have been valuable, in spite of traffic and parking issues at Lily Lake.
Many current members of TVLA heard about the organization from their parents and prior owners of their properties. We need to find ways to reach new members, especially younger people. The most effective way to communicate in small communities such as ours is personal one-on-one contact with friends and neighbors, spreading the word one person at a time. However, we also need to explore a social media presence, a more interactive Website, and opportunities to increase our visibility such as submitting articles to the Allenspark Wind each month.
TVLA used to send printed mailings to all residents in the valley, but has sent fewer mailings in recent years as email became more prevalent and the cost of mailings increased. One of our younger members shared that they are constantly overwhelmed by email, which often gets lost. Physical mail tends to be read and prioritized. Roger agreed that it’s probably time to send out a printed mailer again.
In order to attract more young people, TVLA must be very specific about what is the point of the organization, what we believe, and what we’re trying to accomplish. TVLA must have specific and measurable goals and make good use of people’s time.
A question was asked if younger people are moving up here and able to afford to buy property in the valley. Eli responded that yes, younger people, including some in their 30s, are moving in, mostly from bigger cities. This trend started during Covid, when people wanted change and to get out of cities. Now that 100% remote work is a reality, they can move where they want to live and raise their families. However, getting younger folks involved is another issue. Groups like TVLA are foreign to younger generations. They don’t understand the purpose or why they would want to belong. That is why it is so important to be very clear about what TVLA is doing, what its vision and mission are, and the purpose for why it exists.
A suggestion was made to put children and other interested family members and friends on the TVLA mailing list as Affiliate Members so they know what’s going on and can get involved. Many residents are starting to do this.
A comment was made that the term “inappropriate commercialization” in the proposed Mission Statement may be a turn-off to some organizations. This may be something the working group can address.
Scott Shaw, General Manager, Wind River Ranch, mentioned that there are young people, including Directors, at all of the camps. Scott offered to reach out to camp directors to try to get them involved in TVLA.
Volunteers for the working group to address the Vision/Mission of TVLA included: Sue Yowell, Tom Ryan, and Willy Noll. Others who may be interested are invited to contact Roger Sherman. He can be reached via the TVLA’s email tvla@tahosavalleylandowners.org
Elections to the Board
Roger introduced the Board members who were in attendance:
Roger Sherman, President
Phil Stern, Vice President
Phil Gaughan, Vice President
Jonathan Dings, Treasurer
Joanne Brownhill, Secretary
Eli Reese
Roger asked for additional Board members; however, none were proposed. Roger indicated he would serve as President for one more year. Roger asked for a motion to retain the present Board. A motion was made, and the present Board was approved.
Comments for the Good of the Order
Many valuable comments were made during the open discussion. Roger thanked everyone who participated and shared ideas.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 11:21 AM.