The Chinese proverb “bù yí yú lì” conveys the idea of doing all one can and sparing no effort in an endeavor.
The saying rang true this May when CSU’s Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (HDNR) and Center for Protected Area Management welcomed Chinese partners from Hubei Province for a learning exchange centered on conservation and tourism in the U.S. West.
The study tour included visits to Rocky Mountain and Badlands National Parks and several national monuments, national forests, national historic sites and state and county parks. It also included visits to the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Mount Rushmore and gateway communities such as Estes Park, Colorado and Custer, South Dakota.
Many of the visitors came from Central China Normal University (CCNU), an important international partner for HDNR. The relationship between HDNR and CCNU began in 2013 with the launch of a Master of Tourism Management program and was strengthened in 2022 with the addition of another graduate program, the Master of Park and Protected Area Management.
The mission of this trip, supported through funding from the U.S. Department of State / Embassy in Beijing, was to build on existing cooperation and offer insights for Chinese academics, tourism professionals and community leaders and students regarding U.S. protected area and nature-based tourism management and governance through site visits and discussions with government agencies and private sector partners.
The group of 14 Chinese visitors and four CSU representatives traveled nearly 1,800 miles in 13 days across Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming, meeting with park officials and conservation and tourism professionals at each stop, including officials from the U.S. National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, Larimer County, the State of South Dakota, and NGO and concessionaire partners.
“We were intentional in our communication that we were not trying to tell them to copy the U.S. protected area model exactly, as each sovereign nation has to make its own decisions about how to develop its park and reserve systems,” said CPAM Associate and former Co-Director, Jim Barborak, who helped lead the trip. “Instead, we conveyed that the long history of park and protected area management in the U.S. is a rich source of internationally accepted good practices in fields such as interpretation, managing visitation, and funding and staffing parks. At the same time, we shared what are now accepted as errors in the development of the U.S. park system, to help speed their learning curve and avoid unnecessary and costly mistakes.”
Those who joined Barborak in designing the program and leading the study tour included HDNR faculty David Knight, Tian Guo and Lina Xiong, along with CPAM work-study student Thomas Lawrence, who is in the Master of Conservation Leadership program.
Guo, originally from Taiyuan city in China’s Shanxi Province, had the additional task of being the translator but had assistance from Gong Jian, the China delegation leader who serves as the Executive Dean of the Wuhan Branch of the China Tourism Academy and as Associate Professor at CCNU.
"I was excited to bring community leaders, business professionals, academics and students from Hubei and from our collaborative MTM and MPPM graduate programs on the U.S. national parks tour,” said Jian. “This trip not only deepens the collaboration between CCNU and CSU for our two master's programs, but also explores the feasibility of extending our partnership.”
For the past several years, the partnership has led some CCNU students to become visiting scholars at CSU, residing in Fort Collins for a year or two before returning to China, and taking much of what they learned with them. Qianhong Quan is nearing the end of her time on CSU’s main campus and found this trip to be “the most valuable experience” of her Ph.D. program.
“Interviews with national park staff provided a clear understanding of the management mechanisms behind these parks,” said Quan. “The U.S. national parks always prioritize conservation, emphasizing authenticity and public welfare, which left a deep impression on me. In the future, I am committed to conducting comparative studies between Chinese and U.S. national parks, intending to apply the successful practices of U.S. park management to the development of China's nature reserves.”
The 1,800-mile, 13-day journey
Day 1: Orientation at CSU and Welcome Reception (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Theme: Study tour overview and review of schedule and logistics; introductory lectures on US protected area system, tourism, and protected areas.
Featured Guests: Erin Wish (International Scholar Services Manager, CSU Office of International Programs), Alonso Aguirre (Dean, CSU Warner College of Natural Resources), Michael Manfredo (Department Head, CSU Human Dimensions of Natural Resources), Kathleen Fairfax (Vice Provost, CSU International Affairs). Also MTM board members and affiliated CSU faculty and staff at Welcome Reception.
Day 2: Arapahoe Basin (Dillon, Colo.)
Theme: Ski resort operations on National Forest lands, private-public partnerships, how to make tourism destinations and specific concessions operations more year-round, special events on public lands, the nature of concessions contracts, and responsibilities.
Featured Guests: Matthew Loscalzo (Mountain Resorts Team Leader, U.S. Forest Service), Shelby Pierce (Recreation Event Coordinator, USFS)
Day 3: Fort Collins Natural Areas (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Theme: Management of a decentralized PA system by local government; planning for protected area infrastructure; water-based outdoor recreation; conservation finance, governance, and staffing good practice; special events management.
Featured Guests: Meegan Flenniken (Resource Program Manager, Larimer County Natural Resources Agency), Jon Plybon (Capital Projects Manager, LCNR)
Day 4: Devil’s Backbone Open Space (Loveland, Colo.) & YMCA of Rockies (Estes Park, Colo.)
Theme: Global trends of tourism and protected area management; public use planning and zoning.
Day 5-6: Rocky Mountain National Park, the Continental Divide Research Learning Center, Conservancy of the Rockies (Estes Park, Colo.)
Theme: Management and governance of large, highly visited national parks; staffing, budgets and sources of funding; campground management; universal access; resource monitoring and management; cooperation with universities, adaptive management. Partnerships with NGOs.
Featured Guests: Gary Ingram (Super Intendant, RMNP, Kyle Patterson (Public Affairs Officier, RMNP), Paige Lambert (Acting Director, the Continental Divide Research Learning Center), Shannon Jones (General Manager, YMCA of the Rockies Convention Center), Estee Rivera (Executive Director, Conservancy of the Rockies)
Day 7: Fort Laramie National Historic Site (Fort Laramie, Wyoming), Travel to South Dakota
Theme: Historical site management; junior ranger/environmental education programs; dark history.
Featured Guests: Casey Osback (Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services, Laramie National Historic Site)
Day 8: Mount Rushmore, Black Hills National Forest (South Dakota)
Theme: Management of historical sites linked to national pride; concessions and public-private partnerships; multiple-use management; forest and fire management; managing dispersed recreation (hiking, picnicking, bicycling; off-road vehicles); relationships with local communities and tribes.
Featured Guests: Lynn Moller (Fire and Safety Supervisor, Xanterra Corporation), Benjamin Schumacher (Acting District Ranger, Black Hills National Forest Staff), Chaileen Horton (Recreation and Lands Staff Officer, BHNFS)
Day 9: Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Theme: Wildlife and fisheries management; environmental education; management of visitor centers; overall management of a primarily day-use park
Featured Guests: Milton Haar (Chief of Resource Management, Badlands National Park)
Day 10: Jewel Cave National Monument and The Mammoth Site (South Dakota)
Theme: Management of fragile karst sites; wildlife touring; cultural events
Day 11: Devils Tower (Wyoming), Travel back to Fort Collins
Theme: Management of geologic monuments; climbing management; spiritual sites; dealing with peak visitation, parking limitations and seasonality
Day 12-13: Fort Collins, Travel back to China
Theme: Reflection, Evaluation, Action Planning
