The correspondence -- let the record speak for itself

Although, this begins very much as a "he said, she said" case, by the final email (as of 8/5/2007) I hope that everyone can see that the camp host's own story makes no sense and the facts that the park manager provides point to a cover-up and a lie.

My mom apparently lost the first email that she sent to the manager of the Rifle State Parks Complex (she wrote it using a webmail interface at my sister's home in Manitou). This is her recollection of what she had related to the manager of the Rifle State Parks Complex on June 15, 2007:

what I said was, We went there ready to self check in, the campground host came ask us to go to another state Park, said all site was reserved. ### [my aunt] told him we called early, were told there are site on first come first serve basis. We were disappointed. He asked us how long we are staying, we told him 1 day. then he went to check and told us to go to site 13. We were happy that we did not have to move. The next morning I took a walk found that the site, next to his camp site, we were trying to sign up was empty and and not reserved and a lot other sites were not reserved. That was when I know we were discriminated against. I said that was the first time I was discriminated against since I came to the US 1961. ### [my aunt] also wrote down all the sited reservation days posted on every site.

On July 5, 2007, nearly three weeks later, the manager of the Rifle State Park Complex responded with the following:

Dear Ms. ###,

I apologize for my delayed response to your email regarding your stay with us here at Rifle Falls State Park. I assure you that I take these matters very seriously, and I have fully looked into your complaint. I have spoken with our volunteer camp host in reference to what occurred during your stay. After this conversation, I am absolutely convinced that he had no intent to discriminate against you in any way. He stated that he made the decision to put you into site #13 based on a desire that you had mentioned about wanting to be close to the falls and close to the bathrooms. He simply felt that site #13 would best fulfill that need, considering what other sites were filled or had reservations coming in. Site # 13 is the closest site we have to both the falls and the bathrooms. In my discussion with our camp host, I received no indication that he was attempting to do anything other than to coordinate the arrivals and departures within the campground while attempting to accommodate your needs.

By way of further explanation, I would like to also indicate that it can be very difficult to coordinate campsite availability based on any current reservations, upcoming reservations, and sites that are occupied by persons without reservations. Since campers without reservations can use the self-service system for one night at a time, it can also be difficult to determine if campers are staying another night or leaving that day. Additionally, the camp hosts and/or our maintenance crew attempt to clean each site prior to the arrival of a new camper.

Please accept my apology that your stay with us was diminished for the reasons that you have stated. Please also be assured that, as the park manager, I will not, nor would not tolerate discrimination of any kind by my staff or volunteers. Colorado’s state parks are open to everyone to use and enjoy, and I hope that you will come to visit us again.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions or concerns regarding this or any other matter. Phone ###-###-####. Thank you.

###

Park Manager
Rifle State Park Complex

An apology but no acknowledgment of any wrongdoing whatsoever. It took a while for my mom to ask me to help her draft a response but on July 30, 2007, my mom sent the park manager the following response (and she copied the Colorado State Parks Foundation and the Colorado State Parks Board):

Dear Mr. ###,

I disagree with the camp host's characterization of the situation. His fabrications are in stark contrast to the facts. We had already chosen a site and certainly did not seek his assistance in locating an alternative site. We can find the falls on our own and the bathrooms are clearly marked. The site we had chosen was not marked as reserved and a caucasian guest that arrived after us was allowed to choose a site unhindered, despite the host's claim that all sites had been reserved.

I understand that some aspects of park management can be quite complicated; perhaps the reservation system at Rifle Falls is more complicated than at other State and National Parks. I do a lot of camping and at other parks the reservation system is quite simple. Reserved sites are marked to indicate the dates for which the sites are reserved and campers without a reservation can stay up to 14 days, provided the site is free for the desired period http://parks.state.co.us/Reservations/CampingRules/).

I have copied the Foundation as well as the current sitting members of the Board because I believe, contrary to your claims, you have not taken this matter seriously at all. You appear to have completely dismissed our statement that upon arrival, the camp host approached us and told us to go to another State Park, stating that all camp sites were already reserved -- his claim was a falsehood. Moreover, your statement that campers without a reservation can only stay at a site on a day-to-day basis is clearly at odds with a "self-check-in" policy where campers tour the campground, pick a site and check themselves in for their desired stay, provided that the site is unreserved over this period.

I hope you will now take this situation more seriously -- discrimination and racism are serious matters and have no place in the State of Colorado's *public* parks. I hope there will be no need to take this matter any further.

Sincerely,
### ###

Apparently, copying the Colorado State Parks Board gets some quicker action. The manager of the Rifle State Park Complex responded the following day, July 31, 2007. Still full of obfuscations and no acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Also notice near the end of his email that he put public in quotation marks. Is this some subtle hint that maybe Colorado's public parks aren't public after all?

Dear Ms. ###,

I received your email dated July 30, 2007. Based on this email, I have discussed this matter a second time with the Camp Host at Rifle Falls State Park on June 31, 2007, and once again reviewed the reservation reports from June 12th, 2007. I have transcribed the following information from the Reserve America campground reservation report for the time period on and around the date of your visit. This report details only those campsites that were reserved in advance, and does not include visitors who may have arrived without reservations.

Site #1 – Camp Host
Site #2 – Handicapped Accessible Site open until 6/15
Site #3 – Reserved 6/11 – 6/13
Site #4 – Reserved 6/10 – 6/12 and 6/12 – 6/14
Site # 5 – Reserved 6/10 – 6/12
Site #6 - Reserved 6/11 – 6/15
Site #7 – Reserved 6/10 – 6/13
Site #8 – Reserved 6/12 – 6/13
Site #9 – Reserved 6/10 – 6/13
Site #10 – Hold Site (administrative hold site-not available to reserve. Held vacant to accommodate Reservation errors, extenuating circumstances. Only released by full-time staff after all other reservations have arrived and it is not likely to be needed as a reserve)
Site #11 – Reserved 6/12 – 6/15
Site #12 – Reserved 6/11 – 6/13
Site #13 – Reserved 6/11 – 6/13

From this report, it appeared to me that the only sites that were not reserved on June 12th, were the Handicapped Accessible site, the Hold site, and possibly site #5. I have no way of determining what the status of site #5 was in terms of occupancy by a visitor without a reservation, whether the reservation decided to stay an additional night beyond their reservation, or whether the site was unoccupied. The camp host could not recall the status of Site #5 on the night of the 12th.

This report from that date also shows that site #13 had also been reserved for the night of June 12th. The person holding this reservation must have departed early, making this site available for you to use.

With the possible exception of site #5, the Accessible site and the Hold site, the campground was full with reservations. Without knowing the status of site #5, I did not find it unreasonable for the camp host to at first, indicate that the campground was full (even if he was incorrect about the availability of site #5, and the recognition that site #13 had departed early).

In my discussions with the camp host (both the first and second time), his recollection of the conversation with you was that it was important for you to be near the restrooms and/or possibly the falls. Whether this was directly stated by you or whether it was just something he picked up on, I do not know. I do know that he directed you to site #13, based on this impression. From your email, it appears that another camper came in at a later time and occupied another site. This may be site #5, I simply do not know.

The camp hosts, both at Rifle Gap and at Rifle Falls, are volunteers who are required to provide the park with 20 hours of “work” per week in exchange for the waiving of fees for their camp site. They have been asked to assist with cleaning camp sites, directing traffic, selling firewood, and above all to provide our visitors with information and to provide assistance to those visitors. It is common for the hosts to greet visitors, assist them with locating available camp sites, and ensure that the persons occupying a reserved site are the correct parties. The hosts are not required to greet all campers, or even to be at the campground beyond their 20 hours per week. This may provide some explanation as to why the guest that arrived after you was allowed to choose a site unhindered. Our hosts simply cannot contact every visitor that comes to the park.

In my previous email, I stated that “since campers without reservations can use the self-service system for one night at a time, it can also be difficult to determine if campers are staying another night or leaving that day”. This statement is completely accurate. Campers coming into the park without reservations, and during times when the main entrance is not staffed, are required to use the self-service station to acquire the necessary camping permit for any available camp site. The self-service pass is designed for one night of camping only. The permit states on the very top “Self-service one-night camping permit. Good for one (1) night only”. This is done to avoid conflicts with persons making reservations. The reservation system allows reservations to be made with as little as 3 days notice. If a person was permitted to fill out a self service permit for multiple days (beyond 3), it would be possible for another person to reserve the same campsite for the very same days. You are correct that a visitor may occupy a non-reserved camp site for up to 14 days in a 45 day period. This, however, can only be done by our staff in increments of no more than three days to ensure that there are not conflicts with persons making reservations through the central reservations system. Because the self-service camping permit is valid for only one night, we may not know how many days they may actually wish to stay unless we have made contact with them. This is the aspect that makes it difficult when determining which sites are available.

During my conversation with the camp host again this morning, I detected absolutely no sense that discrimination or racism played a role in what occurred on June 12th. The host had very few options on where to put you, and I believe he made the decision to put you in site #13 based solely on trying to accommodate what he felt best suited your needs. I have received no other complaints or comments from staff or visitors of this nature since he has been with us this summer.

To ensure that he is completely clear on this matter, I have counseled him on the appropriate and fair treatment of all people who come to our parks. I have also indicated that if he is going to make statements about the whether the park is full or not, he needs to be absolutely sure about the facts. I have also asked him to allow visitors to choose their own campsite based on what sites are available, and not to try to guess what might be best for them. I will also be very alert to any further indications or complaints of a similar nature.

In closing, I am in absolute agreement with your statement that “discrimination and racism are serious matters and have no place in the State of Colorado’s “public” parks”. I have worked for 20 years serving the public in Colorado State Parks, and have worked hard to make the parks an enjoyable experience for everyone. I know that is difficult to make an assessment of my sincerity through these emails, but I hope that it will show through. I have always recognized the seriousness of this matter, and I have made every effort to understand, and correct this situation. I will once again reiterate that discrimination will not be tolerated by my staff or volunteers. I do appreciate that you have contacted me about this situation because it helps me to better understand the issues that occur within the park.

I hope that I have addressed your concerns, and I would encourage you to contact me directly if you have any further questions or comments. Phone ###-###-####.

I will be out of the office until August 11th.

Sincerely,

### ###
Park Manager
Rifle State Park Complex

Well, we're not going to take this nonsense lying down. I decided to create a webpage to document and publicize my mom's experience. I also decided to respond the Mr. ### personally and on August 5, 2007, I sent him the following (again copying the Foundation and the Board):

Dear Mr. ###,

I am ### ###'s son, ###, and I am quite distressed that my mother has been discriminated against in a public State Park, and further, that no one of authority is willing to take responsibility. She has lived in the United States for more than 45 years and never experienced discrimination prior to this incident. This says something quite remarkable about our wonderful country but also something alarming about Rifle Falls State Park. The fact that you are covering for the camp host's racist behavior makes you complicit in his racism.

The following are the facts of the matter:
1. After my mother and my aunt had chosen a camp site (#5), the camp host approached them and declared that all of the camp sites had been reserved and that they should go to another State Park. This was corroborated when you stated that it was not "unreasonable for the camp host to at first, indicate that the campground was full."
2. After going back to his own site to "check his books" he returned and directed them to site #13. During his later discussion with you, he claimed that, after reading my mother and my aunt's minds, he directed them to #13 in an effort be helpful, even though a) they had already toured the entire campground and chosen site #5, and b) being experienced campers, they sought no help.
3. Reservations for camp sites are made at least three days in advance.

First and foremost, the camp host's story is completely implausible. If site #13 was the only one available, why would the camp host suggest that he chose #13 to satisfy their unspoken wishes? He would simply have directed them to #13 regardless of their desires. If it was not the only site, and #5 was also available (which you have argued is the only other possible opening), why not let them stay at site #5 which they had already chosen? Perhaps this is just some mysterious coincidence but site #5 is next to the host's site (and incidentally also close to a bathroom) and site #13 is as far from the host's site as is physically possible (map attached). The question you must ask yourself is: "Why did the host tell me such a bizarre story?" I can think of only one answer.

Moreover, my mother went for a walk the following morning and discovered that there were many sites still unoccupied, including site #5. In her first email, she provided you with a list of those that were labeled as reserved and the dates for which they were reserved; her list of reserved sites is not the same as yours. Surely not all of these people on your list with reservations decided not to show up. With so many free sites and the apparent conflict between your list and my mother's, perhaps your data is faulty or out-of-date.

Finally, since all reservations for that day are known three days in advance, and all of the sites were, according to your records, reserved, why were these reserved camp sites not all labeled as such? How is a "self-check-in" policy supposed to function if sites are not properly labeled? Especially since, as you point out, camp hosts are only expected to be on call for 20 hours a week. In my experience, labeling camp sites with dates of reservation is standard practice. Someone at Rifle Falls State Park is not doing their job. As the manager of Rifle State Parks Complex, this is ultimately your responsibility and the only reasonable conclusion is that you are not doing your job. Or perhaps the camp host is lying.

There is obviously a problem at Rifle Falls State Park -- the evidence for this is clear and overwhelming. As my mother stated and you are apparently "in absolute agreement," there is no place for discrimination or racism in Colorado's public parks. Your camp host is racist and needs to be relieved of duty. In addition, my mother needs to receive an unequivocal apology. No excuses, no cover-ups. Just an apology for the poor and discriminatory treatment she and her sister suffered at your facility and at the hands of your staff.

I suggest that in future, you do a better job of screening your staff members, volunteer and otherwise.

Sincerely yours,
### ###
http://boycottriflefalls.blogspot.com/