Baker, Dvorak Commemorate Browns Canyon National Monument Designation with Presidential Visit

Last December, Friends of Browns Canyon met with White House officials to lobby for national monument status. Last week, the group visited the White House itself – this time in celebration.

Executive director Keith Baker and board president Bill Dvorak met president Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Feb. 24 to recognize the recent designation of Brown Canyon National Monument.

"It's not often that you get to meet the president of the United States," Baker said. "It's a pretty rare thing, so I was excited."

Baker and Dvorak got the invitation on Feb. 22, just days after Obama declared the national monument using the Antiquities Act.

The invitation had special resonance for Dvorak, who has worked to protect Browns Canyon for 23 years.

"It's really cool to be part of the official part of that," Dvorak said. "There's a lot of satisfaction there to finally get it done."

Two days after getting the invitation, Baker and Dvorak found themselves waiting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with two representatives from the Honouliuli National Monument, which was declared the same day as Browns Canyon National Monument. There were also several politicians and top-level officials in attendance, including interior secretary Sally Jewell; agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack; Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell; U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett; and U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis.

The group was then shuffled over to the White House, where they counted down the final minutes to the briefing with Obama.

At 3:30 p.m. sharp, the doors to the Oval Office opened and the crowd was ushered in to meet the president himself.

"It was all over too quick," Baker said.

As for what it was like to meet Obama in person, Baker described him as "very personable, straight-shooting guy."

On a side note, Baker reported no taxpayer dollars were spent to send Friends of Browns Canyon to the Oval Office. The trip was financed through a grant from the Wilderness Conservation Foundation, he said.