One of Colorado’s most famous natural treasures is officially bigger.

Rocky Mountain National Park recently celebrated the addition of 40 acres to its eastern boundaries during a ribbon cutting alongside the man who donated the land. Vance Brand transferred the land in 2019 to the park’s nonprofit partner, Rocky Mountain Conservancy, which held the parcel until Congress authorized the expansion last year.

The Estes Park Trail-Gazette described the acreage as a mosaic of “meadows, aspen groves, mixed pine forest and steep grades” beneath the recognizable promontory of Estes Cone. Off Colorado 7, a park news release called it “a scenic, natural buffer between private lands and three popular trails: Estes Cone, Storm Pass and Eugenia Mine.”

Bringing the preserve to 265,847 acres, the expansion “will enable the park to provide additional protection for the park’s high-elevation ecosystem,” according to the news release.

A Longmont native, Brand bought the property in 1967 amid his esteemed career as a NASA astronaut.

Formerly a Marine fighter pilot, Brand was the command module pilot for the first U.S.-Soviet joint space flight in 1975 and commanded three Space Shuttle missions, including Challenger in 1982.

In the release, Brand credited Rocky Mountain National Park for some of his fondest childhood memories.

“Over time my family has developed an appreciation of the natural beauty of the land and have encouraged keeping it as it is,” he said. “In short, my family and I sincerely hope that this donation to the national park will keep the land in its natural state for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations of Americans.”