To whom this may concern:
I am an employee at Rocky Mountain National Park as well as a climber. I recently attended a NPS staff meeting on the topic of what to do about the rising popularity of bouldering in Chaos Canyon. Many aspects were discussed such as, the abundance of chalk (spills, tickmarks, and just plain use of chalk), new social trails between boulders, trampling of vegetation, and the leaving of trash and refuse. Many park officials are considering closing the area if too much of this persists. The alpine/subalpine settings and fragile ecosystems are drastically being disturbed and it takes a long time for anything to restore itself. I am posting this message so people will understand that bouldering in Chaos Canyon is becoming an environmental issue and may force the NPS to take management actions. Please respect these wild places, since they are the last great treasures we have to pass on to future generations.
Thanks
S

So what can be done then? Besides the obvious of packing out trash and brushing ticks marks?

Things that can be done are few, though trying to limit the creation of new social trails and picking up after yourself and others may also help. Please keep in mind that this topic was just being discussed as a possible problem. I'm trying to get the word out that if Chaos sees a lot of environmental degradation the NPS will have to implement new regulations, though this is in distant future.