It has been a momentous week for climbing policy, and we want to thank all of you who shared your voices with your legislators on these matters. The EXPLORE Act, which the AAC and its partners have been working on in some form or another for nearly 10 years, passed with unanimous consent, and is awaiting a presidential signature as we speak. Secondly, the National Park Service announced late Wednesday afternoon (December 18th) that they were discontinuing the development of their proposed fixed anchor guidance.
What does this mean for climbers?
The EXPLORE Act:
The EXPLORE Act, introduced by Rep Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), is a historic recreation package that has had widespread bipartisan support and support from outdoor recreationists of all stripes—including climbers, mountain bikers, hunters, anglers, and more.
The most important elements of the EXPLORE Act for climbers are two-fold.
First, EXPLORE includes the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, introduced by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Rep John Curtis (R-UT). The PARC Act is intended to ensure safe and sustainable access to rock climbing in designated Wilderness areas. It requires federal agencies to recognize recreational climbing as an appropriate activity in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964, as well as recognizing that the placement, use, and maintenance of fixed anchors is appropriate. The act also ensures that a public comment period is made available prior to any final climbing management guidance being issued. Essentially, the PARC Act officially recognizes that the use of fixed anchors for climbing (and Search and Rescue operations) continues to be appropriate in Wilderness areas, provided it does not diminish the wilderness character of the area.
Second, EXPLORE includes the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act (SOAR Act), which will increase accessibility to the outdoors by improving recreational permitting for outfitters and guides. How? By:
Additional elements of the EXPLORE Act include improving access to parks and public lands for veterans and people with disabilities by building additional accessible trails; the BOLT Act, which will create more long-distance biking trails; and the codification of FICOR and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, which funds local parks and green spaces, and provides direct access to funding for tribes for developing green spaces.
AAC Executive Director Ben Gabriel synthesized this win, saying: “It has been such a privilege to work with all the outdoor recreation organizations, and legislators from both chambers and parties, to see the EXPLORE Act through. This historic recreation package will broadly serve the public, protect recreation resources, and provide for our gateway communities.”
As you might imagine, the AAC is thrilled with what this all means for public lands and accessibility to climbing across the United States! This win would not be possible without the combined efforts of our incredible partners, especially Outdoor Alliance, Access Fund, AMGA, and The Mountaineers.
Fixed Anchor Policy:
The National Park Service announced on December 18th that they were discontinuing the development of their proposed fixed anchor guidance. The update said that, "Park leaders will continue to manage climbing activities in Wilderness on a park-by-park basis consistent with applicable law and policy, including the Wilderness Act." This announcement comes nearly a year after Park officials sought public comment on proposed regulations which suggested a new interpretation of installations as defined in the Wilderness Act. This new interpretation, which could have prohibited fixed anchors in Wilderness, was met with significant concern from climbers, climbing organizations, and other recreation enthusiasts, as well as search and rescue professionals, throughout the country.
The AAC thanks the NPS for sensing the need to reevaluate the proposed regulations and looks forward to collaborating with them in the future on fixed anchor guidance.
The AAC, Access Fund, Mountaineers, and many other organizations, worked tirelessly to educate lawmakers on the potential impacts of prohibiting fixed anchors, which resulted in 14 Senators reaching out to the Secretaries of the Department of I...
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