The Promised Land — Access Fund
The fight to save Oak Flat has spanned nearly three decades. Is the back and forth coming to an end?
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
A
Access Fund
@Access Fund
Posts
-
The Promised Land
-
BREAKING: Black Diamond is matching all donations to secure climbing's future!Access Fund was founded in 1991 to protect America’s climbing. We’ve made so much progress on that front—from passing bills in Congress to buying threatened climbing areas to building sustainable trails—but our work is not done. In fact, it’s just as important as ever.
BREAKING: Black Diamond is matching all donations to secure climbing's future! — Access Fund
Access Fund was founded in 1991 to protect America’s climbing. We’ve made so much progress on that front—from passing bills in Congress to buying threatened climbing areas to building sustainable trails—but our work is not done. In fact, it’s just as important as ever.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Howard Knob Title PlaceholderIn 2025, Access Fund helped local climbing advocates double the accessible terrain in the Red River Gorge. It’s just one in a recent spate of wins—and this is just the beginning.
Tip of the Spear — Access Fund
Tip of The Spear How Howard Knob kickstarted the climbing conservation movement. By Andrew Kornylak On November 5, Access Fund Executive Director Heather Thorne stood on a summit in Western North Carolina with a group of staff and board members from the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC). The
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Southeast RevivalIn 2025, Access Fund helped local climbing advocates double the accessible terrain in the Red River Gorge. It’s just one in a recent spate of wins—and this is just the beginning.
Southeast Revival — Access Fund
In 2025, Access Fund helped local climbing advocates double the accessible terrain in the Red River Gorge. It’s just one in a recent spate of wins—and this is just the beginning.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Advocate Spotlight: Mia Axon
Advocate Spotlight: Mia Axon — Access Fund
Mia Axon’s journey is anything but ordinary: varsity gymnast, professional harpist, two-time national climbing champion, World Cup finalist, and one of the first women in the world to climb 5.14a. Alongside her accomplishments on rock, she built a successful career in fundraising, served on Access F
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Access Fund Awards 2025 Anchor Replacement GrantsAccess Fund, in partnership with the American Alpine Club, is pleased to award $10,000 in Anchor Replacement Fund grants to six local climbing organizations.
Access Fund Awards 2025 Anchor Replacement Grants — Access Fund
Access Fund, in partnership with the American Alpine Club, is pleased to award $10,000 in Anchor Replacement Fund grants to six local climbing organizations.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Carolina Climbers Coalition and Access Fund Purchase Lower Ghost Town
Carolina Climbers Coalition and Access Fund Purchase Lower Ghost Town — Access Fund
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. - The Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) and Access Fund are thrilled to announce the purchase of Lower Ghost Town in Chimney Rock, NC. This acquisition represents the culmination of a 25-year effort by CCC and Access Fund to provide access to one of the highest quality, yet leas
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Staff Spotlight: Heather Thorne, Executive Director
Staff Spotlight: Heather Thorne, Executive Director — Access Fund
At Access Fund, our team members come from all walks of life—engineers, environmentalists, and lifelong adventurers who have turned their passions into purpose. Executive Director Heather Thorne embodies that path. Before leading Access Fund, Heather worked on the U.S.–Russian space program, earned
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Access Fund Announces Twelve Fall 2025 Climbing Conservation GranteesAccess Fund is pleased to announce nearly $32,000 in new climbing conservation grants to climbing advocates around the country. Our twelve awardees will advance new projects in a parking lot build, road repair, a climbing advocacy summit, human waste solutions, and several large-scale stewardship ...
Access Fund Announces Twelve Fall 2025 Climbing Conservation Grantees — Access Fund
Access Fund is pleased to announce nearly $32,000 in new climbing conservation grants to climbing advocates around the country. Our twelve awardees will advance new projects in a parking lot build, road repair, a climbing advocacy summit, human waste solutions, and several large-scale stewardship projects.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Meet Your Fall 2025 Climber StewardsWe’re thrilled to launch our fifth year of the Climber Stewards program, with teams in Indian Creek, Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, and our NEW Red Rock program.
Meet Your Fall 2025 Climber Stewards — Access Fund
We’re thrilled to launch our fifth year of the Climber Stewards program, with teams in Indian Creek, Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, and our NEW Red Rock program.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Court Blocks Oak Flat Land Transfer: A Lifeline for Sacred Lands and Climbing -
Appeal Launched After Federal Judge Greenlights Oak Flat Land Exchange
Appeal Launched After Federal Judge Greenlights Oak Flat Land Exchange — Access Fund
For Immediate Release, August 15, 2025 Appeal Launched After Federal Judge Greenlights Oak Flat Land Exchange in Arizona PHOENIX— Conservation groups appealed a federal judge’s ruling today denying their request to pause the Oak Flat land exchange in Arizona. Without an injunction from the 9
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Staff Spotlight: Katie Goodwin, Western Regional Director & Policy Analyst
Staff Spotlight: Katie Goodwin, Western Regional Director & Policy Analyst — Access Fund
At Access Fund, our team is filled with passionate people who wear a lot of hats—scientist, climber, advocate, policy buff. Katie Goodwin is all of those and more. As Western Regional Director and Policy Analyst, she works at the intersection of science and advocacy, translating complex environmenta
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Countdown to Save Oak Flat: August 19th Land Transfer Looms
Countdown to Save Oak Flat: August 19th Land Transfer Looms — Access Fund
Access Fund is headed back to court on August 6, joining Tribal and conservation partners in a critical legal push to stop the transfer of Oak Flat—a sacred Apache site and world-class climbing area on US Forest Service land—to foreign-owned mining giant Resolution Copper. If unsuccessful, the U.S.
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Access Agreement Secured for Little Brushy Climbing Area in Tennessee
Access Agreement Secured for Little Brushy Climbing Area in Tennessee — Access Fund
CHATTANOOGA, TN, July 14, 2025 - Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC), the local climbing coalition, and Access Fund , the national advocacy organization for sustainable access and conservation of climbing landscapes, are thrilled to announce that a long-term agreement has been signed with
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
The Legal Anchor
The Legal Anchor — Access Fund
By Holly Yu Tung Chen Jailhouse Rock sits above the rumbling Stanislaus River in the Sierra Nevada foothills. An intimidating, almost-200-foot overhanging cliff of blocky shapes towers over the belay. The crag is a refuge for Bay Area climbers seeking cooler temperatures, hard routes, and an escap
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Access Fund Expands Climber Steward Program to Red Rock
Access Fund Expands Climber Steward Program to Red Rock — Access Fund
BOULDER, Colo. June 13, 2025 – Access Fund , the national advocacy organization for sustainable access and conservation of climbing landscapes, is expanding its Climber Steward Program to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Red Rock), just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Starting this Octo
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
JUST IN: Judge Blocks Oak Flat Land Exchange While Lawsuit Proceeds
JUST IN: Judge Blocks Oak Flat Land Exchange While Lawsuit Proceeds — Access Fund
For Immediate Release, June 9, 2025 Judge Blocks Oak Flat Land Exchange While Lawsuit Proceeds PHOENIX— A federal judge in Arizona temporarily halted the Oak Flat land exchange today while two lawsuits challenging the exchange proceed. Without today’s injunction, the public lands about 40 mil
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Alex Honnold: Help Access Fund Protect Public Lands
Alex Honnold: Help Access Fund Protect Public Lands — Access Fund
I live in Las Vegas, so Red Rock has been a huge part of my life for years. It’s wild to see how much it’s grown in popularity—more climbers, more traffic, more pressure on the land. Honestly, it’s amazing to see so many people discovering climbing. But with that growth creates some challenges for p
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)
-
Federal Judge to Consider Requests to Slow Down the Oak Flat Land Giveaway
Federal Judge to Consider Requests to Slow Down the Oak Flat Land Giveaway — Access Fund
A Phoenix, Arizona federal judge will hear arguments Friday, June 6th, on two motions for a preliminary injunction that each seek to stop the Oak Flat land exchange pending further consideration of the lawsuits’ merits. One lawsuit was filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, and the other by a coaliti
Access Fund (www.accessfund.org)