11/27/2018
Categories: Perspectives , Community
The climbing community has stepped up in the fight for America’s public lands, home to nearly 60% of our climbing areas. You have written letters to lawmakers, given generous donations, signed petitions, attended rallies, and made a lot of noise in support of the lands you love. We are so very grateful for every one of those actions. With a new incoming Congress and a shifting Administration, the threats to public lands are evolving almost daily, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect these spectacular places.
But...in the heat of this very high-profile public lands battle, another insidious threat to climbing has been going mostly unnoticed. Yet it grows larger and more overwhelming every day: Our climbing areas are falling apart. I expect you’ve heard us making noise on this topic over the last few months, and perhaps you’ve read the articles: America’s Deteriorating Climbing Areas, 10 Climbing Areas in Crisis, Climbing Areas Loved to Death.
Make no mistake, this climbing stewardship crisis is real. And it’s big. If you love public lands, here’s why you need to care:
The fight in DC is all for naught if we don’t care for and protect the integrity of our climbing environments. And this is a fight that impacts more than just public lands—it impacts every single climbing area in the country, including those located on private lands. Access Fund and local climbing organizations all across the country are working to restore our climbing areas. But we need more resources.
Most climbing areas in this country were developed quietly, by an adventurous few, in a time when the sport was relatively obscure. They were never designed by experts as actual recreation sites, with infrastructure to protect the environment. This wasn’t a problem when the cliffs and boulders saw few visitors, but our climbing population has increased dramatically, and our climbing areas are buckling under the weight. Access Fund and local climbing organizations across the country need additional resources to prepare our climbing areas for the increased traffic of our growing climbing population. We are currently raising funds to help address these issues, with the following objectives.
Blog by Erik Murdock, Access Fund Policy Director. Erik leads the Access Fund's policy and advocacy program, working with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and with land managers around the country to protect climbing on our public lands.