Protect

American Alpine Club and Winter Wildlands Alliance Celebrate Restoration of Key Components to NEPA

Photo by @ofallnationsmedia


The American Alpine Club (AAC) and Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) are pleased to announce that the Biden Administration took an important step towards restoring critical parts of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law.

Over the past two years, our #ProtectNEPA campaign has fought to protect wild winter landscapes and climbing areas across the country. Together, we sued the Trump administration for gutting NEPA in 2020 and then petitioned the Biden administration in 2021 to take action to repair the law by restoring critical regulatory requirements that were removed in 2020.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality heard our requests, and began a two phase process to reverse the damaging 2020 changes to the regulations that implement NEPA. This week, the CEQ published a final “Phase 1” rule effectively overturning three parts of the 2020 Rule, restoring key pieces of NEPA and requiring that federal agencies:

  • Consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of a proposed project, including an analysis of how greenhouse gas emissions from an action may impact climate change;

  • No longer prioritize the goals of an applicant over the public interest when developing the Purpose and Need or alternatives of a proposed action;

  • Give the public a greater voice in the environmental review process for projects on federal lands;

  • Consider the regulations as a “floor” and not a “ceiling” when considering the value of more protective regulations.

The final rule announced on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, will take effect on May 20, 2022, but it only restores some of the provisions from the original 1978 regulations. The AAC and WWA encourage the CEQ to act quickly in tackling Phase 2 of restoring NEPA, where they must consider how to correct the broader procedural changes to the regulations. We urge the CEQ to ensure that the voices of communities most impacted by environmental harm, as well as the commitments of the administration to address the climate crisis, are accurately reflected in their final rule.

Photo by Jeff Deikis

“This Phase 1 Rule is an important first step in restoring NEPA”, said Hilary Eisen, Policy Director with Winter Wildlands Alliance. “We look forward to continuing to work with the CEQ as they move forward into Phase 2, to ensure that NEPA continues to give the public a voice in federal decisions and provide environmental safeguards for generations to come.”   

“Efforts from the previous administration to dismantle NEPA left our public lands, communities and climate vulnerable to ill-informed and biased decision-making processes,” said Taylor Luneau, Policy Manager for the American Alpine Club. “This is a significant win for the outdoor recreation community and an important step towards restoring the strength and potential of NEPA to address our nation's most pressing environmental needs.”

We are grateful to the many thousands of outdoor advocates who took action to #ProtectNEPA and look forward to continuing to partner with the Biden Administration to ensure that the interests of the climbing and backcountry skiing communities remain front of mind in federal decision making.



Contact for more information:

Taylor Luneau, Policy Manager, American Alpine Club, [email protected]

Hilary Eisen, Policy Director, Winter Wildlands Alliance, [email protected]


Advocacy In Action: Reconciliation is Back!

In the midst of the action scoping out the exposure below. AAC member Savannah Cummins

By AAC Advocacy and Gov’t Affairs Manager, Amelia Howe

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

I know what you are thinking, but no, you are not having a deja vu moment. There is momentum building behind the reconciliation package, but this time, it’s focused solely on climate and conservation investments. We need you and the collective climbing community to write to your lawmakers in support of these critical climate investments in order to get this passed and enacted into law as soon as possible.

The American Alpine Club and other organizations like the Outdoor Alliance spent a lot of time in 2021 educating our members and advocating for the passage of a major social spending package, better known as the Build Back Better Act. While the original package was full of things like universal pre-K and affordable healthcare, the AAC worked to support this package due to the myriad investments that would address the climate crisis and improve public lands infrastructure. Summit Register 004 contains an article outlining how this package fell apart right before the New Year due to Congress’ inability to reach a consensus surrounding the importance of these investments. This political rollercoaster led many to believe that there was no hope for the passage of Build Back Better. Now that lawmakers are back from winter break and diving into a midterm election season, it is clear that hope remains for important aspects of Build Back Better. There is especially exciting potential for the $555 billion to be invested in climate and public lands provisions.


Some of these provisions include efforts to:

+  Conserve threatened landscapes

+  Create climate adaptation plans within the Forest Service so they can better address how changing temperatures are impacting natural resources

+  Dedicate additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) resources for agencies

+  Better resource wildfire planning and response

+  Address and reform fossil fuel development processes on public lands

+  Fund climate resilience projects on public lands

+  Invest in urban parks and trail systems

+  Increase access to public lands and trails

+  Create a Civilian Climate Corps


PC: AAC member Calder Davey

Climate change and aging public lands infrastructure should be at the top of mind for climbers when it comes to issues to address and advocate for in 2022. From a climber’s perspective, changes in climate will undoubtedly impact access to climbing and will, in turn, negatively impact the recreation economy. Inconsistent and longer wildfire seasons impact access to outdoor climbing opportunities during the summer and fall, and ice routes that once were classic are now rarely seen. It is easy to identify how our collective inability to act on climate will impact the sport. But the impacts of climate change touch every aspect of life, and these impacts on climbing are only a small piece of why these investments are so important.

An investment of this nature could change the trajectory of the US’ response on climate change, and the impacts will be deeply felt at the local community level. If you are excited about the prospect of these critical investments in climate action and public lands restoration, this is the moment to let your lawmakers know.



Durango Climbers Join Forces

A Cornerstone Conservation Grant Story

By Luke Mehall, Publisher of The Climbing Zine

& Taylor Luneau, AAC Policy Manager

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Grant Perdue feeling the water below on Close to the Edge, 5.11+ at Cascade Canyon. AAC member Will McKay

The Durango Climbers Coalition (DCC) started with a single issue: we wanted to secure a local beloved sport and ice climbing crag called Cascade Canyon. We had learned that the land—which contains challenging limestone sport climbing, our only local ice climbing, and a beautiful waterfall—was located on private property.

Cascade Canyon is home to one of the most aesthetic climbs in Southwestern Colorado: Close to the Edge. Climbers drop into the deep canyon before traversing under a wide collection of technical roof climbs until eventually reaching Cascade Creek, where the pumpy 11c emerges from the water. In the winter, climbers cross the frozen creek to a small but challenging group of ice pillars and mixed climbs. On the best days, you can lace up your ice boots for a few pitches of ice before crossing the river once more to round out your day with a couple rock routes, basking in the Coloradan sun. Few climbing areas offer such a bounty for the climbing community—no matter the season.

How could we secure this land for public use forever? This question led us down a rabbit hole of climbing activism.

Since then, we’ve realized that the Durango climbing community has several issues that need to be addressed, ranging from trail work needs to organizing cleanups of graffiti and trash. But for local climbing organizations like the DCC to successfully manage these kinds of concerns, they need ample resources. Enter our application for the American Alpine Club Cornerstone Conservation Grant.

As much as Cascade Canyon needs protection, some of our other local climbing areas need some love. Animas Mountain, which contains several different climbing zones, and is a mere five minutes from downtown Durango, is at the top of the list. Bouldering is the main attraction with hundreds of blocks scattered in a zone climbers call Sailing Hawks. On the opposite side of the mountain rests X-Rock, containing an assortment of introductory routes and home to Durango’s local sandstone tower, perched high above the Animas River Valley. Excellent running and mountain biking trails provide access to the mountain’s summit and some of the city’s most aesthetic viewpoints.

Anika Bach enjoying her climb up X-Rock in Durango, CO. Land of the Diné Bikéyah, Pueblos, and Ute peoples. Grumpyhighlander photography

Last year, X-Rock was vandalized with several hundred square feet of graffiti, which led to a mobilization of the climbing community to clean it up. We’d previously teamed up with the City of Durango to clean up graffiti at Sailing Hawks, so we had a little bit of experience. This incident sparked action and built community, and the DCC led the way. After eight hours of effort, we restored the sweeping red walls of this scenic climbing area with the help of 18 local climbers, city and county officials, and a Colorado Springs based non-profit, Keeping Colorado Beautiful.

The problems with X-Rock were not over after the cleanup. Irresponsible public lands users have been trashing the area, leaving behind used needles, other forms of trash, and in one case, a gun.

The need for the grant was clear. Trail work and signage would be crucial as we fight to keep this public land safe and sustainable for climbers and other nature lovers. The 5k grant from the AAC will significantly assist with this endeavor. We will formalize the area with a climbers’ kiosk, reinforce eroded approach trails, and direct new climbers to their day’s objective with additional tail signage. This effort would not be achievable without the AAC’s support, along with the City of Durango and La Plata County.

We’ve had some progress on assisting with securing future access to Cascade Canyon. At the same time, we’ve realized the need for the Durango Climbers Coalition as an organization. This need will outlast any current member, and we are here to do the good work, with a lot of help from our friends at the American Alpine Club!


Updates From Your Policy Team: The Climber's Advocacy Network

By Advocacy and Gov’t Affairs Manager, Amelia Howe

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Warming light near Sedona, AZ. Land of the Hohokam, Hopitutskwa, Yavapaiv Apache, and Jumanos peoples. AAC member Jeremiah Watt

At the American Alpine Club, it is no secret that the power of our policy and advocacy work is fueled by passionate climbers from across the country. They may be the policy chair of their local chapter, long-term AAC volunteers taking initiative to get involved in a climbing management plan, an AAC member flagging an issue happening at their local crag, or a climber hoping to learn how to create impact in their community. Regardless of who the individual may be or how they are connected to the Club, climbers are deeply engaged in policy and advocacy. We believe that change happens when everyday climbers unite around a shared cause and are positioned to advocate for the interests of their community. Therefore, over the past several months, the AAC policy department has been cultivating the inaugural Climbers’ Advocacy Network (CAN).

There has been a lot of impactful policy and advocacy work happening in AAC chapters across the country. We hope to be better allies of these individuals and provide them with the education and resources they need to be more effective in their local communities. To kickstart the program, we observed where this work was already happening and where volunteers were most excited to engage in policy and advocacy efforts. Through interviews with climbers and gathering data from our Annual Climber’s Survey, we landed on these initial hubs: California, Colorado, D.C., Georgia, New England, Utah, and Washington.

We are in the process of recruiting volunteer teams and creating a Climbers’ Advocacy Curriculum. This curriculum will enable our climbing advocate volunteers to enhance their policy and advocacy skillsets and ultimately take on projects in their local communities.


The Ultimate Dream for the CAN:

Meadows in Yosemite National Park, CA. Land of the Me-Wuk and Numu peoples. AAC member Jeremiah Watt

+  Each AAC section and chapter has a CAN Chair or Policy Chair that will work closely with their local chapter, the AAC HQ, their local climbing organization, and other coalition partners to build conservation and climate capacity on a local level.

+  They will create campaign plans to address issues that matter most to climbers in their regions.

+  Campaigns + projects will be different from place to place because each community is unique and has its own strengths and weaknesses.

+  Projects could look like rallying climber support for a new Office of the Outdoors in your state or hosting voter registration nights at their local gym.

What ideas do you have for building local impact in your climbing community?


From our office in Golden, we know that we don’t have adequate context to tell our members what issues they should care about in their communities. It is critical that we listen to folks on the ground to find out how to best support critical climate and conservation work across the country, and that’s where you come in. Do you live in one of our CAN kickoff states and want to get involved? Let us know here.


Climber’s Advocacy Network Crag Tour

Stunning ambiance of Dead Horse Point, UT. Land of the Ute people. AAC member Jeremiah Watt


Damon Yeh

CAN Hub: California

What are your local climbing spots?

I currently live in San Diego, CA, and you can usually find me at the Mesa Rim climbing gyms. On weekends, I try to make my way out to Joshua Tree NP, but if I only have a half-day free, Mt. Woodson is one of my favorite spots.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

Climbing has provided me with many opportunities and helped me build a lot of meaningful relationships. I am less interested in pushing grades. Rather, I find joy in exploring nature and hanging out with the people I care about.

If there was a book written about you and climbing, what would it be called?

“Never Too Proud to Top Rope!”

Are there any particular issues you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Shingo Ohkawa bouldering in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. Land of the Western Shoshone and Serrano peoples. AAC member Andrew Burr

There is a lot to cover in the state of California! Fifty-two percent of the state is public land, and the vast majority is federal land. I am most concerned about making sure everyone has equitable access to nature. Not everyone feels they have a place on our public lands or that they have a voice in how we manage them. My goal is to break down barriers for everyone to get more involved with our public lands.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN Capacity?

Climbers should volunteer with me because I want everyone to have a seat at the table. California is a big state, and we need all hands on deck to build a sustainable and equitable future!


Elliot Becker

CAN Hub: Washington D.C.

What are your local climbing spots?

I’m living in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C. My home crags are Seneca Rocks and the New River Gorge.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

I really love all aspects of climbing. While my favorite is long rock routes, the advent of COVID and the arrival of a new baby have turned me into a more dedicated boulderer of late.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

I’ve long taken the view that whatever you care about, you should organize to improve. I care a lot about climbing, so I want to do what I can to enhance the situation here. I’m particularly looking forward to increasing my ability to talk to elected leaders.

The New River Gorge. Land of the Moneton, Tutelo, Yuchi, and Shawandasse Tula peoples. AAC member Francois Lebeau

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

The D.C. area has a lot of people and not a lot of good rock, so we need to do what we can to improve and maintain access throughout the region. We need to be alert to any opportunities to expand access and any threats to access while also improving organization and infrastructure to support higher numbers.


Reese Rogers

CAN Hub: Georgia

What are your local climbing spots?

I live in Decatur, GA, just east of Atlanta. I boulder at Boat Rock in Atlanta and enjoy the crags around Chattanooga like Tennessee Wall and Foster Falls. I also climb at Stone Summit gyms in the Atlanta area.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

For me, climbing is a way to experience landscapes from a new perspective and a reason to explore my local region and learn more about it. I was an avid backpacker before I was a climber, and climbing initially appealed to me when I realized I could go up mountains instead of just walking around them. This exploration aspect of climbing is essential to me and part of the reason I enjoy everything from bouldering to ski mountaineering.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

Squeezing their way up Bumboy (V3) during the Float the Boat compeition at Boat Rock in Atlanta, GA. Land of the Muscogee and East Cherokee peoples. Kate Okenatez-Mahoney

I’ve worked on energy and climate issues throughout my career. It has always been difficult to disentangle discussions around energy production, climate change, public lands management, and, increasingly, outdoor recreation. I am glad to see the AAC wrestling with these larger issues that affect this passion of ours, and I want to contribute to these discussions more. The opportunity to learn advocacy skills alongside others who share a passion for climbing is a big motivator. Climbing definitely heightened my awareness of local public lands management issues and specific climate change impacts globally.

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Access and awareness of climbers as a user group seem to be perennial issues in the Southeast. We don’t have large swaths of federal public lands in the South (at least with climbing), so much of the climbing is in state-managed parks or on private lands where access has been negotiated with the landowner. Fortunately, we have amazing LCOs in the Southeastern Climbers Coalition and the Carolina Climbers Coalition. They do great work creating and maintaining access and promoting stewardship. As climbers grow as a user group, we will need to ensure that state and regional policies and resources match the increasing use of these typically under-resourced areas.


Alma Baste

CAN Hub: Utah

What are your local climbing spots?

I just moved to Salt Lake City! So I guess Little Cottonwood Canyon would now be my local crag.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

Complicated. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship somedays. Overall though, I really love the sport. I love the community, and the way you can meet new people and make friends regardless of where you live. I’ve met so many new people during my solo sessions at Rocktown. Beyond that, I love the mobilization climbers have in terms of stewardship and advocacy. When we’re really passionate and care about something, we go for it with the same intensity that we have for pursuing climbing objectives.

If there was a book written about you and climbing, what would it be called?

“The Ghost at Nose Candy”—I’ve had several people recognize me from working that boulder so much this past season; it’s almost embarrassing, but it is a magnificent boulder. And I love spooky stuff.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

My first trip to Indian Creek was shortly before it became part of Bears Ears National Monument. After the monument was rescinded, I became more and more aware of the need for advocacy surrounding climbing areas. Since then, I’ve pursued a master’s degree in Environmental Policy. The Climber’s Advocacy Network seemed like an excellent opportunity to gain even more skills, especially outside of a university, and focus on more local issues—like getting climbing included in management plans for different wilderness areas.

Jimmy Keithley, Vultures are Waiting 5.8,
The Cobblehorn, City Creek Canyon, UT. Land of the Goshute and Eastern Shoshone peoples. AAC member Andrew Burr

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

I’m still learning the SLC issues and building connections with local stakeholders like the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance, but I know the threat of a gondola or road expansion projects in Little Cottonwood Canyon has been a big subject lately. Both projects result in the destruction of popular bouldering areas throughout the canyon. Neither of them does much to improve the issue they intend to solve.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN Capacity?

Because I can’t do this alone! And while I am incredibly obsessed with Utah, I’m by no means a local and would love to have the expertise of someone who’s been here far longer than me.


Daniel Kroth

CAN Hub: New England

What are your local climbing spots?

I live in Cambridge, MA. Brooklyn Boulders Sommerville is my local gym.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

I think many climbers like to solve puzzles on and off the wall, test themselves physically, and explore the edges of their comfort zone. Like most of us, I feel as though my life can largely be divided into intellectual, physical, and emotional or expressive pursuits. One of the things I love most about getting outside to climb is combining these three facets of myself to approach new challenges.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

A beautiful day to boulder with Kai Lightner at the Gunks in New York. Land of the Munsee Lenape People. AAC member Chris Vultaggio

I’m excited because this stuff matters! I was able to build a meaningful connection to the outdoors in large part because easy access and low costs made it possible for my family to get outside. I want to build the skills necessary to help preserve this access and expand it to others.

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Here in the Northeast, I think we have an excellent opportunity to advocate for equitable access to outdoor recreation. Of course, climate change awareness will be of paramount importance across the Club. With popular support for both initiatives in our region, we’re well-positioned to make an impact.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN capacity?

Whether you’re in the area for school or grew up with a local crag, this group can help you build the skills and connections to advocate for issues important to you. We’re looking for teammates to think through the issues, keep a finger on the pulse of the local climbing community, and connect ideas to advocacy.


The Seed of a Story: A Conversation with Nina Williams

By Nina Williams, Professional Rock Climber and AAC Board Member

& Hannah Provost, AAC Content Manager

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Nina Williams enjoying Lizzard the Gizzard, 5.11d in the Cayman Islands. Land of the Taino people. AAC member Andrew Burr

Communication is key. It’s a trite saying in climbing, let alone most other realms of life. We’ve heard countless retellings of accidents that would have been avoided if a belay partner had been paying better attention or everyone had been on the same page about the intricacies of a descent. While the complexity of communicating about policies and advocacy initiatives is a little different than yelling “Off Belay,” the lessons we’ve learned about the importance of communication in climbing carry over to communicating as a climbing advocate.

Nina Williams, professional rock climber and AAC Board Member, believes that effective communication skills are the groundwork for all of our other advocacy skills.

In this issue of the Summit Register, we’ll introduce you to our Climbers Advocacy Network (CAN) volunteers and offer a look at the curriculum and skill sets our volunteers are learning in the CAN EDU program. These include skills such as becoming fluent in the value of outdoor recreation, identifying key partners for a campaign, building strong coalitions, and keeping advocacy sustainable. But throughout the articles that follow, there is an underlying thread: the power of transparent and meaningful communication.


Beginnings

Nina’s personal experiences as a young climber set the stage for how important communication would become in her career as an athlete and advocate.

During her early years it was rare for Nina to see other women or people of color at the crag. As a biracial Chinese-American, she did not see herself or her story represented in the climbing community. Nina felt compelled to prove that she belonged. This mindset, while motivating in some ways, was also isolating and lonely.

Author Nina Williams, dancing on Flying
the Colors 
5.11c, Sector Sea Horse, The Northeast Point, Cayman Brac, The Cayman Islands. Land of the Taino people. AAC member Andrew Burr

“As a young person, I was usually one of the only girls in the gym. It was always about keeping up with the boys. But as an adult, I started to see other women and hear the stories of other climbers of color and started to realize that I was not alone in this–there are people like me that are experiencing the same things. It created a sense of lightness. I didn’t feel so alone.”

The realization that came from the power of exposure and deeper feelings of community led Nina to believe that there is immense power in storytelling and making space for others’ stories. Ultimately, this experience guided her into the path of advocacy.

Nina was emphatic: “We need to speak up for those who feel they do not have a voice or a presence in the spaces where we climb.” And that includes the land and natural resources we are trying to protect and the surrounding communities that are likewise impacted by climate change and inequitable access.


Communication as Space

Nina’s personal experiences with the transformative possibility of storytelling pulled her to pursue a degree in Communication. This background informs the powerful strategies she uses in advocacy settings to ensure that advocating doesn’t just become yelling into the void.

Nina explains that the traditional understanding of how we communicate is transactional: you say something with an intended message. Ideally the other person understands your intended message, processes it, and responds with their own message in kind. With this traditional understanding, the literal message being conveyed—the words themselves—is the only element under consideration when making meaning. This model views communication as a back-and-forth transmission of information. However, if you broaden your view of communication just slightly, you are much more likely to get your message across.

Bouldering at Rumbling Bald,
NC. Land of the Catawba, Eastern Cherokee, and Yuchi peoples. AAC member Forest Woodward

Nina argues that, by looking at communication with a wider lens, we can see the expansive and colorful spaces that exist within each person. These spaces are our life experiences, joys, biases, personal traumas, and more. One person’s space (i.e. everything they have lived through) is separate and unique from yours. This creates subtle differences in each individual’s communication styles. Communication is the process of navigating both the similarities and differences in each person’s space. Our spaces influence the way we speak, our body language, and how we communicate with others. Ignoring our own experiences, or the experiences of those we are speaking with, oversimplifies the many elements of our lives that infuse our ability to hear another’s message or to be compelled by it.

With this model of communication in mind, Nina recommends the following tips for communication that respects and acknowledges the complexities that each person brings to any given encounter.


Nina’s Top 3 Tips for Effective Conversation

1. Acknowledge and Recognize Someone’s Life Experience (someone’s space):

You don’t have to agree with them, but once someone feels they are seen, they are more likely to relax their initial defensive barrier.

2. Validate and Affirm:

Find a common thread and validate the commonness between you. You can always find something that you share, and affirming this connection aligns you and the person you are speaking with.

3. Genuine Active Listening

Let someone tell their story and create their space for you. Listen without giving advice or offering your own opinion. Let go of your agenda for a moment and really hear what they care about and how their story gives insight into what motivates them.


Build Your Personal Narrative

"Climbers are powerful storytellers just purely based on how powerful climbing is as a sport and as a community! There are so many parallels between the way we approach climbing and the ways we approach life," Nina says. Climbing is a part of your communication "space," but it is not a part of everyone's. Bridging that gap is imperative for articulating why you are motivated to advocate and why these issues matter.

When identifying storytelling opportunities that connect to climbing, Nina encourages people to look past the individual moves or grades and think about how the act of climbing is impacting their everyday life or their way of being.

"If I am describing how small the holds are, or how many pull-ups I am doing in the gym, or how I put a rope down to practice the top out, nonclimbers may not really get it."

Instead, Nina suggests we communicate how climbing is a vehicle for experiences and values that many of us share.

"For example, I might touch on the beauty of the landscape and how the process of climbing pushes me to learn more about things outside of climbing like human anatomy, new ways to calm the mind through meditation, or the Indigenous connection to a place."

These are more universal concepts that people, climbers and nonclimbers alike, can take away from the story and implement into their own life. In Nina's eyes, that is the key to storytelling, figuring out how to relate your experiences and what you learned throughout the experience to someone else.

"When storytelling, I like to think about the gift or the thing that is embedded within my story that someone else will take away and utilize in their own life. That is how you spread the seed of a story and give others the tools they need to build out their own story."

Stories that resonate can be the tipping point for action or inspiration for another climber to join with us in advocacy. They can open the way for an inclusive community and persuade lawmakers that these issues matters. So dig in—what's the seed of your story?


PROTECT: Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan

Episode 04

PROTECT: Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan

Joshua Tree National Park is going to ban bolts? Hold up now. The conversation around land management and climbing management plans (CMP) can get a little tense when climbers feel like our access to the rock is under threat. But what is really going on with J-Tree NP’s proposed management plan? It’s not as simple as the banning bolts rumor would have it. AAC Policy Manager, Taylor Luneau, and former Joshua Tree Superintendent, Mark Butler, sit down with us to talk about the need for the CMP, the tricky land management paradox of bolts in designated Wilderness areas, and how you can get involved to protect Joshua Tree and promote responsible climbing.

The AAC Offers Insights into the proposed Joshua Tree NP Climbing Management Plan

Alex Honnold, Factor Figure (5.13b), Joshua Tree National Park, CA. PC: Andrew Burr

March 13, 2022 

NPS Joshua Tree National Park 

RE: Scoping Comments on Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan 

The American Alpine Club (“AAC”) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments for the  scoping period on the climbing management plan (“CMP”) currently underway in Joshua Tree  National Park (“JTNP”). JTNP is a world class destination for rock climbing and attracts many  of the AAC’s 25,000 members nationwide to climb and enjoy the Wilderness resources in the  JTNP. For more than a decade, the AAC has engaged in climbing management in the JTNP and  values the efforts of the National Park Service (“NPS”) to steward the abundant and unique  resources of JTNP. The CMP will be critical in managing the ecological, cultural, and natural  resources of the JTNP, especially as more people recreate in the outdoors and the population of  climbers continues to grow. The AAC looks forward to working with the NPS to steward these  important resources for generations to come and support their endeavor to create an informed  CMP. 

I. The American Alpine Club 

The AAC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Golden, Colorado, with over 25,000  members nationally. Founded in 1902 to support the research and exploration of mountainous  regions, the AAC remains committed to supporting the climbing and human-powered outdoor  

recreation communities over a century later. Grounded in community and location, the AAC’s  mission is to share and support members’ passion for climbing and respect for the places they  climb. Through education, community gatherings, stewardship, policy, advocacy, and scientific  research, the AAC strives to build a united community of competent climbers and healthy  climbing landscapes. 

II. Comments and Concerns 

The AAC’s volunteer base are large contributors to the success of the AAC. Across the nation,  the AAC engages hundreds of volunteers in policy, advocacy, and education through the 25  sections and 56 chapters of the organization. The AAC comments and concerns mentioned here  are informed by volunteer leaders of the AAC’s San Diego Chapter and the Sierra Nevada  Section.

A. The AAC is concerned with the NPS’s understanding and treatment of the Wilderness Act of 1964 (“Wilderness Act”). 

The AAC supports the efforts by JTNP to thoughtfully balance the needs of the American public  to access and enjoy primitive and unconfined recreation with the protection of Wilderness  characteristics and other natural resources found within JTNP. With more than 6,500 individual  climbing routes, a long and rich history of climbing, and a unique but fragile high desert  landscape, JTNP is a world renown climbing destination attracting climbers of all abilities 

The AAC is concerned with JTNP’s understanding and treatment of the Wilderness Act’s  meaning and particularly their definition of "fixed anchors” as “installations.” Fixed anchors  (which include bolts, pitons, nuts, slings, or any other equipment) are necessary climbing  equipment and fundamental for the safety of the climbing community, both on the ascent and  descent of technical climbing terrain. 

In crafting the Wilderness Act of 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness  Preservation System.(1) The plain language of the Wilderness Act protects and manages for those  places which have “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of  recreation.”(2) Additionally, the Wilderness Act requires that such areas “shall be devoted to  public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.”(3)  As one of the federal land management agencies tasked with overseeing the management of  wilderness areas, the NPS must “administer[ing] such area(s) for such other purposes for which  it may have been established as also to preserve its wilderness character.”(4) Therefore, Congress’  objective was to administer wilderness areas “for the use and enjoyment of the American people  in such a manner as will be unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.” (5) 

The AAC encourages the JTNP to use their existing authorization under the 2013 Director’s  Order # 41 (“DO#41”) for the appropriate management of Wilderness climbing rather than  changing its understanding of the Wilderness Act’s definition. DO#41 is an order written to  guide servicewide efforts for the NPS in meeting the requirements for the Wilderness Act (16  U.S.C. 1131-1136).6 DO#41 recognizes climbing as “a legitimate and appropriate use of  Wilderness” and noted that “[t]he occasional placement of a fixed anchor for belay, rappel, or  protection purposes does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of Wilderness or violate the  Wilderness Act.”(7) 

Therefore, the DO#14 does not prohibit fixed anchor installations, nor does it require Minimum  Requirement Analysis (“MRA”) for the placement, removal or maintenance of fixed anchors for  recreational climbing. A new Wilderness Act interpretation, akin to the current scoping CMP, does not align with the United States federal policy and practice, and lacks public participation and political process. 

To both preserve the wilderness character8 of Wilderness Areas and to accommodate necessary  opportunities for primitive and unconfined type of recreation, tangible and intangible qualities  should be considered. Intangible qualities include biophysical environments, personal  experiences, and symbolic meanings, whereas tangible qualities include natural, undeveloped,  untrammeled.(9) These components have inherent tension and require balanced management  strategies that are challenging to develop and implement. In recognition of this complex  mandate, the AAC supports climbing practices that minimize the human impact on the  environment and, in addition, promotes Wilderness climbing as an appropriate and suitable use  of Wilderness. These practices are aimed to reduce the human influence on the landscape,  preserve the Wilderness visitor experience, and to promote appropriate (and not undue)  regulation of climbing in accordance with the Wilderness Act. 

The AAC is concerned that the new interpretation of the Wilderness Act by JTNP unnecessarily  frustrates historical use patterns of climbing in the JTNP, confuses Wilderness climbing  management policies, sets a concerning national precedent, creates serious safety concerns for  the climbing community, and erodes the climbing communities’ ability to support future  Wilderness designations. For these reasons, we encourage JTNP to focus on implementing  current NPS management policies, support more robust climber education programs, engage in  further resource stewardship, and capitalize on more opportunities to work with non-profit  partners to resolve climbing-related management issues. 

B. JTNP’s interpretation of the Wilderness Act departs from national policy guidance and  sets concerning precedent for Wilderness climbing resources. 

The use of fixed anchors to facilitate climbing in remote backcountry locations predates the  enactment of the Wilderness Act by several decades. More importantly, both federal agencies,  the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, as well as notable Wilderness  advocacy organizations, have long understood fixed anchors to be appropriate in Wilderness.  The AAC has long supported the consistency between federal agencies regarding the  management of fixed anchors in Wilderness. For the NPS, DO#41 provides consistency and  predictability for the climbing community within the NPS Wilderness Areas. 

The JTNP’s CMP proposal is in opposition to decades of management policy regarding fixed  anchors in various federal areas, including in other NPS managed Wilderness Areas. This is in direct contrast to the public process and stakeholder input approved by the Director of the NPS in  2013, who issued DO#41 “to provide accountability, consistency, and continuity in the [NPS]  wilderness stewardship program, and to guide servicewide efforts in meeting the requirements of  the Wilderness Act.” (10)

It is also important to note that in the past the NPS has not questioned or misinterpreted “fixed  anchors” to be “prohibited installations” under the Wilderness Act, Section 4(c).(11) The 1993  Joshua Tree CMP(12) and the 2000 Joshua Tree Backcountry Management Plan(13) have also  explicitly considered fixed anchors, and chosen not to define them as prohibited installations nor  to necessitate an MRA use for purposes of placement or replacement (although it does require  MRA for administrative purposes such as search and rescue). 

The AAC has partnered with other national climbing organizations and wilderness groups to support this policy and has acknowledged the necessity for fixed anchors in Wilderness Areas to  provide foundational safety for climbers. As stated in the DO#41, “[t]he occasional placement of  a fixed anchor for belay, rappel, or protection purposes does not necessarily impair the future  enjoyment of Wilderness or violate the Wilderness Act.”(14) Importantly, the AAC appreciates  DO#41’s focus on the impacts of high use levels, the types of impacts those use levels cause, and  the resulting effects on wilderness character. This approach focuses management solutions on  the measurable and objective impacts of climbing routes on wilderness character. This approach  is preferable to a blanket determination that fixed anchors are installations. 

C. The AAC supports the JTNP’s efforts to protect and promote appropriate use of  Wilderness. 

The AAC supports efforts by the JTNP to thoughtfully balance the needs of the public to access  and enjoy primitive and unconfined recreation with the protection of Wilderness characteristics  and other natural resources found within the JTNP.  

In partnership with the Access Fund, The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation  Association, and the American Mountain Guide Association, the AAC shared comments and  support for the development of DO#41, as well as Resource Manual #41 during thier creation.  The AAC supports appropriate regulations and restrictions on fixed anchors in Wilderness,  including the principle that fixed anchors should be “rare” in Wilderness. Furthermore, the AAC  supports the JTNP’s authority to manage fixed anchor placement in the Wilderness, including the prohibition of bolt-intensive climbs that exhibit high levels of use and measurable impacts to the  JTNP resources and social conditions.(15) 

The AAC supports the prohibition on the use of power drills in wilderness, mandatory  authorization (per DO#41) for the placement of fixed anchors, and management of other aspects  of recreational use like trails and human waste management. NPS can do more to protect  Wilderness character by focusing its limited resources on these management issues rather than  reviewing every existing fixed anchor within wilderness. 

D. The ACC agrees with DO#41, Section 7.2, stating that climbing is a legitimate,  appropriate, and historical use of Wilderness. 

The Wilderness climbing experience is unique, as it provides opportunities for solitude,  primitive, and unconfined recreation. Climbing and the use of fixed anchors is a legitimate,  appropriate, and historical use of Wilderness that is compatible with the Wilderness Act. 

a. Climbing is a “historical use” in the JTNP. 

The Wilderness Act requires that Wilderness Areas “shall be devoted to public purposes of  ….historical use.”(16) The JTNP has a long and rich history of climbing dating as early as the 1940’s.(17) Early trips organized by the Sierra Club’s Rock Climbing Section and the Boy Scouts  brought young adults to the JTNP to experience the vastness of the recently designated Joshua  Tree National Monument (“National Monument”) and to practice the craft of rock climbing in a  group setting.(18) 

Figure 1: Dick Webster completing the most challenging moves in the route (also known as “crux” moves) along the Southwest Corner of Headstone Rock, a climbing route that was first completed in 1958 by Mark Powell. Note the  bolt used for protection in the foreground.(21) 

Photo: Wolf & Dominick, 1976. 

By the 1950’s, more advanced climbers and mountaineers (including notable individuals like Royal Robbins and Yvon Choinard) began taking frequent trips to the National Monument to  climb. It was in this decade that notable first ascents of many of the National Monument’s  formations occurred, including the West Chimney of Intersection Rock in 1953 by Jerry  Gallawas and Barbara Lilly, as well as the Lost Pencil by Don Cornell and John Merriam, the  Popes Hat by Don Cornell and Rod Smith, and the Wedge by Bob Boyle, all in 1956.(19) Applying interesting tactics, Bob Boyle and Rod Smith managed to first reach the summit of  Headstone Rock in 1956 by climbing a rope which they had successfully thrown over the top of  the formation.(20)

By the time President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-567 in 1976, designating the bulk of the National Monument as Wilderness, several hundred climbing routes, and at least 101 routes  which utilized the placement of fixed anchors, were already established in the National  Monument following nearly 30 years of use from climbers. (22,23)

As climbing grew throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, so to did the tools and techniques of modern climbing practices. While many climbers continued to apply aid climbing techniques  (placing pitons, small chocks, and nylon ladders to ascend the rock face), the emergence of free  climbing (only using their hands and feet to climb while placing some pieces of traditional gear  or clipping bolts for protection) revolutionized the sport. The use of bolts and fixed anchors, however, were deemed a necessary and accepted tool by the climbing community. Although, the placement was considered a “grave responsibility” and local ethics dictated that some routes  should be completed without bolts, or with as few as possible. (24) 

Figure 2: A climber uses a hand drill to install a bolt on a route called Duchess at the Feudal Wall. First ascent  February 1974 by Chris Gonzales and Rob Stahl. Photo: Wolf & Dominick, 1976. 

In designating the bulk of the National Monument as a new Wilderness Area, Congress  recognized the primitive and unconfined recreation opportunities that existed in the National  Monument, not the least of which were the abundant and well-known rock climbing resources.  Climbing would continue to grow in the National Monument throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s  as the climbing community recognized this special landscape as a national treasure. In 1994,  Congress took another step to protect the National Monument with the passage of Public Law  103-433, adding 234,000 acres to the National Monument and changing its status to a National  Park. (25)


Today, the JTNP has over 6,500 individual climbing routes scattered throughout the nearly  800,000 acres and the climbing community is full of staunch supporters of the stewardship and  protection of this unique and historical climbing resource. 

b. Climbing is “a legitimate and appropriate use of Wilderness” in the JTNP. 

DO#41 explicitly mentions climbing as “a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness.”(26) It defines climbing management, allowing for the use, maintenance, and replacement of fixed anchors in Wilderness Areas. Fixed anchors are necessary for safe Wilderness climbing when ascending a route, descending from a summit, or responding to an emergency. Fixed anchors are also resource protection tools that minimize climbing impacts, such as facilitating a technical  descent rather than walking an exit trail causing erosion and impacts to vegetation. 

E. JTNP’s proposed CMP raises serious concerns for the wellbeing and safety of the  climbing community. 

Climbing in the Wilderness long predates the passage of the Wilderness Act. Values of solitude,  challenge, primitive, and unconfined recreation, and self-reliance are born from Wilderness  climbing experiences. In the human mind, Wilderness climbing symbolically represents  challenge, perseverance, humility, restraint, and interdependence with the natural world. These  are the values that define Wilderness experience, the symbolism that surround it, and epitomize  the human dimensions of the Wilderness Act. The AAC deeply values the protection of  Wilderness, as it provides the lifeblood of true traditional climbing and vertical adventure. 

During the JTNP’s February 8, 2022 CMP meeting, planners opposed fixed anchor replacements  for bolt-intensive routes because they believe that are unacceptable in the Wilderness. While the  AAC agrees that Wilderness should not be sport climbing arenas and that bolt intensive climbs  may facilitate unacceptable impacts on wilderness resources, caused by the aggregation of  human use, they strongly disagree with the NPS conclusion regarding bolt replacement. It is  very dangerous and misguided to leave aged fixed anchors in place because they have the  potential to lead to life-threatening results (see Exhibit A). The AAC does, however, support  that if a climbing route is unacceptable in Wilderness because it threatens sensitive cultural or  natural resources and/or attracts unacceptable use-levels, it may be considered for closure to the  public. The JTNP should consider other options to manage Wilderness climbing, as the current  CMP proposal threatens the climbing community’s safety, not only in the JTNP, but across the  country. 

The AAC opposes any policy that creates obstacles for the Good Samaritans that volunteer time,  effort, and resources to replace antiquated or unsafe hardware (see Exhibit A: Figures 3-6).  Ultimately, this would have the effect of restricting climbers’ access to many of the most iconic  climbs in JTNP and other park units across the country, cause significant uncertainty for  climbers who have historically relied on such anchors, and send the message that climbers are  not welcome in Wilderness. 

III. Conclusion 

Climbers and members of the AAC have advocated for the protection of Wilderness for more  than 60 years and were even advocates for the very creation of the Wilderness Act itself. David  R. Brower, alpinist and lifetime member of the AAC who served as the organization's Vice  President from 1956-58, contributed substantially to the establishment of sound global  environmental practices and the conservation of many of America’s wild landscapes. Brower  epitomizes the conservation ethic shared by many in the climbing community to conserve  Wilderness areas, like Rick Reese, Peter Metcalf, Yvon Choinard, Rick Ridgway, Doug Thompkins and others. 

The AAC is concerned that JTNP’s proposed CMP will deter climbers from supporting critical  conservation initiatives and alienate climbers from their Wilderness roots. Many of the greatest  conservation gains during the 21st Century are a direct result of the collaboration between the  human-powered outdoor recreation and conservation communities. 

The proposed JTNP CMP will affect the public’s opinion of the need for conservation and have a  negative and direct impact on the future of public lands. Undoubtedly, the newly proposed fixed  anchor policy by JTNP will have implications for other Wilderness climbing areas across the  country. This will undermine the support from climbing communities with future Wilderness  designations and inherently frustrate their ability to enjoy Wilderness experiences through  primitive and unconfined recreational climbing. 

Furthermore, place-based management is the most appropriate in NPS Wilderness due to  diversity of wilderness resource, climbing resources, visitor preferences, motivation, skill, and  amount of visitation. (27) 

We hope that the JTNP will reconsider its CMP proposal and, instead, determine the best path  forward is to manage recreational climbing in accordance with DO#41 - to protect wilderness  character utilizing the many policy tools available today. The AAC is ready and willing to assist  the NPS to deliver on their dual mandate of conserving Wilderness characteristics while also  ensuring the benefit and enjoyment of the JTNP for the broader public.  

We welcome further discussion as your process moves forward.

Respectfully submitted, 

 

Taylor Luneau 

Policy Manager, American Alpine Club 

CC: 

Jamie Logan, Interim-CEO, American Alpine Club 

Amelia Howe, Advocacy and Government Affairs Manager, American Alpine Club

Shane Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, American Alpine Club

Damon Yeh, California Advocacy Network Chair, American Alpine Club

Erik Murdock, VP Government Affairs and Policy, Access Fund

Katie Goodwin, Policy Analyst and California Regional Director, Access Fund


EXHIBIT A 

Figure 3: An old ⅜ inch plated steel bolt that was  removed and replaced by a climber in Western  Colorado. Note the rust on the bolt sleeve. 

Figure 4: A dangerous old homemade aluminum L stock hanger used on the first ascent of a climb in  Southwest Colorado. These types of bolts are in need  of a safer replacement with new age ½ inch steel  bolts. 

Figure 5: Hanger associated with bolt in Figure 3.  The work of local climbing organizations to replace  these requires an abundance of knowledge, time, and  passion. Local climbing community experts are  instrumental in the upkeep of bolts and other fixed  anchors. 

Figure 6: A bolted belay station on a climb in Red  Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Note the  older bolts adjacent to the three new ones.


1 The Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. ch. 23 § 1131. 

2Id

3Id. at §1133(b). 

4Id. 

5Id. 

6 2013 NPS Director’s Order #41: Wilderness Stewardship. 

7Id.

8Id. at Section 6.2. 

9 Mchugh, Katherine. (2019). Wilderness Rock Climbing Indicators and Climbing Management Implications in the  National Park Service. Graduate Student Thesis, Dissertations, & Professional Papers.

10 Director’s Order #41. 

11 16 U.S.C. ch. 23 § 1131 et seq. Section 4(c). 

12 NPS. Joshua Tree National Monument Climbing Management Plan. 1993. Available at:  https://www.nps.gov/jotr/getinvolved/upload/JOTR_ClimbingManagementPlan1993.pdf. 13 U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service. Superintendent’s Annual Report. 2001. Joshua Tree National  Park. Available at: http://npshistory.com/publications/annual_reports/jotr/2001.pdf. 

14 Director’s Order #41.

15 Id. 

16 16 U.S.C. § 1133(b). 

17 Kane, Jenny. 2017. Landscape of Belonging: Joshua Tree’s Climbing Legacy. Available at:  https://mojaveproject.org/dispatches-item/landscape-of-belonging/

18 Kane, Jenny. 2017. 

19 Wolf, John & Dominick, Bob. 1976. A Climber’s Guide to Joshua Tree National Monument. Desert Rats  Uninhibited Publication. 

20 Wolf & Dominick. 1976.

21 Id

22 Public Law 94-567, October 20, 1976. 

23 A cursory review of John Wolf and Bob Dominick’s 1976 guidebook, titled “A Climber’s Guide To Joshua Tree  National Monument,” revealed that 101 total routes (which included at least 1 bolt or fixed anchor) were established  prior to the 1976 Wilderness designation and rappel anchors were installed on at least six of the National  Monument’s popular rock formations. This number would likely grow with additional data collection from the 1979  edition and other publications, such as Randy Vogel’s “Joshua Tree Climbs: 1,000 of the Best Climbs in Joshua  Tree National Park.”

24 Id

25 Public Law 103-433. October 31, 1994.

26 Director’s Order #41.

27 Murdock, E. (2004). Understanding Recreation Flow to Protect Wilderness Resources at Joshua Tree National Park, California (Masters thesis). Available from Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 2, Rovaniemi, Finland.
Murdock, E. (2010). Perspectives on Rock Climbing Fixed Anchors Through the Lens of the Wilderness Act: Social, Legal and Environmental Implications at Joshua Tree National Park, California (Unpublished doctoral dissertation)Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.

Barnett, Eve S. (2016). Beware of the Cold, Clammy Hand of Consistency: Rock climbing policy and the surprising success of the National Park Service. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University.
Sullivan, Kerry E. (2018). Interpretation and Implementation of Director’s Order #41, Section 7.2: Determining best management practices for Wilderness climbing in National Parks. Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11139.

Letter to Utah Gov. Cox: Protect the Antiquities Act + Public Lands

Chris Schulte squeezing his way up Airwolf (V6). Photo by AAC member Dawn Kish

February 8, 2022

The Honorable Spencer Cox
Governor
State Capitol
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114

Dear Governor Cox, 

On behalf of our 1,000 members in the state of Utah, and our 25,000 members nationally, the American Alpine Club (AAC) is writing to express our immense concern with your office's hiring of a law firm for the purposes of litigating the protections afforded via national monument designation to both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante while simultaneously soliciting the Outdoor Retailer show to return to your state’s capitol. 

The AAC is a century-old, national non-profit organization that supports the climbing and human-powered outdoor recreation communities through education, community gatherings, stewardship, policy, advocacy, and scientific research. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are significant not only for our members who enjoy the climbing and other recreational opportunities afforded by these unique landscapes, but also for their extensive cultural and ecological values that have been cherished by Tribes such as the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Tribe for time immemorial. It is for these reasons we advocated for the restoration of these monuments, following their reduction during the Trump Administration, and celebrated when the Biden-Harris Administration made the profoundly important decision to honor the voices of Indigenous communities, climbers, and conservationists by reinstating their protections.

Our advocacy over the years has been clear - we oppose any action aimed at weakening the efficacy of the Antiquities Act or any other bedrock environmental law that protects our nation’s lands and waters. With more than 100,000 Native American cultural sites, countless scientific and historical objects, and several thousand individual rock climbs that attract climbers from across the globe, we believe that the proper care and management of these objects accurately reflects the size of the monuments as designated by the Biden Administration.

More than that, these protections are in line with the Biden Administration’s America the Beautiful initiative, which aims to tackle the climate crises at home and abroad by conserving 30% of land and water by 2030. Ensuring these landscapes are protected helps our country address not only the climate and extinction crises, but it bolsters recreation-based economies which rely on public lands as the infrastructure for activities like climbing.

While we find it egregious that your office would consider filing a lawsuit against the Federal Government to remove protections from these sacred, wild, and recreation rich landscapes, we do not share this note as a boycott of the State of Utah or the return of the Outdoor Retailer to the Beehive state. Salt Lake City is home to one of the largest climbing communities in the country, and the state to that of some of our nation's most significant and historical climbing areas. Access to the outdoors attracts many of our members to live and work in Utah, and is certainly a reason amongst many in our community for bringing Outdoor Retailer back to the state. 

However, if your office moves forward with its intended litigation to erode protections afforded by the Antiquities Act to monuments in Utah (and potentially across the country), we will urge that the Outdoor Retailer show not return to UT, or boycott the show itself. We stand with our partners at The Conservation Alliance and Outdoor Alliance, who have already asked your office to respect our industry's values and the lands we cherish.

We urge you to take our request seriously and abandon your efforts to remove protections to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Instead, we welcome you to join the outdoor industry in creating a strong and vibrant future for the public lands and outdoor recreation economies across the American West, one that values the perspectives of tribal, outdoor, conservation, and local communities as well as the majority of Utahns and Americans.

Thank you, 

Jamie Logan, AAC Interim-CEO

AAC Policy Committee Members:

Peter Metcalf
Pete Ward
Rob Deconto
Graham Zimmerman
Katie Stahley
Nina Williams

CC:

Taylor Luneau, AAC Policy Manager
Amelia Howe, AAC Advocacy and Government Affairs Manager
The Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Department of Interior
Herve Sedky, CEO, Emerald
Lise Aangenbrug, Executive Director, Outdoor Industry Association
Adam Cramer, Executive Director, Outdoor Alliance
Shoren Brown, Interim Executive Director, The Conservation Alliance
President Stuart Adams, UT State Senate
Speaker Brad Wilson, UT State House





Researching Glacial Recession in Chilean Patagonia: A Story from the AAC Research Grant

Bernardo Fjord and one of the main locations for Scott’s research. Pictured are Bernardo Glacier (lower left), the refugio or cabin (lower center) and Lautaro Volcano, the highest point in Bernard O’Higgins National Park (top center).

Scott Braddock was awarded the AAC’s Research Grant in 2019 to study glacial recession in Patagonia. Specifically, Scott and his team were studying the Southern Patagonian Icefield. With the Southern Patagonian Icefield contributing a disproportionate amount of ice loss relative to the size of the icefield when compared with other mountain glaciers around the world, better understanding the mechanisms for tidewater glacier retreat in this region are critical for projections of future ice loss. Below is a quick summary of his project, and a report on the initial findings. 

Why This Research? Why now?

Like most glaciers around the world, the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) is retreating in the face of rising atmospheric and ocean temperatures. The SPI is particularly susceptible to a changing climate because of its relative proximity to the equator and the fact that it is made up of low-elevation alpine and tidewater glaciers that are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation. Past studies have shown that ice mass loss from the Southern Patagonian Icefield contributes a large amount of water to global sea level rise, especially relative to the size of the icefield, with rates increasing in recent decades. However, how quickly the SPI is continuing to respond to warmer conditions and the primary mechanisms behind ice mass loss remain important questions to be answered. Scott’s team is attempting to investigate these very questions.

The research boat, the Aguilaf (bottom left), in Bernardo Fjord. In the background is Bernardo Glacier.

The glaciers of the SPI are located in Chile’s largest protected area, Bernard O’Higgins National Park (BONP), which hosts the largest known population of the endangered huemul deer–a species whose health is connected with recently-deglaciated habitat. Under the supervision of Coporacion Nacional Forestral (CONAF), limited in situ research exists in the BONP due to the frequent inclement weather, poor access, and only a handful of CONAF park guards and scientists to protect and manage a large area. Given the results of studies highlighting the accelerated retreat of the SPI in the past several decades, further work is necessary to better constrain estimates of ice loss and glacier stability as well as impacts on biodiversity in BONP.

The Grant Funded Trip & Moving Beyond Covid

AAC Research Grant recipient, Scott Braddock, in front of Calluqueo Glacier, San Lorenzo Mountain, Chile.

In October 2019, supported by research grants from the American Alpine Club, Churchill Foundation, and the Geological Society of America, Scott’s team traveled to Chilean Patagonia to sample ocean water in contact with several glaciers to understand how this interaction may influence rapid retreat of ice in the region. The team sampled water temperature and salinity at the surface and to depths up to 10 m and collected data on surface reflectance, suspended sediment and plankton in front of two tidewater glaciers, Bernardo and Témpano, in Bernard O’Higgins National Park, Chile. Results show a clear boundary between fresh glacial runoff and warm ocean water around 6 m depth close to the terminus of Témpano Glacier. 

Kristin Schild (left) and Scott Braddock (right) conducting CTD sampling in Témpano fjord. Photo by Fernando Iglesias.

In coordination with sampling efforts, Scott’s team set up time-lapse cameras overlooking both glaciers to track iceberg movement and try to observe sediment plumes and surface currents. Additionally, they witnessed one of the earliest-known glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in a summer season at Bernardo Glacier. 

In witnessing this event, it is clear that to fully understand this dynamic ice-ocean system, we need longer duration measurements to capture both episodic events (GLOFs) and persistent forcing (ocean warming). To aid in long-term monitoring of ice/ocean interactions and GLOF events in this region, Scott’s team facilitated an agreement between three organizations participating in this project—Coporacion Nacional Forestral (CONAF), Round River Conservation Studies (RRCS), and UMaine Ice/Ocean group to continue this research in the coming years by sharing logistical support, scientific equipment, and data. 

In the context of Covid, the collaborative nature of this project has been crucial to its continuity. The project included team members from three organizations and many backgrounds coming together to work in such a remote, challenging environment. The glaciology portion of this research project was designed and led by Dr. Kristin Schild, University of Maine School of Earth and Climate Sciences. The marine biology part of the project was designed and led by Raúl Pereda, a Marine Biologist with CONAF. Logistics, help with the science, and local knowledge and expertise were provided by Felidor Paredes, CONAF Park Guard and Fernando Iglesias Letelier, Chilean Program Director for RRCS.

Team members Raúl Pereda (left) and Kristin Schild (right) install a time lapse camera in Témpano Fjord to monitor sediment plumes and ice berg movement. Photo by Scott Braddock.

Like most international research, COVID has disrupted the US team’s return to Patagonia for the last two years. However, to keep the project moving forward, Scott’s team will ship equipment to Chile so that team members from CONAF can continue taking measurements of ocean water in front of these tide water glaciers to monitor how ocean properties are influencing glacial retreat of the Southern Patagonian Icefield as well as impacts retreating glaciers might have on the marine biology. 

A Snapshot of the Science Behind Glacial Recession:

The speed at which glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) flow could be driven in two distinct ways: from the top-down, or the bottom-up (Figure 2a-e). How fast the glacier moves or flows influences how quickly it retreats and thins over longer time scales.

In the top-down scenario, warm air temperatures melt the glacier ice and, when combined with precipitation, the glaciers are inundated with liquid water (Figure 2a). This water flows under the glacier, lubricating the interface between the glacier and the bedrock, and accelerates the speed at which the glacier moves due to a decrease in friction (Figure 2b).

In the bottom-up scenario, the warm ocean water melts all contacting terminus ice, undercutting the glacier at the waterline and facilitates iceberg calving, or breaking off more icebergs (Figure 2c,d). This removal of terminus ice decreases the amount of ice that the glacier has to move, thereby also leading to increased glacier velocities due to a decrease in back pressure (Figure 2e). 

Figure 2: Schematic illustrating the two end-member scenarios of glacier acceleration, top-down (a,b) and bottom-up (c-e). In top-down acceleration, water from melting ice and precipitation pools in crevasses and topographic lows on the glacier surface (a) until weaknesses in the ice are exploited and water flows between the glacier and glacier bed (b) reducing friction and leading to glacier acceleration. Bottom-up acceleration is initiated at the glacier terminus with warm ocean water melting away the glacier at the waterline, leading to an undercut terminus (c), which initiates subsequent mass loss through calving (d). This decrease in mass reduces the back pressure (e) leading to glacier acceleration.

While two distinct scenarios are presented above, a combination of mechanisms most often controls glacier acceleration. For example, recent studies in Greenland have shown that ocean warming has been the controlling mechanism in glacier instability while in Svalbard both ocean and air temperatures appear to balance each other in driving glacier change.

However, how quickly the Southern Patagonian Icefield is responding to warmer conditions and the primary mechanisms behind ice mass loss remain important questions to be addressed, that Scott’s project will hopefully illuminate over time.

The research grant awarded by the American Alpine Club and other organizations made it possible for our team to collect preliminary data, create working relationships with CONAF and RRCS to ensure we are working alongside Chilean colleagues, and for us to apply for additional grants that will ensure this work continues for many years. We will be excited to share future results and info in the coming years as we finally are able to return to Chile and continue this important science in a part of the world that is so challenging to reach and conduct research. 
— Scott Braddock

Introducing the American Alpine Club Podcast: Episode 01

Designed by Jeff Deikis

2 min read

The American Alpine Club Podcast: Our Vision

That’s right. You can now take a deep dive into your favorite American Alpine Club content via your headphones, car stereo, and more. The drive to work—or your favorite hang board routine—just got way more interesting. Episodes will typically fall into four categories: Climb; Protect; Educate; Connect.

Climb episodes will be just that—about climbs big and small, and the things they make us realize, in conversation with AAC community members.

Protect episodes will dive into the nuances of policy and advocacy issues that matter most to climbers.

Educate episodes will span the logistics of safety and accidents, as well as the history of climbing and how it can inform our present.

Connect episodes will cover the social side of our climbing community, including important conversations about equity and inclusion that have emerged from our work with the Climb United initiative.

Check back here, the AAC Stories Archive, to find the latest episodes and show notes, and subscribe to the American Alpine Club Podcast at your favorite podcast source: Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.


Episode 01

Protect: An Interview on Climate with Graham Zimmerman and Jill Pelto

“Graham Zimmerman is an alpinist and climate advocate–scaling the highest mountains in the world and energizing climbers around taking action to fight climate change. Jill Pelto is a climate artist whose aesthetic tactics of combining climate data with artistic expression is striking and thought-provoking. In this discussion, the AAC dives in with Graham and Jill about communicating the intricacies of climate change, climate impacts they’ve personally witnessed in the mountains, what motivates them to advocate, and why it matters to climbers so damn much.”


Give a Damn

Climbers gather around the Sprinter to talk about how they can be better stewards of climbing areas while climbing at Wall Street during this year’s Moab Craggin Classic. Lands of the Ute, Dine, and Ancestral Puebloan peoples. AAC member Levi Harrell

5 minute read

Summit Register 004—Letter from the Editor

AAC Policy Team

As climbers we have an extraordinarily intimate relationship with our landscapes, whether that be high alpine environments, our local crag, bouldering spot, or our gyms. Since 1902, the AAC has been committed to protecting these spaces. As our definition of what climbing spaces are and what it means to protect and conserve them have evolved, we have come to firmly believe that protecting communities, people, and culture is as important as protecting physical spaces. Our renewed focus on people and communities in concert with protecting and preserving our landscapes is an expression of this belief.

Photo by AAC member Bryan Miller

Over the last few months, we’ve reflected on our strengths and most pressing needs as a Club. These conversations have led to restating our policy and advocacy vision: We envision a future in which 5 million climbers are united in protecting the climbing places we love for current and future generations.

The foundation of our policy and advocacy strategy centers on actively engaged climbers. This is reflected both in our community organizing work and in a government affairs approach, which elevates climber experiences and stories. Climbers are our lifeblood and our work is member-centered and volunteer-powered. We will engage local and national issues with the collective voice of our 25,000 members and thereby activate the climbing communities that surround them. Our community gives a damn. And because we know that politics, policy, and advocacy is predominantly local, we’re building the Climbers Advocacy Network (CAN) to activate the most effective advocates to inform local issues such as climbing management plans and permitting. We plan to feature the work of the CAN in upcoming issues of the Summit Register.

Building the CAN has already started, with a small, passionate group of member-volunteers raising their hands to lead their regions. As we build the network and empower the CAN with information, we’ll lean into supporting 30x30 legislation, land policies impacting climbers, equity and inclusion, and amplifying work of non-profit partners and community groups, among other pressing issues. In our conversations with AAC members, land managers, lawmakers, adjacent non-profits, and community based organizations, there’s been great enthusiasm for this vision.

Our collective voice has the strength to create new ideas, move conversations, and give direction to the climbing community. As we educate and begin funneling resources to building the CAN, we take time in this issue of the Summit Register to consider some key issues for climbers at the national level, and steps we can each take to support national legislation. But with the CAN as inspiration, it is clear that advocacy goes beyond Capitol Hill.

This issue of our quarterly policy zine explores the nuances of advocacy, and the many creative ways individuals and local climbing organizations (LCOs) can advocate to protect our communities and physical spaces. In one feature article, AAC policy manager Taylor Luneau considers the role of local climbing organizations and local climbers in fostering effective and accessible climbing management plans for our overcrowded public lands. In another article, climber and advocate Kate Rutherford describes the power of eating local organic foods in the regions where you climb. Advocacy has many avenues, and we know our work ahead will ultimately lead to further engagement with lawmakers and change makers who can broaden our impact. We are looking forward to working side by side with all of you towards this future.

The New Era of Climbing Management Plans & Regulations

Climbers gazing up at Middle Cathedral from the floor of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite was recently the scene of a new permitting process for big wall climbers. Lands of the Central Sierra Miwok peoples. AAC Member Bryan Meyer

5 minute read

The New Era of Climbing Management Plans & Regulations

Taylor Luneau, AAC Policy Manager

Across the country, people are flocking to recreate on our nations’ public lands in record setting numbers. Calico Basin, found within the world famous Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, experienced a 340% increase in visitation over the past decade. Across the West, peak season campsite occupancy rates have risen by an estimated 47% since 2014. The phenomena, which Colorado State University’s Public Land History Center is aptly calling “the Public Landemic” has been widely reported on and our climbing areas are feeling the pressure like everywhere else.

While the pandemic pushed people out of climbing gyms and up to our local crags, the climbing communities’ massive growth can also be attributed to, among other things, the explosion of climbing gyms across the country, the emergence of climbers at the Oscars, and the long awaited appearance of climbing in the Olympics—outcomes that naturally, we would all celebrate. But with growth comes growing pains. The flood of climbers into the outdoors is creating a tipping point for land managers who, due to lack of sustained funding and staff capacity, struggle to mitigate the increased stress on infrastructure caused by overcrowding. In response, the climbing community is experiencing a notable uptick in new regulations such as permit programs, timed entry and fee systems as well as other restrictions to our favorite climbing destinations.

Climbers at a busy crag at Calico Basin in Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area. These popular sport climbing areas outside Las Vegas, NV have seen some of the highest increase in use over the past 10 years. Lands of the Southern Paiute, & Newe peoples. AAC member Jon Glassberg

While I do not openly welcome any limitations on our communities’ access to climbing, I do understand that there are certain limits of unacceptable impacts to ecological and cultural resources as well as the recreational experience itself, that land managers are tasked with monitoring and mitigating. In the best case scenario, agency officials will make management recommendations that are supported by authentic community engagement, grounded in science, and adaptable to new information and recreation trends. Where in some areas a timed entry program may be a useful management tool, in others, that tool may be totally misapplied. This gets to the heart of why the AAC continues to fight for the public process and transparency embodied in the National Environmental Policy Act—the Magna Carta of environmental law and the legal basis that allows the public to comment on the management of our public lands. The land management programs that are being proposed to address overcrowding on our public lands must be tailored to the needs and specifics of the given landscape and its affiliated communities; this public comment process allows this to manifest.

Over the past year I’ve witnessed our community lean into this reality in a big way. Climbers stepped up to engage in difficult discussions on how to establish route development ethics in Ten Sleep (a plan that was recently abandoned due to US Forest Service staffing shortages), they provided critical insights on how our community interacts with wilderness climbing resources in Joshua Tree and Yosemite, they shared feedback on use patterns in Calico Basin, and they offered valuable knowledge on access points to Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park – just to name a few.

Advocacy doesn’t just happen on Capitol Hill. You
can always get involved with a trail maintenance or clean up day at your local climbing area. Here, climbers give back to the crags they love during the Smith Rock Craggin Classic. Lands of the Tenino peoples and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. AAC member Luke Humphrey

At several recent public hearings regarding management plans for climbing areas across the country (such as the Calico Basin RAMP/EA where hundreds of climbers showed up to share their thoughts) I’ve heard comments regarding these rules as stifling the spontaneous nature of climbing and limiting the freedom we’ve experienced as a user group for decades. These are valuable and important concerns that must be communicated to land management agencies. Climbers must actively engage in these regulatory discussions and call attention to when agencies can be doing better. In doing so, we can emphasize a deep understanding of our user groups’ distinct needs, movement patterns, and cultural values. When appropriate, we must hold decision makers accountable, and request they go back to the drawing board to reconsider their plans and evaluate their intentions.

We must also understand that growth in our sport is a great thing. Consider the many wild adventures and profound relationships that you’ve developed through your own climbing experiences. It’s well documented that recreation outdoors supports public health and wellbeing, not to mention endless economic benefits for local communities. As the AAC reflects on our own history, we’re challenging ourselves to be more inclusive and welcoming to a broader, bigger, and more diverse community of climbers. Welcoming a bigger community of climbers to the outdoors will undoubtedly make our advocacy for access challenging and nuanced, but our community will be more vibrant, rich, and dare I say more politically powerful because of it.

The era we live in as climbers is a unique one and represents a significant departure from the past. With management plans popping up across the country, we have an opportunity to ensure that our climbing areas are properly cared for, that access to these spaces is more equitable, that local Tribes have better opportunities to guide the management of their ancestral lands (there is still much room for improvement), and that the character of these important places continues to offer unique experiences for generations of climbers to come. The great thing is that climbers have done this before. We’ve worked hard to educate each other about respecting culturally sensitive sites, we’ve observed and successfully self enforced raptor closures, and we’ve stewarded the trails and local infrastructure at our climbing areas. We need to carry these successes forward.

Right now, a local climbing organization or AAC chapter in your area can undoubtedly use your help, your unique experience and your voice to protect our climbing areas. Many of these local advocacy groups have developed strong relationships with land managers and are currently assisting them with the management of local crags and public lands. I encourage you to seek out these groups, offer your time and professional expertise, join public meetings with land managers to share your insights, submit substantive comments on management plans, and look for action alerts from national organizations like the Access Fund and American Alpine Club. Through your efforts we may see our climbing areas change in positive ways, like newly graded roads, parking lots, bathrooms and more sustainably built trails — not to mention acknowledgement as an important user group and thought partner in the stewardship of our public lands.

The times are changing, but we don’t have to simply accept it for what it is. We can play a critical role in coming up with creative solutions alongside land managers. Your voice matters: get involved.

Farm to Crag

Kate has always known that food is the fuel for success while climbing. Here she fires up breakfast before a day of climbing on the Incredible Hulk in the Eastern Sierra. Land of the Northern Paiute, Eastern Mono/Monache, and Newe peoples. AAC member Ken Etzel

5 minute read

Food As a Form of Climate Activism

Kate Rutherford, Farm to Crag Founder

Climbers thrive when we have a hard objective—a project that pushes our mental and physical capacity. We love far away summits, intricate logistics, and the emotional commitment to our partners. With all of our training and strength, we are perfectly poised to be powerful advocates for what we love, and are able to apply our creative talents to finding climate solutions, protecting biodiversity, and prioritizing the health of the planet for all people.

Farm To Crag is one of those creative climate solutions. As a climber driven non-profit, we work to connect climbers with sustainable, locally grown food wherever you climb by offering an easy to use map to local sustainable food. It was born as one climber’s joyful response to the scary prospect of the climate crisis. We believe that sometimes advocacy can look like eating a delicious snack.

Author Kate Rutherford rappelling off a route in the high alpine of the Eastern Sierras. Land of the Northern Paiute, Eastern Mono/Monache, and Newe peoples. AAC member Ken Etzel

Throughout my climbing travels, global communities welcomed me, fed me, maintained the gardens at the base of cliffs, and kept the lights on late when my partners and I bit off more than we could chew. How would I find another local food community as I migrated with the climbing seasons?

How would the gardens that had fed us on those trips fare with the changing climate in the mountains? Would they fare better if climbers invested in them? In this worry, I felt like Sisyphus, rolling the boulder of this challenge up the hill every day. Finally, my friend and mentor Yvon Chouinard told me that investing in regenerative organic agriculture was “the number one thing climbers can do to reverse climate change.” This quote became my route topo, my project, the summit to train for. This was a hopeful way to confront climate change—one meal at a time.

I dove into the science of organic gardening, soil health, and regenerative farming. I read books like there would be an exam. I found mentors who helped write the Farm Bill; they explained the disproportionately high federal assistance that conventional farmers received compared to the low funding for small farmers or organic research. I began to understand the power of lobbying and went to talk with lawmakers on Capitol Hill during Organic Week. I also spent many hours sleuthing out locally raised veggies, meats, and dairy.

Then, I sat down with two amazing humans at my kitchen table. We were craving seasonal vegetables that were locally grown in the places we love to climb. We wanted a map to local gardens, handmade kimchi, hometown bread bakers, and lovingly raised lamb chops. Our bodies needed nutrients. We wanted to host dinner parties at our kitchen table, or in the van while on the road. We wanted to celebrate seasonal foods, fresh greens and sun-warmed strawberries. Thus, Farm to Crag was born.

Farm to Crag was born to celebrate locally grown, fresh, organic vegetables. These foods are the fuel climbers need to reach the biggest summits of their imaginations. Viktor Pravdica

We know that soil free of pesticides and rich in mycorrhizal fungi, protozoa and nematodes, mites, springtails, and earthworms help break down organic matter and minerals. This creates useful vitamins, hormones, and disease-suppressing compounds that plants need to be healthy. These tiny creatures also aerate the ground, allowing for deeper roots, better water retention capacity, and greater survival rates in extreme weather events. Research shows that healthy soil encourages deep-rooted plants, which draw carbon further down into the soil. There, it’s shared with diverse flora and fauna, and stored out of the harmful green-house gas cycle. Food has also become a purposeful means for climbing performance.

Food is nutrition and nutrition is performance. Organic, regenerative local food is the pinnacle of both. By uniting our community around this sustainable food practice, we believe that we will dramatically improve the health of our bodies, our communities, and our planet.

Through food, we become a part of our destination climbing areas. And with every dollar we exchange for food, we support the health of those economies—therefore ensuring their ability to cultivate healthy soil, a necessity for drawing carbon out of the ever warming atmosphere and making nourishing food for climbers.

This became the foundation for my favorite Farm To Crag mantra:

soil health = nutrient-dense veggies = climbers on summits

We believe the switch to regenerative organic farming will draw enough carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in the ground to reverse climate change. But we need your help! If climbers supported local farms and sustainable businesses, would that be enough? Perhaps, but better yet would be all climbers, bikers, skiers, surfers, and runners thinking about the Farm Bill or state legislation supporting small local farmers who care about soil health, biodiversity, clean water, and healthy livestock. Then we could start making policy changes to shift the food paradigm.

Maps are one of my favorite parts about big adventures—and one of our favorite parts about Farm To Crag. We have a map of local farms, farmers’ markets, and artisan food producers near our favorite crags. You can become part of this movement! Check it out, go shop at one, and cook a fully local meal for your friends and family. If your local farms are not on the map, you can add them at farmtocrag.org/ contribute.

Join us. Connect the dots between the places we play and the foods we eat, with a soil that sustains both and provides a future for our species.

Advocacy in Action

Guided climbing experiences and instruction, like this at the International Climbers Gathering in Yosemite National Park, could become much more accessible with the passage of the SOAR Act. Lands of the Central Sierra Miwok peoples. AAC member Andrew Burr

5 minute read

Ask Your Lawmakers to Prioritize Equitable Access

Amelia Howe, AAC Advocacy Manager

For the past six months, the news cycle and many of your favorite advocacy organizations have been focused on the Infrastructure package and the Build Back Better Act. While those major packages have been taking up a lot of air time and advocacy efforts, other legislation has taken a backseat. With the Infrastructure bill officially signed into law, and the Build Back Better act awaiting a vote in the Senate, it is important to point our advocacy efforts to other priorities that directly impact the climbing community.

Kathy Karlo throwing a mega heel hook while climbing in the Gunks. Land of the Lenape peoples. AAC member Chris Vultaggio

The Biden-Harris administration, alongside agency leaders like Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, have made it clear that they are prioritizing increased access to public lands for all people in the United States. With data affirming that a diversity gap exists on public land , many agencies are reckoning with the role they play in explicitly or implicitly excluding groups from participating in outdoor activities. This fall, the Department of Interior (DOI) solicited feedback from the public and outdoor recreation organizations to uncover how to better facilitate access to recreation on public lands.

The DOI placed additional emphasis on creating new and streamlined opportunities for underserved communities to recreate on public lands. One contributing problem is that our existing permitting system of red-tape and bureaucracy is negatively impacting people’s ability to get outdoors. Our community can participate in advocating on this priority by activating around the SOAR Act.

SOAR Act

The Simplifying Outdoor Access to Recreation, or the SOAR Act, is having another moment on the Hill. You may remember hearing about this bill over the past several years, as the AAC along with our partners at the Outdoor Alliance and the Coalition for Outdoor Access have been advocating for the passage of the SOAR act for the past six years. At this point in the process, it is critical that your Senators hear from you! Let them know that this bill is a priority for climbers, and they need to get the bill across the finish line once and for all.

There are a lot of ways the SOAR act positively impacts the climbing community and will make it easier for more individuals to access recreation. Many people first become introduced to the outdoors through a facilitated experience. Whether that experience is through an outfitter or guide service, an outdoor education organization, a volunteer-based club or an affinity group, each of these organizations are required to have a permit to take groups of people out onto public lands. There is potential for a system that allocates permits in a timely and efficient manner, but the current system is time-intensive, outdated, and overly complex. Due to the complexity of the permitting process, groups who have a robust understanding of the system or who have held past permits are able to retain their access.

Meanwhile, the complexity of the permitting process has been known to discourage smaller volunteer-led organizations that are creating opportunities to connect members of underserved communities to public lands. The impact of this dated process is significant, and it means that fewer people are able to access outdoor spaces, experience climbing for the first time, or gain the mental and physical health benefits that these places offer. In order to ensure truly equitable opportunities for folks to experience public lands, it is critical that we remove barriers to entry created by bureaucracy and administrative requirements. It is past time for this change, and agency leaders are pushing for it. Now we need to motivate Congress to pass this bill.

SOAR Act will:

  • Increase recreation access by improving the process of issuing permits to guides and outfitters

  • Make more recreation opportunities available by extending the term of temporary permits and creating a program for sharing unused guide days between permit holders

  • Reduce barriers to accessing public lands for school districts, city recreation departments, and university groups

  • Increase permit system transparency by directing the land management agencies to notify the public when new recreation permits are available and ensuring that agencies respond to permit requests in a timely manner

  • Reduce permit fees and costs for small businesses and organizations

  • Help control liability insurance costs for permit holders by allowing them to use liability release forms with clients

  • And more!

Act This bipartisan bill would be a major win for climbers and recreationists. Write your Senators today asking them to co-sponsor this legislation, and to encourage them to bring this bill to the floor for a vote!

Updates from your Policy Team

Boulderers weaving their way through the Buttermilks. Land of the Northern Paiute, Eastern Mono/Monache, Newe peoples. AAC member Dawn Kish

5 minute read

What Went Down This Fall?

Amelia Howe, AAC Advocacy Manager

As we pack up our sport climbing gear and enter into the winter season, it is hard to believe that we are already one year into a new administration. It feels like just yesterday we were activating our community to vote, and outlining our vision for the newly elected Biden-Harris administration. Now, new priorities have been outlined by the White House, and steps have been taken to act on these priorities. All of these factors impact how we strategize our advocacy efforts, and how you and your fellow climbers can assist us in our work.

Rachel Goldman climbing the steep featured roofs of Hueco
Tanks. Lands of the Tampachoa (Mansos), Ndé Kónitsąąíí Gokíyaa (Lipan Apache), & Mescalero Apache peoples. AAC member Dawn Kish

The American Alpine Club’s (AAC) vision for the current administration was outlined in the last Summit Register. It covered everything from creating a nationwide 30x30 implementation plan, restoring the National Environmental Policy Act, and utilizing public lands management and protections as a tool for fighting the climate crisis and prioritizing equitable access to landscapes and greenspaces. While there is endless work to be done, and much to hold the administration accountable to, there are things worth celebrating as we hit the one-year mark.

Infrastructure

A monumental milestone worth celebrating is the successful passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law on November 15th. While this bill may not sound like anything relevant to climbers, it contains strong legislative support for fighting the climate crisis and supporting public lands.

The public lands system is full of aging infrastructure that has long been neglected. In order to ensure an increase in equitable access to these resources for generations to come, our lawmakers need to prioritize funding for the necessary stewardship and maintenance work. From parking lots to restrooms to individual trails, these critical resources deserve continued attention and support, and luckily, the Infrastructure package works to directly address that need.

The Impact of Infrastructure on Recreation, Climate Action, and Public Lands

While this bill touches on everything from job creation, traditional infrastructure priorities such as bridge and roadway repair, and social infrastructure needs like nationwide broadband access, it also included priorities specifically related to what we advocate for in the recreation space. What exactly did the passage of this bill get us from a recreation, public lands, and climate perspective?

This is what we’re most excited about.

  • $100 million for Restoring, Preparing, or Adapting Recreation Sites on Federal Lands

  • Investments in Natural Infrastructure

  • $250 million to fund the Forest Service’s Legacy Road and Trail Program

  • $47 billion in climate resilience measures

  • $65 billion in clean energy and power grid-related investments

  • $21 billion to clean up decommissioned, or orphaned, oil and gas wells on public and Tribal lands

  • $50 million for endangered-species recovery and conservation programs

  • $500 million to address forest fire planning, defense, and response

A Note on the Build Back Better Act

The Budget Reconciliation package, or the Build Back Better Act (BBB), was a crucial element to the current presidential administration’s efforts to fight climate change and build national climate resilience. However, negotiating this bill and our national spending priorities have been the major political crux of the year. While the BBB passed in the House on November 19th, recent developments in the Senate indicate that the BBB as it stands faces a significant roadblock, and will have to be reconsidered and renegotiated as a new bill. While this is discouraging for those who were excited to see climate and public lands priorities within the bill, this setback won’t stop us. There is still great reason to get involved, and advocate for the policies that matter most to climbers. One thing is clear, the fight for public lands and climate action is not over.

Though the BBB will no longer exist by the same name moving forward, we need to fight to continue to have our priorities heard as these topics are renegotiated. Here is what we find most imperative and hope resurfaces in a future package:

Key Elements of the BBB for Climbers That We Should Carry Forward

Sara Roudebush and Michelle “Meesh” Van Riper get ready to start the day with a comically appropriate amount of pads for a day of climbing
at the Buttermilks. Lands of the Northern Paiute, Eastern Mono/Monache, Newe peoples. AAC member Dawn Kish

  • Funding for the creation and implementation of the Civilian Climate Corps

  • Investments in the effectiveness of the National Environmental Policy Act

  • Protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

  • Investment in public land agency climate resiliency

  • Mineral leasing act reform

  • Bonding reform and decommissioned, or orphaned, wells clean up

While it often feels like decisions made in D.C. are out of our hands, it is critical that we remember we elect these individuals to represent us. We have the power to call or write to them regarding how a decision they made makes us feel. We have the power to re-elect them or to vote them out of office. We have the power to hold them accountable to the needs of our communities. And so many of you already have. You have sent thousands of emails in support of the critical amendments that will ensure public lands remain protected, resilient to climate impacts, and accessible to all. Thank you for supporting these initiatives. We must keep pushing. Keep on the lookout for new ways to advocate for our priorities in the New Year, and ensure your voice is heard.

Colorado Policy Update: Protecting the Thompson Divide

Climbers stand up for the CORE Act, protecting the state’s outdoor heritage

by Lea Linse

*this article originally appeared in the AAC Summit Register, Issue 001

Tucked between the Rocky Mountains to the East and red deserts to the West lie 200,000 acres of quiet land known as the Thompson Divide. With its rolling hills, scrub forests, picturesque cattle pastures, and dusty sagebrush, the Divide lacks the grandeur and snow capped summits that you find in the nearby Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. It also lacks the throngs of summer hikers and incessant busy roads, instead offering meandering trails, trickling streams, and only a few quiet roads. Though it sits within an hour drive of the internationally renowned sport climbing mecca Rifle Mountain Park as well as the granite paradise of Independence Pass, I see why the Thompson Divide isn’t on climbers’ radar. It hosts only one small sport crag (a local favorite however), and the quality boulders, sport crags, and ice climbs around the tiny town of Redstone are just beyond the border of the Divide. While rock climbing isn’t going to put the Thompson Divide on the map, the Thompson Divide remains relevant to all of us.

In the last decade, the Thompson Divide gained notoriety as the centerpiece of a fierce grassroots campaign showcasing the importance of public land resources, and the value of citizen engagement in public land management.

The threat to development on the Thompson Divide has been long contested by Western Slope locals. Land of the Ute peoples. EcoFlight

The vast majority of the Thompson Divide is public land, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service (USFS) for “multiple uses.” This land supports a wealth of agriculture, tourism, and recreational opportunities like hiking, climbing, biking, and hunting. The Thompson Divide has been at the heart of the Roaring Fork Valley ranching community for more than a century, supporting 30+ successful farms and cattle ranches that graze animals on this rich land.

As a kid growing up in Carbondale, I understood early on that my quality of life was greatly improved by the access we had to the outdoors. This meant building forts, going sledding (the Thompson Divide had the best sledding hill around), and eating cheeseburgers from grass-fed beef raised fifteen minutes up the road in the Thompson Divide. In high school, at a time when I was itching for more independence and an escape from teenage drama, the safe and accessible public lands on the Divide allowed me to satisfy those needs through outdoor recreation. There, I learned to backcountry ski, went on my first no-adults backpacking trip with friends, and led my first sport climb.

In the late 2000s, rumors surfaced that a Houston-based company wanted to drill for natural gas in the Thompson Divide. The company owned several natural gas leases there, but had yet to develop them. When leases are developed the impact is noticeable. Development includes the building of new roads, frequent use of heavy machinery and subsequent truck traffic, and multiple wells with automated pumps. The expansive spider web of infrastructure required to service these leases is evident in nearby towns along the I-70 corridor, where, if driving from the Front Range of Colorado to Utah, you could see numerous natural gas wells and related facilities. This sprawling network is even more visible from the air. This development falls mostly within Garfield County, home to Rifle Mountain Park. This county produced more natural gas than any other county in Colorado—sometimes more than twice as much as other leading counties—from 2007-2014.

Natural gas development in the Divide quickly became the talk of the town in Carbondale. There were new articles in the paper almost daily about the topic, which my mom would clip and save for me to read. I remember reading about the newly formed Thompson Divide Coalition (TDC) in 2007, a group that would become the soul of the grassroots effort to conserve the Divide. TDC is governed by a diverse volunteer board of local stakeholders like ranchers, small business owners, and community leaders who all agree on one thing—the Thompson Divide is a place too special to drill for natural gas. They made clear from the start that they weren’t against natural gas development on the whole, and many of them even cringed at being called “environmentalists.” Rather, they simply wanted what was best for their community.

Around the time that the TDC was formed, natural gas development in Garfield County was exploding as a result of technological advances and federal policies that encouraged rapid development. As natural gas wells became more numerous in rural communities such as Parachute, Silt, and Rifle, public health concerns associated with natural gas development were frequently reported by residents.

For example, in 2010, Garfield County released a Health Impact Assessment specific to a drilling plan in the nearby community of Battlement Mesa finding that, “[this] development plan is likely to change air quality and produce undesirable health impacts in residents living in close proximity throughout the community...”. Additionally, in 2011, the nonprofit Global Community Monitor found elevated levels of “22 toxic chemicals,” including hydrogen sulfide in the air near natural gas drilling sites (and rural homes) in Silt. And in 2013, there was a notable benzene leak confirmed in Parachute Creek, near several residential water wells.

Thompson Divide Coalition members speak with a Forest Service representative to encourage the preservation of the Divide. Land of the Ute peoples.

With this backdrop of contamination reports and health complaints, residents near the Thompson Divide were extremely concerned about the impacts of drilling near their homes. Still, research on the topic remained scarce and sometimes conflicting, such as in a 2017 study conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment that claimed “the risk of harmful health effects (was) low for residents living near oil and gas operations” but called for further research on exposure risks. We know now, however, following the updated report in 2019 by ICF, that emissions near drilling and hydraulic fracturing sites can cause serious negative health impacts.

In addition to health and pollution concerns, one of the strongest arguments for protecting the divide were the economic benefits. Benefits the community argued, relied on the land remaining undeveloped.

An economic impact analysis completed in 2013 found that recreation, agriculture, and tourism—activities that locals argued would be most negatively impacted by natural gas development—collectively contribute nearly 300 jobs and $30 million to the local economy each year. In a town of only 6,500 people in 2013—those numbers make a big difference. These uses of the Divide are also sustainable. They’ve provided for the community for generations and would continue to, so long as the Divide was left free of development. This was an argument that helped to rally a broad base of supporters, well beyond those whose health or property might be affected.

There are many other benefits to not allowing oil and gas in the Divide. Extracting carbon rich fuels and leaching methane into the air is counterproductive to combating climate change. Leaving fossil fuels in the ground is truly a form of climate action. In addition, several of the areas up for lease at the time were federally designated roadless areas. By cutting roads into these pristine areas, natural gas development would disrupt wildlife like deer and elk, pushing them out of critical winter ranges and disrupting their migration and calving grounds.

Five years after the Thompson Divide Coalition formed, the area was as threatened as ever. I knew I had to add my voice to the fight so I started a student led initiative aimed at engaging young people in this local issue. I spoke at a town hall meeting in front of nearly 300 people and later helped organize a student delegation to deliver 1,152 letters from concerned citizens to the BLM headquarters in Silt, CO, asking them to let the leases expire.

These experiences opened my eyes to the challenges of grassroots activism, and the importance of local land managers and government officials. In the case of mineral leasing, almost all of the key decisions that we were concerned about were being made right down the road, in local BLM offices, at county commission meetings, and in town halls by people who lived in our communities, not politicians in far away places. Because of the proximity of decision makers, and our efforts to engage them, I feel we made a significant difference, not only in our community, but in the trajectory of the Thompson Divide debate.

What would be a key decider for the fate of several leases on the Thompson Divide would be the environmental impact analysis the BLM was forced to conduct in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. As it turned out, the BLM’s first analysis was improperly conducted resulting in their issuing of the leases illegally.

When the BLM released the updated draft EIS in November 2015, they received over 50,000 comments—most in support of protecting the Divide and doing away with the illegal leases. For reference, the population of Carbondale and Glenwood Springs combined amounted to less than 20,000 people in 2016, demonstrating the widespread nature of support from all surrounding communities and businesses. On top of that, the BLM hosted 3 public meetings for citizens to raise concerns. One meeting in Carbondale turned out a whopping 240 people on a Wednesday night!

With the consistent outcry from the public, and the updated environmental analysis, the BLM decided to cancel 25 undeveloped leases in the heart of the Thompson Divide—a reality that would not have emerged without the NEPA process.

Though several of the leases in the Thompson Divide have been cancelled, the area has yet to be removed from future leasing. The hope of permanent protection was introduced in a bill sponsored by Senator Bennett in 2017 called the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act, which has since been lumped into a larger package called the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Economy (CORE) Act.

The CORE Act could have economic and ecological benefits for regions in CO beyond the Thompson Divide.

The CORE Act, recognizes the economic and ecological benefits provided by public lands like the Thompson Divide, and would permanently withdraw the Divide from new leasing. The Act also introduces protections for recreational opportunities in other locations across Colorado—designating wilderness in the San Juans, protecting climbing areas in the 10 Mile Range and preserving climbing history by establishing a first-of-its-kind National Historic Landscape to honor Colorado’s military legacy at Camp Hale.

The CORE Act, however, has met significant political resistance from certain actors. Representative Tipton, for instance, introduced a similar bill of his own, the REC Act, which is nearly identical to the CORE Act except that it doesn’t include protection for the Thompson Divide. Reportedly, this omission was due to concerns from some of Tipton’s constituents, mainly the Garfield County Commissioners, who have consistently opposed protections for the Divide and sided with oil and gas companies. The Thompson Divide Coalition has implored residents of Garfield County to write to their commissioners and tell them to support protections for the Divide, but with seemingly little result.

It is frustrating to see this resistance continue to perpetuate from Garfield County to higher levels of the government. For example, citing Tipton’s concerns (which drew on Garfield County’s concerns), Senator Cory Gardner is now mounting resistance to the CORE Act in the Senate.

I believe the outpouring of community support, and especially its sincerity, is what distinguishes the Thompson Divide and earns it a place in federal legislation. Not only did residents take every opportunity to provide comments, attend community meetings, speak to their local government face-to-face, and write letters of support; they did so with a unique non-partisan sincerity that is difficult to ignore.

Supporting the protection of the Divide didn’t mean you were against oil and gas development in other areas where the impacts to the community and the local environment were less demonstrable. Nor did it mean you were an “environmentalist.” Supporting the Divide meant you cared deeply about the land, the wildlife, and the well-being of a healthy ecosystem, and that even development of essential mineral resources had to be sensitive to local and environmental needs. As one rancher famously quipped in an interview, “I ain’t no granola-crunching hippy,” but he shared the community belief that the Thompson Divide was too special of a place to drill.

While the Thompson Divide may not be home to one of our nations’ classic climbing areas, the protections afforded by the CORE Act preserve world class recreation all across Colorado. It preserves our climate by keeping carbon in the ground, safeguards public health and protects critical wildlife habitat by maintaining unfragmented forests. Land management challenges like that of the Thompson Divide are not unique, although the landscape is. Agency officials all over the country are making decisions about the future of our public lands and the energy development that occurs on them. Without the continued support of citizens like you, and the leadership of elected officials who share our concern for these places, they won’t receive the protections they rightfully deserve. There’s no time to be a silent bystander, we need to use our voice, go vote and spark the change we want to see.

2021 Cornerstone Conservation Grant Recipients

As we look ahead to the future of climbing and the availability of outdoor recreation opportunities for all, the American Alpine Club’s (AAC) Cornerstone Conservation Grant represents our commitment to supporting local climbing communities in their conservation and restoration initiatives.

More individuals, families, and groups are spending time in climbing areas and landscapes, causing added environmental stress and degradations to these places. We look to local climbing communities to identify areas in need of conservation, restoration, and educational resources for visitors.

The AAC Cornerstone Conservation Grant, powered by REI, formally launched in 2011 with the goal of funding projects to improve, conserve, and protect local climbing resources across the country. Since that first year, we have awarded over $250,000 to local climbing organizations (LCOs), land managers and agencies, nonprofits, and individuals for projects as varied as building or improving trail networks to climbing areas; establishing new toilet facilities and signage at trailheads; and deploying a variety of community groups for clean-up and graffiti removal at local crags.

2021 Winners:

Salt Lake Climbers Alliance - Jacobs Ladder Reroute to Lone Peak Cirque

$2,000

The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance, with support from the Salt Lake and Pleasant Grove Ranger Districts, are proposing a reroute on a steep section of unsustainable trail to Lone Peak Cirque known as Jacob’s Ladder. This multi-use trail is perhaps the worst in the Wasatch with erosion up to six feet deep!

Boulder Climbing Community - Avalon Climbing Area Access Trail Project Phase II

$5,000

BCC will reroute the main approach trail accessed by crossing Boulder Creek. The current approach trail quickly leads up a dirt slope that is continually eroding due to user traffic and environmental impact such as water runoff. BCC will realign this approach trail, building a sustainable and durable path within the talus field, ensuring that continued user traffic no longer erodes the vegetated hillside.

Mohonk Preserve, Inc. - Promoting Low Impact Climbing

$3,000

Mohonk Preserve’s increase in climbing activity in recent years have necessitated extra steps for the preservation of climbing areas to avoid environmental damage and climbing accidents. This grant will fund an educational information campaign based on Low-Impact Climbing and Leave No Trace principles to ensure that climbers have the skills to engage with the environment mindfully. 

Carolina Climbers Coalition - Bald Mountain Creek Preserve Bouldering

$3,000

In 2020, the Carolina Climbers Coalition began working with Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (STPAL) to develop a strategy for publicly permissible bouldering access on their 750 acre preserve called the Bald Mountain Creek Preserve. Located near Burnsville, NC, the Preserve contains 45+ boulders with approximately 250 problems. The Preserve has three boulder fields; McKinney Gap, Weaver Knob, and Buckhouse. With funds from this grant, we hope to build a parking lot that will open the Weaver Knob and the Buckhouse Boulders, and we hope to aid our C4 Trail Team with funding. Currently, Weaver Knob and Buckhouse Boulders do not have any parking and can not be opened to climbing without parking and trail infrastructure.  

Durango Climbers Coalition - Animas City Mountain restoration initiative

$5,000

The funds requested will be used to help La Plata County install two trailhead signs, and three wayfinding signs as well as match a potential grant request from the Access Fund for the development of a tool cache which will allow the DCC to complete necessary trail improvements at X-Rock and other climbing areas near Durango.

Southeastern Climbers Coalition - Education Signage Updates at SCC-owned Properties

$2,000

SCC owns and manages 8 climbing areas across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. The climbing community continues to grow and more climbers are visiting our properties for the first time, therefore the need for clear signage and accurate property maps is vital to the long-term sustainability of our climbing resources. Using the results from our 2020 resource inventory project, we have identified the need for boundary and trail markers, access road signage and kiosk updates relative to each location. We are partnering with University of Tennessee's IGT lab to create new property maps at several of our climbing areas. SCC is seeking funding to hire a graphic designer to help with design updates as well as to cover the cost of sign printing and installation.

CRAG-VT (Climbing Resource Access Group - Vermont) - CRAG-VT Stewardship Cache Project

$2,500

CRAG-VT is seeking funding to support the procurement of stewardship supplies to match our greatly increased level of volunteer activity. Grant money will be used for purchase of tools, a shed, and stewardship day event materials.

Washington Climbers Coalition - Washington Climbers Conservation Initiative

$2,500

A beginner crag close to a major metro area has seen heavy impacted over the last 4 years. This multi-year project plans to address this by performing trail reroutes, closing none sustainable trails, and installing steps upper steeper portions of the area.

Reflections on the Bears Ears Restoration

A week ago today, the Biden-Harris Administration made the profoundly important decision to honor the voices of Indigenous communities, climbers, and conservationists by restoring protections to three national monuments including Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments. The American Alpine Club is thrilled about this action and grateful to our partners who led the charge to protect these important landscapes. We are particularly proud of our friends at the Access Fund, who on behalf of climbers, joined a lawsuit protesting the illegal reduction of Bears Ears and have feverishly lobbied Congress to restore protections to this important landscape. We are also grateful to the Bears-Ears Intertribal Coalition, who have invested innumerable hours of effort defending traditional values, ensuring that Indigenous knowledge is incorporated into future management decisions and ultimately protecting a sacred site significant to many Tribes such as the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Tribe.

We join our partners today to celebrate their hard work and commend the administration’s commitment to conserving this unique ecological and cultural heritage.

As the first national monument designated at the request of the Tribes, this action is truly about honoring First Nations who have called this landscape home for time immemorial. “This monument designation, under the first Indigenous Secretary of Interior, signals the role that Tribes will play in the future management of federal public lands,” said AAC Board member and founder of Natives Outdoors Len Necefer. “It’s imperative that the climbing community take steps to build a productive relationship with Tribes to ensure that the collaboration between these communities that occurred on Bears Ears becomes the norm.”

PC: Taylor Luneau

PC: Taylor Luneau

Reflecting on his experience witnessing President Biden sign the Presidential Proclamation, Chris Winters, Executive Director of the Access Fund said, “We are absolutely elated that President Biden stood up to protect Bears Ears National Monument and conserve this national treasure. This is a huge win for Indigenous people in the greater fight for America’s public lands. This proclamation not only protects climbing and the vast cultural and scientific resources at Bears Ears, but it also helps to uphold the integrity of the Antiquities Act and protects all national monuments around the country. It also recognizes the importance of outdoor recreation in these places.”

Like so many of you, the staff here at the AAC share a deep connection to Indian Creek and the desert landscape of Southeastern Utah. Previously, our current Policy Manager - then graduate student - penned an article highlighting the illegal use of presidential authority to rescind protections for 85% of the original monument designation at Bears Ears. “It is truly a historic achievement for Tribes and climbers alike” said AAC Policy Manager, Taylor Luneau, in light of the restoration. “Not only are the vast climbing resources of Bears Ears once again protected, but the action contributes to broader conservation goals laid out in the America the Beautiful plan, which strives to conserve 30 percent of our land and water by 2030—an effort that is crucial to combatting the climate crisis and ensuring close to home nature for all Americans.” 

Much like completing a new route, a milestone of this nature is never reached alone. “This success points to the importance of civic engagement, partnerships, and the value of advocating for our shared landscapes,”  emphasized AAC CEO Mitsu Iwasaki. “Thousands of people activated to write letters and call their elected officials, to attend protests and rallies, and to document and share their unique experiences in places like Indian Creek. Now we see the true impact our collective actions can have.” 

PC: Taylor Luneau

“The Biden administration’s recently restored protections for one of America’s most iconic, wild, adventurous, antiquities rich, awe inspiring, and home to Indian Creek, ecosystems - Bears Ears, should be a day of celebration, relief, joy and vigilance,” said AAC Board member Peter Metcalf. “With time, Bears Ears will become as famous and cherished as Yellowstone or Bryce Canyon National parks. We at the AAC should be both most appreciative and proud. Though we have substantial reasons to be appreciative of the administration's brave restoration and proud of our work, we must all now be aware that without committed, focused vigilance, it could be lost again to the banal financial benefit of a few.” 

The AAC remains committed to advocating for the protection and stewardship of Bears Ears and all of our public lands. As a community of climbers, we must continue to steward this important landscape, educate ourselves on low impact recreation and maintain our vigilance during future management decisions for the world class rock climbing of Indian Creek and beyond. Importantly, we must continue to support Tribal leaders and center the voices of Indigenous communities who call this place home.


Hill to (the Original!) Crag: Advocacy at Smith Rock

On Saturday October 2, an array of land managers, local and state politicians, and Oregon business leaders joined climbing advocates for a day of recreation at Smith Rock State Park. The focus of the event was centered around the future of climbing in the Park, and how climbing positively impacts the economy and vitality of Central Oregon’s surrounding communities. This installment of the American Alpine Club’s Hill to Crag Initiative, presented in collaboration with Edelrid North America, has once again used the comradery and intimacy of a day at the crag to forage connections and honest communication with local and state politicians and land managers.  

The AAC’s policy team is committed to illuminating how federal legislation impacts climbers, and our most recent edition of the Summit Register Policy Zine dives deep into initiatives like 30x30 and Protecting America’s Wilderness + Act (PAW+), outlining how these policies can support climate action and conservation efforts that climbers care about across the United States. But the AAC is also well aware of the power of local communities, and how partnerships between climbers and local leaders can pave the way for lasting change. 

At this Hill to Crag event, Matt Davey, the Superintendent of Smith Rock State Park, spent the day alongside Oregon decision makers and climbing advocates, speaking about the challenges the Park currently faces and how we can all come together to work towards a sustainable future for Smith Rock. Due to the robust history of climbing at the Park, climbers had a large impact on the modern day stewardship of this landscape. He informed the group that many of the original trails in the Park were built and maintained by climbers. To this day, that has not changed, as organizations like the Smith Rock Group and High Desert Climbers Alliance take the lead on grassroots efforts to maintain and steward the Park. When asked what climbers can do to positively impact Smith Rock State Park, Davey noted that “the best thing climbers can do is get involved with one of the nonprofits like Smith Rock Group, or their local climbing organization the High Desert Climbers Alliance. Then together as a team they can come together and make the biggest impact.” 

After learning about the history of the Park and the challenges that exist with its maintenance, local leaders and decision makers were invited to try climbing. It was a very special experience to have professional climber and Edelrid Athlete Tommy Caldwell on belay as Bend County Commissioner Phil Chang and CEO of Economic Development of Central Oregon Roger Lee made their way up routes at the Monument Crag. 

Bend resident, renowned alpinist, and AAC board member Graham Zimmerman summed it up best as he witnessed one of his own County Commissioners climbing: “When I see the crew of folks we are hanging out with today I see progress taking place.” Zimmerman has made almost as many trips to DC to lobby in support of climate action and public lands protections as he has into the Karakoram over the years. 

“We’ve talked a lot about common ground and that’s pretty hard to do over a mahogany desk in D.C. whereas here, we are on the common ground. We are here enjoying this space together making experiences and memories. These are the foundations we can create policy change on and talk about initiatives we’re interested in, and create that diverse and equitable world we all want to live in,” Zimmerman said.

The day wrapped up at a climber owned and operated restaurant in Terrebonne called The Depot. Jamie and Evan, the owners of The Depot, moved to Central Oregon from the east coast after falling in love with the outdoor access provided by the region, specifically, the access to Smith Rock. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, climbing contributed $5.8 million in gross output in 2019, contributing to the outdoor recreation economy’s total value of  2.1 percent ($459.8 billion) of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) for the nation in 2019. Showcasing local businesses that exist due to the access to climbing at Smith Rock felt like a special way to demonstrate the impact that climbers have on local economies too.

Due to the new connections and excitement of the day outside at Smith Rock, it was hard to corral the participants to their seats for the final presentations capping off the day. However, once seated, folks were captivated. Alan Watts, a local climbing legend and original developer of Smith Rock State Park shared the riveting history of how climbing in the region has changed over the years. Roger Lee dove into the economic impacts that outdoor recreation has on Central Oregon, and the exciting new businesses that have moved to the region based purely on the access to the outdoors that this corner of Oregon offers its residents. 

Lizzy Van Patten shared an inspiring presentation about the importance of shifting the narrative of “who climbers are” through increasing accessibility and inclusivity of the sport. Sharing her own story and that of her guiding business She Moves Mountains, based in Central Oregon, she concluded her presentation with a direct ask of our federal legislators: Help make permitting more accessible (and ultimately more inclusive) through the passage of bills like the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act and the Recreation Not Red Tape (RNR) Act.  

“I think that ‘safe’ is not only something that means not hitting the deck. It also means creating safe spaces in which a diverse group of people can participate in our sport. Our systems are dialed for climbing. We know how to belay, how to place good gear, and how to bolt safely. So what we’re working on now is creating that safe space for a broad diverse community.” -Graham Zimmerman 

Thanks to the collaboration of these climbing advocates and local leaders, this Hill to Crag event highlighted that climbers are stewards of Smith Rock and many other climbing destinations; that the growing climbing and outdoor industry is an economic driver for many communities; and due to these factors and more, funding for public lands should be prioritized on the local, state, and federal level. After all, nearly 60% of climbing areas are located on public lands (AF Vertical Times).

“AAC’s Hill to Crag was a great community event on a perfect fall day in Smith Rock State Park. I appreciated getting to connect with local business leaders and climbing legends, and through conversation it was clear just how passionate folks are not only about their sport but also the power of outdoor recreation as a positive force for conservation and the local economy.”
— Cailin O’Brian Feeney, the Director of the Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation
“As an elected official it was great to join the American Alpine Club and their network for this event to discuss outdoor recreation in my community – the fun and spiritual renewal it brings to us, the contribution it makes to the local economy, and the ways that local governments can support it. Many actionable ideas to steward the environment, enhance recreational amenities, and support my constituents came out of the day and I look forward to diving into that work.”
— Deschutes County Commissioner, Phil Chang

If you are interested in learning more about federal legislation that directly impacts our climbing community, check out the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR Act), Recreation Not Red Tape (RNR), and Environmental Justice in Recreational Permitting Act.

Big thank you to Edelrid North America and the Oregon leaders and changemakers who came out to spend the day with us:

  • Cailin O’Brien Feeney, Director of the Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation

  • Matt Davey, Superintendent of Smith Rock State Park

  • Phil Chang, Deschutes County Commission

  • Roger Lee, CEO of Central Oregon Economic Development

  • George Endicott, Redmond Mayor

  • Krisanna Endicott-Clark, Redmond City Councilor

  • Priscilla Macy, Executive Director of Oregon Outfitters and Guides 

  • Adam Baylor, Public Information Officer for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 

  • Graham Zimmerman, Bend based climber, alpinist, and AAC Board Member

  • Lizzy Van Patten, Founder of She Moves Mountains

  • Alan Watts, Smith Rock Climbing Developer and Historian

  • Alan Collins, Smith Rock Climbing Developer

  • Rachel Greenwald-Rhoads and Maitreya Sriram of the High Desert Climbers Alliance 

  • Climbers’ Advocacy Network Volunteers: Alma Baste, Sam Masters, Greg Parker and Daniel Kroth

A Big Opportunity to Invest in Climate Action + Public Lands!

AAC is Excited about the Reconciliation+Infrastructure Package: Here is Why

Over the past several months, Congress has been making big moves in order to address the climate crisis through both the infrastructure package and the budget reconciliation process. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our Representatives to allocate serious funding to address the climate crisis and protect public lands. 

There is room within these processes to invest in public lands, take bold action on climate, reform outdated oil and gas leasing processes, and create new pathways for Americans to be employed on public lands. In order to ensure we hold our Lawmakers accountable, we must demand that our elected officials go big on climate. 

Why must we use the budget reconciliation process to go big on climate?

The Senate can pass reconciliation bills with a simple majority vote rather than a filibuster-proof vote. This means that the bill could pass on the grounds of a one-vote majority rather than needing a 3/5ths majority vote which equates to a 60 vote minimum. Given the current 50-50 Democrat-Republican split in the Senate, the budget reconciliation process could allow for an easier path to a whole-of-government approach to taking bold action on climate.

Where are we in the process?

Legislative priorities of the committees who are engaged in the reconciliation process were due to the Senate on September 15. Once all of the individual pieces of legislation are consolidated, the Senate will then vote on the entire package, as will the House. If at that point the House and Senate adopt different reconciliation bills, they must then come together in a conference committee (a committee composed of select senators and house members) to work out the differences between the two. 

Once the budget reconciliation bill is passed by both chambers, the House will then need to vote on the infrastructure package. If the House decides to make changes to the bill, which is likely to happen, the two chambers will once again need to reconcile the differences in committee. Due to these factors, it is hard to predict when the process will reach completion. This is why it is more important than ever to share your thoughts on this process with your Lawmakers.

Amendments AAC is Advocating For:

There are many different things that you as a constituent can advocate to your Representatives for in this process. We have outlined several of the amendments we are most excited about below. At the end of this blog, there is an action alert you can utilize to write your Lawmakers. While sending an email to encourage bold action on climate is great, it is even more powerful to include the things you care about most in the text. Please copy + paste various bullet points that stand out to you as important in the points below. 

  1. Support the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC): 

    1. The CCC would be an investment in both people and public lands and is a critical piece of the climate change mitigation puzzle. We must prioritize climate action on public lands as we rebuild our economy. Congress should use budget reconciliation to fund the CCC to work to restore critical ecosystems, address deferred maintenance needs, and advance energy retrofitting on public lands. The CCC has the opportunity to support rural and frontline communities through improving public lands access, mitigating climate risks, and creating new jobs. 

    2. In order for the CCC to reach its full potential, there must be a federal public lands funding component. Congress needs to provide funding to the land management agencies that are explicitly dedicated to the implementation of the CCC projects. If there is no dedicated funding for individual projects, there may not be the budget required to see public lands projects to fruition. We are urging Congress and the House Natural Resources Committee to add a specific budgetary line item to fund these projects in order for the CCC to have its biggest impact. 

    3. Lastly, Congress must ensure that the budget for the CCC accounts for a living wage for Corps members. 

  2. Protections for Critical and Sacred Landscapes: Oak Flat + Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

    1. Please support the investment in shielding Oak Flat, a sacred site of the Apache people in Arizona from the Resolution Copper mine. 

    2. Please support the repeal of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas program as well as the cancellation of all leases that were sold as a result of the previous administration’s lease sale. 

  3. Investment in Public Land Climate Resiliency 

    1. Please support the funds being allocated to the individual public lands agencies in order to support the protection, restoration, and resiliency of public lands and resources. Investing in these protections is critical for the economic viability of gateway communities outside of public lands, thousands of jobs, and the support of outfitters + guides who operate their businesses on public lands. 

  4. Support Mineral Leasing Act Reform

    1. It is reassuring to see thoughtful amendments to the Mineral Leasing Act included in reconciliation. There must be a fair price, and economic return, established for leasing minerals on public lands, and the price has historically been too low. Please support the proposed increased cost of acreage and the requirement that once every 4 years the dollar amounts pertaining to mineral leasing on public lands are assessed for inflation and market needs. Additionally, the effort to shorten the mineral leasing terms is a good step in the right direction, please support these amendments.     

  5. Protect NEPA!

    1. Please support the funds being allocated to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Environmental Policy Act. In order for NEPA to be most effective and ensure that projects are subject to thorough environmental review, there is a need to add capacity via additional funding and personnel. 

  6. Bonding Reform and Orphaned Wells Clean up: Create New Jobs! 

    1. We are glad to see $4.7 billion for orphan wells clean up in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. This funding represents a great start toward addressing a massive, country-wide clean-up need. 

    2. We must also address the system that creates these wells in the first place, so we are not faced with the same situation down the road, continuing to leave taxpayers with the cleanup responsibility for the industry’s mess. 

    3. It is crucial to pass the landmark updates to the federal oil and gas bonding requirements, to help better cover the cost of clean-up. This will save the federal government and taxpayers money, and act to prevent future orphaned wells while protecting communities, creating jobs, and combating climate change. 

    4. The BLM does have the authority to raise federal bond amounts, but the agency has failed to do so. Congress must act to ensure that bond updates are in statute, and not dependent on an agency that has failed to address this issue for decades. 

    5. A 2019 GAO report found that current federal bonding requirements for oil and gas operators are inadequate and outdated. These must be updated. Bond amounts have not been updated since the 1950s and 1960s, and have never been adjusted for inflation, nor advances in technology that increase reclamation costs.

  7. Carbon Pricing 

    1. We support the inclusion of an adjusted carbon pricing system within budget reconciliation. Starting with a low price (~$20/ton) and increasing after five years will incentivize clean energy production and consumption. As well as a border adjustment tax that will put the United States at a global advantage as we see a shift towards carbon taxation and climate action overseas.

    2. The use of carbon tax funds to pay for other climate policies. This will offset the total cost of climate action. 

    3. Full investment in an updated electric grid to decrease carbon in power production and increase disaster resilience. 

    4. Invest in financially and physically accessible electric vehicles and charging stations through tax rebates and infrastructure investments.