The Future of Bolting
DEADLINE: JANUARY 30, 2024
WHAT'S AT STAKE
SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO WILDERNESS CANYONS IS AT RISK
ALL BOLTS COULD BE REMOVED FROM EXISTING WILDERNESS CANYONS, INCLUDING ZION
BOLTING NON-WILDERNESS CANYONS FOR SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL MAY BE PROHIBITED
FOUR DOCUMENTS - ALL NEED YOUR ACTION
Right now, two opposing activities are happening in our federal government related to fixed anchors. The NPS and USFS, agencies of the Dept. of Interior and Dept. of Agriculture, respectively, are proposing restrictive guidance related to fixed anchors. THIS IS BAD FOR BOLTED CANYONS. Meanwhile, both the House and Senate have introduced public lands packages that outline the legitimacy of fixed anchors, including bolts, as tools that, when used judiciously, are not in conflict with, but rather support wilderness. THESE BILLS NEED OUR SUPPORT.
2 FEDERAL AGENCIES
BAD NEWS
TL;DR: ALL BOLTS will become prohibited in wilderness and severely limited in non-wilderness. These proposed changes need our comments.
The National Park Service (NPS) and US Forest Service (USFS) are both federal agencies charged with managing National Parks and National Forest Land. Both have issued new draft national guidance that will LIMIT canyon exploration and REDUCE ACCESS to established canyon routes. More info below.
2 CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS
GOOD NEWS
TL;DR: Congress has bipartisan support for outdoor recreation and is moving to enact legislation that will protect recreation access, including bolts. They need our support.
Both the US Senate and US House of Representatives have introduced bi-partisan bills that support improvement to outdoor recreation access. These bills, specifically, protect existing fixed anchors in both wilderness and non-wilderness, and they allow for reasonable pathways for land managers to approve new fixed anchors. More Information below.
USFS Proposed Climbing Guidance
Categorizes fixed anchors as prohibited "installations" in designated wilderness (a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act) making permits for new fixed anchors nearly impossible to acquire
Existing anchors in wilderness require a Minimum Requirements Assessment (MRA) to remain in use. Those without MRA approval may subsequently be removed
Prohibits fixed anchors in non-wilderness areas, outside of "established climbing opportunities"
NPS Proposed Climbing Guidance
Categorizes fixed anchors as prohibited "installations" in designated wilderness (a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act) making permits for new fixed anchors nearly impossible to acquire
Existing anchors in wilderness require a Minimum Requirements Assessment (MRA) to remain in use. Those without MRA approval may subsequently be removed
Why this guidance threatens our canyons
Currently, land managers are entrusted at the park/district level to manage the land according to the needs of the natural environment and the public. They are empowered to work with experts in the community to make sustainable decisions. This guidance fails to recognize the variety that exists on our public lands, and universally applies an uninformed restriction, hamstringing our land managers' ability to manage sustainable access based on the unique needs of the lands they manage.
All existing, legally hand-drilled bolts in wilderness will be categorically prohibited, and only allowed as an exception, that land managers can only approve through a resource-intensive MRA.
There is a real risk that bolts in Zion, Capitol Reef, and other sandstone canyons will be removed
This disempowering, heavily bureaucratic mandate will require resources that land managers don't have. It is an unfunded mandate that will likely lead to permit moratoriums simply because land managers cannot meet the requirements to approve a permit, due to lack of funding.
Bolts that are in canyons on non-wilderness forest service land will be categorically prohibited, and only allowed in "established climbing opportunities"
Exploration of new canyons will become virtually impossible to do safely.
An excerpt from Climbing.com
"Another implication is legal. Things defined as “installations” in a wilderness context are subject to lawsuits. Any user—or any anti-climbing wilderness organization—can point at an installation that has not undergone an MRA and sue for its removal. This same legal mechanism was used by Wilderness Watch in 2010 to condemn an 80-year-old fire tower in the Glacier Peak Wilderness in Washington. Despite the fact that the tower both pre-dated the Wilderness Act and had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988, the tower was ultimately condemned by a federal judge and slated for removal—only to be saved by an act of federal legislation (introduced by one of Washington’s senators and signed into law by President Obama) that superseded the judge’s ruling. If the installation definition were to be applied to bolts, slings, pitons, rap anchors, and so on, groups like Wilderness Watch could use the same mechanism to gradually strip necessary anchors from Yosemite, the Black Canyon, the Tetons, Acadia, and thousands of other federally administered wilderness crags around the country. "
About AORA and the EXPLORE Act
The quick rundown:
When lawmakers in one chamber share similar views to a bill introduced in the other chamber, often they will introduce a companion bill. Bills that pass through one chamber have a much greater likelihood of being voted into law if the other chamber passes a bill with very similar language. AORA was a public lands package (a super-bill that serves as a package of bills) introduced in the Senate last session, and fell just shy of being voted into law. We hope that with the introduction of the EXPLORE Act as a companion public lands package in the House, many of the the common bills in both packages, or even an entire package, will be voted into law in 2024.
Both AORA and the EXPLORE Act enjoy bipartisan sponsorship. This means two big things:
They have a much better chance of passing
They include compromises. They are a beautiful example of the outdoor community working together through our lawmakers to support our collective needs to help people get outside, with an understanding that sometimes the things that support one recreation group are in conflict with the things that support another. It's important to remember that we are stronger together.
About the PARC Act
The PARC Act is a bill that is included in both public lands packages.
The PARC Act will require a level of consistency among land managers regarding the management of fixed anchors. It will provide unambiguous direction from congress that the land management community must acknowledge climbing as a legitimate use of our public lands including Wilderness areas. It also supports the idea that judiciously placed fixed anchors support the objectives of the Wilderness act by both preserving the wilderness character and allowing for exploration and adventure. It will:
Require the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to issue national guidance on management of climbing within Wilderness areas
Clarify that climbing and the placement, use, and maintenance of fixed anchors are allowable, and not prohibited, uses within Wilderness areas
Preserve the existing authority of land management agencies to regulate climbing to ensure it protects Wilderness characteristics, natural resources, and cultural values
Provide for public participation in decisions around fixed anchors in Wilderness areas.
*Modified from the Access Fund's public testimony.