EXPLORE Act Passes!

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, after a decade of work by outdoor recreation groups across the country, the EXPLORE Act passed unanimously in the US Senate (after passing in the House in Spring 2024), sending the bill to the President's desk to be signed into law.

Below are some important ways the EXPLORE Act benefits canyoning.

Read below and thank your lawmakers! Why? Our lawmakers work for us (we elect them!) Each session, our legislators have far too many issues than there is time for, so when a bill we care about makes it to the floor for a vote, it means they prioritized it over other things. They listened to us, and they need to know how much we appreciate it, and that we're paying attention. Thanking our lawmakers sets our community up for future success, and it's the right thing to do.

Protecting Fixed Anchors

Protecting America's Rock Climbing (the PARC Act) is included in the EXPLORE Act, and it mandates land managers to issue guidance for recreational climbing activities on federal land. This is important because, while the guidance will certainly come with some restrictions, it will establish climbing, in writing, as a legitimate form of recreation, and it will create a transparent pathway to access climbing routes. Additionally, the act clearly specifies that "recreational climbing (including the use, placement, and maintenance of fixed anchors) is an appropriate use within a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System."

It's important to note that the EXPLORE Act does not supersede any of the policy outlined in the Wilderness Act or any other policies or regulations governing our public lands; rather it clarifies that climbing and the use of fixed anchors can and should be legitimately allowed under existing policy and regulations, and it is the land managers' obligation to outline how that can be accomplished.

This language is critical to canyoning, even though it is centered on climbing. It keeps pathways open for the use of fixed anchors and prevents unnecessarily restrictive policies. It also obligates land managers to provide transparent guidance, preventing them from forbidding climbing activities in absence of guidance. Coupled with language throughout the EXPLORE Act making recreation a priority, the EXPLORE Act will open pathways for partnership with land managers to support sustainable canyoning in the US.

Prioritizing Outdoor Recreation

Making recreation a priority is highlighted throughout the EXPLORE Act. In fact, the very first section states: "Congress declares that it is the policy of the Federal Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal recreational lands and waters..." Land managers have many, often competing, priorities: conservation, resource extraction (eg. logging, mining), and grazing to name a few. The EXPLORE Act makes it clear that recreation is a priority and emphasizes the need for land managers to consider the impacts to recreation when making decisions. While this law will not authorize land managers to operate outside of existing policy and regulations, it does require them to prioritize recreation within existing policy and regulations. In the EXPLORE Act, our land managers are mandated to:

Support recreation by developing an inventory of recreation opportunities on public lands, assessing maintenance needs for existing sites, and assessing development opportunities for new sites.
Work collaboratively across agencies through the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR) to support sustainable recreation management, including "the identification and engagement of partners outside the Federal Government to promote outdoor recreation, to facilitate collaborative management of outdoor recreation, and to provide additional resources related to enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities"
Improve access and transparency through actions like expanding parking and restrooms; improving trails, campgrounds and wifi/data; simplifying special event and outfitter-guide permitting; and encouraging partnerships with local governments, organizations, and volunteers to fund and implement sustainable recreation.

Does this mean we can use power drills in wilderness? Mostly, no.

Mostly no, but also yes. Essentially nothing has changed on paper. The Wilderness Act specifically forbids the use of "motorized equipment," and Director's Order #41 clarifies that a power drill is by definition motorized equipment. The Wilderness Act also states (and DO #41 reinforces) that land managers may issue permits for exceptions when a power tool is the minimum required tool to achieve objectives of Wilderness, which include recreation. Click the arrow on the right to read more.

There is precedent for the use of power tools for installing bolts in Wilderness, most notably in Joshua Tree National Park. In Joshua Tree, the park has acknowledged that rock climbing is a legitimate type of recreation that meets the objectives of the Wilderness Act, and that machine-drilled bolts are the minimum required tool to further that objective, and they have issued permits for individuals to install and maintain bolts in wilderness. What's important about the EXPLORE Act is that it codifies in writing that climbing is a legitimate type of recreation and that fixed anchors, including bolts, can be, in certain circumstances, the most appropriate choice in wilderness. While the EXPLORE Act doesn't change any requirements or restrictions outlined in the Wilderness Act, it does specifically authorize land managers to issue permits for bolts and empowers them to consider whether machine-drilled bolts are necessary and therefore appropriate. In summary, this is not a carte blanche to use power drills in wilderness - you still need a permit to do so, and that may be hard to get! But it is, overall, good news for fixed anchors in both wilderness and non-wilderness.

Thank your lawmakers

When you click on the link, it will bring you to a pre-written form. If you have time, personalize it! It means a lot to our representatives. If you don't have time - that's ok. What's most important is that we flood them with thank-yous!

______________________________________________________________

Example of what a customized letter might look like:

As an avid canyoneer and general outdoor enthusiast who enjoys our nation’s public lands and waters, I am delighted to see the EXPLORE Act pass through the Senate and become law.

I am especially grateful that the EXPLORE Act signals to our land managers that recreation is a priority, and that fixed anchors are appropriate in Wilderness in certain situations. I’m glad the Act references community partnerships in multiple places, as I believe that will help our land managers achieve the goals of the EXPLORE Act. I’m excited that the EXPLORE Act gives recreational communities like the canyoning community a voice with our land managers, and supports a future where we work in partnership to support sensible and sustainable outdoor recreation on our public lands.

Thank you so much for prioritizing outdoor recreation, which is important to Americans all across the country and across political affiliations. As your constituent and a recreationist, I'm thrilled to see the bill pass.

Thank you!

EXPLORE Act FAQ

It seems like nothing is really changing. Why are we celebrating?

Primarily, there was a real and imminent threat to bolts in both wilderness and non-wilderness. Earlier this year, the National Park Service and Forest Service issued draft guidance that would have prohibited the use of new and existing fixed anchors in wilderness, may have led to the removal of bolts in places like Zion, and created an inefficient process for the placement and replacement of fixed anchors in wilderness and even non-wilderness areas. On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the National Park Service formally withdrew their draft guidance. It remains pending in the Forest Service. The EXPLORE Act, once signed into law, clarifies that climbing and the placement, use, and maintenance of fixed anchors are appropriate, and not prohibited, within Wilderness areas. This means that now, they cannot include language that would wholesale forbid bolts in wilderness. So in this case, we narrowly avoided a very bad change.

That said, However, we aren’t entirely sure what the passage of the PARC Act means for the Forest Service’s proposed climbing guidance. The agency could still decide that land managers have to approve the maintenance and replacement of fixed anchors on a case-by-case basis, which is a lot of red tape for a single bolt. But, the PARC Act sends a strong message that Congress believes climbers, and the use of fixed anchors, are welcome in Wilderness. We hope this message influences the Forest Service to develop a policy aimed at protecting, rather than obstructing, sustainable climbing and canyoning access.

Additionally, a bill as large and comprehensive as the EXPLORE Act emphasizing over and over the importance of outdoor recreation, and naming it as a priority for our federal public lands, is a significant win for our community. It gives us language and tools to partner with our land managers to avoid future moratoriums, and to manage our public lands in sensible and sustainable ways. It's very rare that a recreation bill this large makes it to the President's desk, and we should celebrate the thousands of letters written, the challenging collaborative work done by our representatives in congress, and the power and influence that our community holds in decision-making when we work together.

What else is in the EXPLORE Act?

The EXPLORE Act is a beautiful example of bipartisan partnership across many outdoor recreation groups. It also includes the following:

Biking on long-distance trails (specifically providing for long distance bike trails to cross through wilderness)
Range access (ensuring a minimum of one target shooting range in each USFS and BLM district)
Restoration of overnight campsites on Ouachita National Forest
Reducing barriers to filming and photography on federal lands
Upgrading publicly accessible maps for both motorized and non-motorized use on federal lands
Inspection and decontamination of aquatic vessels
Collaborating with local organizations and governments to improve infrastructure, including housing, in gateway communities (communities immediately adjacent to recreation areas)
Authorization for federal land managers to contract private partners to achieve specific goals (eg. campground management)
Authorization for more flexible funding options to achieve federal land objectives
Grant funding for new or improved parks and green spaces in urban areas, especially low-income communities
Historic battlefield restoration
Improved accessibility on parks and trails for people with disabilities
Programs to support military service members and veterans engaging in outdoor recreation
Programs to support more youth engaging in outdoor recreation
Digitizing the America the Beautiful Pass (formerly the National Parks Pass)
Reduction of seasonal closures at recreation sites
Clarification of the authorization of land managers to utilize volunteers to assist in carrying out their objectives

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