Protect Climbing in Wilderness
Right now, Access Fund along with a group of professional climbers are in Washington DC making a year-end push to pass the bipartisan Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act. They’re making good progress, but there’s one more thing we need: your voice.
The bill has already passed out of the powerful House Natural Resources Committee with unanimous support—a critical step toward passing the first-ever stand-alone bill to protect sustainable climbing at the national scale. But we still have work to do to get this important bill to the president’s desk.
This is our opportunity to protect the future of climbing in America and save appropriate, historic climbing routes at areas like Linville Gorge, Joshua Tree, the Black Canyon, and Yosemite from being erased. The act would impact National-level policy. For us in North Carolina, the bill would protect climbing in Linville Gorge and Big Lost Cove Wilderness Areas. Additionally this bill would solidify much of CCC’s Pisgah-Nantahala National Forests policy work that we have done in partnership with the Access Fund since 2010.
The Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act is designed to uphold the integrity of the Wilderness Act. It would ensure that climbers are able to continue experiencing America’s Wilderness areas in a responsible way—just as we have since the Wilderness Act became law in 1964. The bill would not enable sport climbing-style bolting in Wilderness areas, or change the prohibition on using power drills to place fixed anchors in Wilderness.
North Carolina Wilderness climbing destinations like Linville Gorge need your voice. Time is running out before Congress adjourns for the year. Will you take action and make your voice heard? Access Fund’s letter writing tool connects you directly with your state representative (for example, Chuck Edwards for NC residents).
Access Fund’s letter writing tool makes sharing your voice easy.
Take Action Now: Add your voice, and ask your U.S. Representative to cosponsor the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act (H.R. 1380) >>