A bipartisan group of senators Thursday urged the Biden administration to reassess draft guidance that could place new restrictions on rock climbing in federally designated wilderness areas.
The senators, 14 in all, led by Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), said proposed changes could limit the use of fixed anchors required for rock climbing on 50,000 routes across the country, including iconic climbs in the North Cascades of Washington state, Zion National Park in Utah and Yosemite National Park in California.
“While intended to provide over eight million American climbers with clear guidance on the use of fixed anchors to maintain wilderness area protections, we are concerned the policy changes would unnecessarily burden our National Parks’ and Forests’ already strained budgets, limit access to these special places, and endanger climbers,” the senators said in a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The National Park Service and Forest Service last year both issued draft guidance that would make it harder for climbers to install anchors under some circumstances while still allowing the hardware that already exists at parks and forests.