The National Park Service is accepting comments through January 30 regarding a policy that would require removal of existing anchors or permits for new anchors to be installed in wilderness or areas with wilderness characteristics. The climbing and canyoneering community seems to be somewhat divided on this currently, if you’re a climber, please read the proposal and submit your comments. Please also help UPLA by emailing your comments to me so that I can understand your views better.
UPLA will submit comments before the deadline, but I am tentatively opposed to the rule for the following reasons:
- The national policy would put extreme pressure on local managers to never approve new installations, or replacement of ones that are failing to avoid liability and lawsuits, thus taking the recent action of closure rather than management.
- The MRA procedure will discourage user proposals for anchors needed for safety, thus increasing risk to climbers. Liability concerns for park management to permit anchors will raise liability risk concerns, further deterring approval of permits.
- Permanent anchors are virtually invisible to anyone not looking for them. When I was caving, we often left attached a bright colored strap just so they could be spotted.
- The policy is not just limited to “wilderness” as designated by Congress, but also includes areas with “wilderness characteristics”
- Implementation of this policy will inevitably lead to more red tape regarding qualifications of installers, liability of the installer.
- The Application form is impractical. I assume climbing teams are often put together right before the climb, making it impossible to complete the form accurately. Privacy concerns about personal information in form being made public.
- Review of the Wilderness Act §4(c) is necessary as to whether it “includes anything made by humans” in Reference Manual 41 §3.1. only appears there and not in Act.
- I believe local managers or Park Superintendents, are best able to make these kinds of decisions, not a Washington decision.
Here’s the Park Planning Website https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm…
Here is a recommended template with comments suggested by Instructional Canyoneering Resource