A Brief Update on What’s Next When it Comes to Fixed Anchors in Wilderness

The climbing community is collectively holding its breath while we wait to find out what the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service are going to do with their proposed regulations on fixed anchors. Now that the public comment period is over, and the agencies are categorizing, and reviewing the thousands of comments, we wait. The gravity of these proposed regulations is not lost on any of us, and we want the agencies to take their time and appropriately consider the issue from all angles.

As we wait, many of you are wondering, “What’s next?” There are a few different paths this issue can take. After reviewing the public comments, the agencies could implement the regulations as written, making no changes at all. The agencies could consider the specific issues the public noted and modify the regulations. The agencies could do nothing and could delay implementation pending further consideration of the issue.

One move the agencies could take, which the AAC hopes they strongly consider, is a committee-based resolution. Utilizing the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), negotiated rulemaking process, or similar collaborative process, an appointed committee could tackle this complicated and nuanced issue head on. The committee could consist of agency representatives, wilderness advocates, climbing advocates, and any other appropriate groups, and would address fixed anchors and their usage in Wilderness. The AAC, Access Fund, Outdoor Alliance, AMGA, Wilderness Society, and many others made this recommendation to the agencies in our public comments and believe it to be a viable option for the agencies to address the proposed regulations through a collaborative process. The AAC is working to activate our volunteer network and climbing advocacy volunteers towards sharing their own thoughts on the potential of the FACA process.

In the interim, the AAC will communicate with the agencies, land managers, and legislators and keep the climbing community informed. If this issue is important to you, continue to contact your legislators and tell them why it matters. Stay tuned!