WYOMING — On June 30, the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act passed out of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources with the aim of ensuring sustainable access to rock climbing in designated wilderness areas.
HR1380 would require the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to issue guidance on managing recreational climbing in designated wilderness areas not later than 18 months after the bill’s enactment. The management of activities includes regulation of the placement, use and maintenance of fixed anchors and other equipment that climbers use to attach the ropes that secure their harnesses.
It also states that no significant management action may be taken without notice to the public and an opportunity to comment on the proposed action, with an exception for limited emergency action to protect natural resources or public health and safety.
There is currently a lack of standard rules for rock climbing across federal agencies that manage U.S. wilderness and parks. In Grand Teton National Park, climbers are asked to avoid placing permanent protection, and motorized drills for bolting routes are prohibited.
Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act mirrors the “allowable activities” set up in The Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023, a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) aiming to improve recreation and access opportunities on federal public land. Both bills consider the placement, use and maintenance of fixed anchors appropriate and allowable for climbing in wilderness areas.
HR1380 will now head to the House of Representatives for a floor vote.
