Medicine Wall - Texas - 2018
Texas Climbers Coalition (TCC) and Access Fund acquired Medicine Wall, a limestone bluff in San Antonio, Texas, that provides an urban getaway for outdoor climbing. Despite never being officially open to public access, the privately owned Medicine Wall was a popular sport climbing crag for over 20 years, until a fatal accident in 2015 prompted the landowners to strip the hardware from the wall and strictly enforce trespassing laws.
However, the landowners (a large development company) recognized the recreational value of the property and had an interest in conserving it. They first approached the City of San Antonio hoping they would acquire the property but the city declined to take ownership, due in part to liability concerns, but put the landowners in touch with TCC. The landowners agreed to convey the Medicine Wall parcel to TCC, provided that a separate land trust hold an easement on the property to permanently protect it. Medicine Wall is officially owned by TCC with a conservation easement held by Access Fund.