On January 4th, 2025, President Biden signed the EXPLORE Act, which contains the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, into law, marking a significant milestone for outdoor recreation policy. What does that mean for climbers? Our policy expert and Deputy Director, Erik Murdock, has been at the forefront of advocating for national-level climbing management legislation for more than two decades. He shares more about the PARC Act, what’s next, and why responsible climbing ethics are more important than ever:
Q: What is the EXPLORE Act?
A: The EXPLORE Act is a bipartisan package of laws that enhances sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities by modernizing policies to address the evolving demands on America's public lands. Some of the highlights include expanding long-distance bike trails, modernizing recreational permitting for outfitters and guides, making it easier to film in national parks, providing free national park access to Fourth Graders, and ensuring ongoing interagency collaboration on recreation. But for Access Fund and the entire climbing community, the PARC Act section represents the culmination of decades of climbing advocacy. This landmark legislation protects existing routes and future opportunities for climbing exploration—including in Wilderness areas—by ensuring that responsible and judicious use, placement and maintenance of fixed anchors will remain appropriate and not prohibited in Wilderness.
Q: Who were some of the key elected officials who made this possible?
A: The recreation legislation was originally championed by Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Murkowski (R-AK) who introduced the first version of the recreation package that included a national climbing policy requirement and evolved over five years into the EXPLORE Act. Congressmen Neguse (D-CO) and Curtis (R-UT), upon learning about the development of the NPS and US Forest Service proposals to prohibit fixed anchors, introduced the PARC Act in March 2023 to protect historic climbing areas and recreation economies in Colorado, Utah, and across the country. Colorado Governor Polis wrote a compelling letter to the Dept. of Interior and Dept. of Agriculture regarding the importance of Wilderness climbing to Colorado’s recreation legacy and economy. Senators Barrasso (R-WY), Manchin (D-WV), and Hickenlooper (D-CO) collaborated to introduce a version of PARC in the Senate. The climbing legislation enjoyed unanimous support from both chambers of Congress and, with significant assistance from a bipartisan group of 14 Senators representing states with a lot of climbing, PARC passed the Congress on December 19, 2024. The climbing community is so appreciative of all of the elected leaders who stood up for appropriate Wilderness climbing and did the hard work to get the bill over the finish line.
Q: Why was the PARC Act necessary?
A: The PARC Act was inspired by National Park Service (NPS) efforts in 2023 to reclassify Wilderness fixed anchors as prohibited "installations", initially in Joshua Tree and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks. Access Fund and partner organizations pushed back against the new interpretation that threatened historic climbing areas and would cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Despite fixed anchors being managed as an appropriate use since the Wilderness Act’s passage in 1964, NPS and the US Forest Service proposed national-level policies that would treat recreational climbing fixed anchors as prohibited unless deemed essential for Wilderness administration through a costly analysis. This would have impacted over 50,000 climbing routes across 28 states. NPS rescinded its proposal the day before Congress passed the EXPLORE Act, but the Forest Service's proposal is still active.
Q: What will the PARC Act do?
A: The PARC Act brings some major improvements for climbers across the US, and is composed of four critical mandates.
First, it requires federal agencies to create clear guidelines for managing climbing. For example, the US Forest Service, which oversees about 30% of America's climbing areas, will finally have to establish national guidelines after working on them since the 1990s. Second, fixed anchors are codified as appropriate in Wilderness areas (the standard since the Wilderness Act became law in 1964) and therefore should not be prohibited. Third, existing climbing routes established as of Jan 4, 2025 are permanently protected and can continue to be used and maintained. This means America's climbing legacy, including historic routes like those on El Cap in Yosemite and The Diamond on Longs Peak, is protected. And fourth, any new national guidelines must go through a public comment process. This means climbers and subject matter experts are ensured a voice before any policies are finalized.
The bottom line: The PARC Act mandates fair and consistent guidance for climbing on federal lands while protecting existing routes and future exploration, conserving Wilderness, and ensuring the climbing community has a say in future climbing management policies.
Q: What does this mean for climbers?
A: The passage of the PARC Act is a major victory for Wilderness and climbers, and should be celebrated. The law protects America’s historic climbing areas and codifies standard climbing safety practices used for sustainable Wilderness exploration. However, federal agencies still need to manage and regulate climbing to conserve public lands, ensure environmental sustainability, and maintain the integrity of Wilderness areas. Moving forward, climbers need to embody exemplary public land stewardship and continue to engage on climbing management plans so that they reflect local climbing history, ethics, and best practices for conserving climbing landscapes. Climbers should strive to visit our public lands with humility and kindness so that we maintain positive relationships with land managers and other public land visitors.
Q: What should climbers know about fixed anchors in the Wilderness?
A: Fixed anchors include any gear left behind to facilitate the ascent or descent of climbing objectives. That means pins, slings, bolts and any other fixed gear. In Wilderness areas, new bolt-intensive sport climbs are not acceptable, and power drills are prohibited for new bolt placements. Climbers must be aware of the land management regulations that apply to their climbing areas, and always respect Indigenous traditional values, cultural sites, and sensitive flora and fauna. Some public lands may require authorization for placing or replacing fixed anchors. While the PARC Act protects climbing history, the future of access will depend on responsible actions by the climbing community. To ensure sustainable climbing, climbers should work with Access Fund and local climbing organizations to ensure healthy and productive relationships with land managers, Indigenous tribes, and public land stakeholders. PARC Act is the law of the land but the ongoing commitment to responsible climbing practices and wilderness stewardship will shape the future of America’s climbing areas.
Access Fund is so appreciative of all the support from the climbing community and our local climbing organization partners. Black Diamond, Outdoor Alliance, American Alpine Club, The Mountaineers, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, CO Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and many other companies and organizations were stalwart advocates for the PARC Act. The work is not done and we will continue to advocate for the protection of America’s climbing. So please keep a lookout for news and action alerts that will help keep the climbing community informed and engaged.