The U.S. Forest Service will publish a proposed climbing directive in the Federal Register and initiate a 30-day public comment period. This proposal establishes the agency’s first national direction for managing recreational climbing opportunities on national forests and grasslands that will include guidance for the use and maintenance of fixed anchors and equipment.
The updated proposal replaces a 2023 draft that was overtaken by new requirements in the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, signed into law January 4, 2025. The EXPLORE Act directs federal land management agencies to recognize recreational climbing – including certain fixed anchors – as an appropriate use in congressionally designated wilderness areas.
“Recreational climbing continues to grow in popularity, with nearly 30 percent of all outdoor climbing occurring on National Forest System lands,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “This proposed directive provides much-needed national policy for climbing activities and gives local decision-makers the ability to work with partners, tribes, climbing organizations, and others to ensure visitors are having safe, responsible and accessible outdoor experiences.”
By law, the Forest Service must develop a climbing directive, consistent with the goals stated Executive Order 14219, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative.” (PDF, 162 KB)
The outdoor recreation economy continues to grow, and the Forest Service is committed to promoting and increasing access to these special sites. Nationally, it is estimated there are nearly 10.3 million climbers in the United States, of which approximately 2.3 million participated in sport or boulder climbing and approximately 2.4 million participated in traditional ice or mountaineering climbing, according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2022 report on outdoor participation trends.
The proposed rule can be viewed and comments submitted through the Comment and Analysis Response Application.
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Does anyone know more about this?
Dear TSW: one part of this issue is the “Big-W” Wilderness piece. Many popular recreational climbing locations are in areas of many national forests which are also federally-designated (legal, official) Wilderness.
Within this “Big W” part of the issue are at least 2 (and probably more) pieces:
1) Specifically, are fixed anchors “installations” which are explicitly and specifically prohibited by The Wilderness Act (1964), which applies to all Wildernesses designated either then or since; and
2) More generally, are fixed anchors and/or other aspects of recreational climbing either prohibited in Wildernessor at odds with stewarding (~managing, ~administering) an area as Wilderness and preserving the wilderness character.
These questions, and these pieces, of the overall recreational climbing on public lands sphere have been identified, discussed, and debated for many years. I’m not advocating one way or another here; just sharing some history about some of the layers of this onion.