Draft U.S. Rule Recognizes Climbing in National Parks, Lets Bolts Stay
Creatrip Team
a month ago
The U.S. federal government released a draft rule recognizing rock climbing as an appropriate public land use, a move welcomed by much of the American climbing community. The draft follows 2023 proposals by the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) that would have tightly restricted fixed protection hardware (bolts, pitons, anchor slings) in wilderness and certain park areas, sparking strong backlash over fears it would block new routes and hinder maintenance of existing ones. Congress passed the PARC (Protecting America’s Rock Climbing) law in 2025, requiring recognition of climbing and national standards for managing fixed protection. The new draft is more climber-friendly: existing fixed gear can generally be maintained or replaced, though installation of new bolts may require environmental and cultural-heritage review. It also lets individual parks and forests create site-specific management plans. Access Fund praised the draft as “overall positive,” noting protections for existing routes and bolt replacement, but warned some language remains vague and could lead to inconsistent local rules; it urged climbers to submit comments at public hearings. The guidelines would apply across federal lands managed by NPS, USFS, BLM, and Fish & Wildlife, shaping climbing management for decades at major areas like Yosemite, Zion, Joshua Tree, Red Rock Canyon, and the Wind River range. (Source: Monthly San, August issue)
