FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2007
Contact:
Robb Shurr, Access Fund
robb@accessfund.org
303.545.6772 x100
Access Fund Awards $11,000 in Climbing Preservation Grants
The Access Fund continues its support of grassroots climbing advocacy and conservation projects by awarding $11,000 in its first Climbing Preservation Grants cycle of 2007 for trail improvements, preservation of private lands from development, and Affiliate educational initiatives. Two grants have been awarded this round for a total of $11,000.
Presented three times annually, these grants provide financial assistance for local climber activism and protection of the climbing environment in the United States.
The following grants were awarded:
Castleton Tower Trail Project, UT
The Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) was awarded a grant to assist in the restoration of the Castleton Tower Trail and in the production of a trail map for placement at the trailhead kiosk. In the fall of 2006, a severe storm caused extensive damage along the popular Castleton Tower Trail and restoration efforts were necessary to prevent developing splinter paths from causing further damage to the desert landscape. This project occurs in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with whom the RMFI has built a great relationship over the years as the primary steward of land and trails accessing climbing resources on BLM property.
Farley Ledge Preservation Initiative, MA
A grant was awarded to the Western Massachusetts Climbers Coalition (WMCC) to assist with the purchase of a nine-acre parcel of land abutting Farley Ledge, a unique and unspoiled outdoor recreation area in Erving, MA. Purchase of this property will protect valuable, undeveloped land and create a permanent sustainable parking lot and trailhead providing public access to both the rock climbing at Farley Ledge and the nationally recognized Metacomet-Monadnock Trail. This purchase ensures permanent access to one of southern New England’s best rock climbing resources that was previously threatened by a busy residential neighborhood causing restricted access four times in the last twenty years.