Access Fund E-News #53
March 2005
The Access Fund
E-News Online
Access Fund E-News #53
March 2005
The Access Fund
E-News Online
Photo by Heather FurmanThe Arizona congressional delegation is about to introduce a land exchange bill into Congress that will lead to the destruction of the Oak Flat bouldering area east of Phoenix. For more back ground on this issue see http://accessfund.org/pdf/oakflat2.pdf
The Access Fund recently received a copy of the draft Southeastern Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2005. See http://www.accessfund.org/pdf/SEALACA_draft_3-05.pdf . The draft bill fails to identify the "replacement climbing areas" promised to the climbing community. This is because they will be located on public land - which we (as the public) already own! Furthermore, the land exchange bill fails to consider the massive environmental destruction that will occur at Oak Flat and environs if this land exchange--and the consequential mining proposal--are allowed to go forward unchallenged. We have to fill our elected officials mailboxes letting them know there is a better approach to this mine.
Although recreation at Oak Flat has been protected from mining by executive order for over 50 years (see http://www.accessfund.org/pdf/Purposes-Mining.pdf ) these prohibitions could be swept aside by this impending land exchange bill. Your help is urgently needed to preserve the unique climbing opportunities on the public land at Oak Flat.
For talking points addressing the bill's many problems, a Congressional letter-writing template, and the addresses of your US Senators and Representatives, go to the Access Fund's website at http://www.accessfund.org/pdf/OakFlat_TalkPoints_3-11-05.pdf
Arizona climbers need your help today - the only way we can save Oak Flat is by demanding that our elected officials consider a more balanced approach in the Southeastern Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2005 - take a few minutes and write them today! For more information contact the Access Fund's Policy Director, Jason Keith, at Jason@accessfund.org .
LWCF State Assistance Program is vital to preserving America's Great Outdoors
(Report from the Outdoor Industry Association)
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) has introduced an amendment to the Senate Budget bill that would restore funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program. Senator Collins (R-ME) is cosponsoring the amendment. As you know, the President has recommended eliminating this important program from the federal budget in FY 2006. This amendment would lay a significant marker as the Congress approves specific funding levels later this year. Stateside LWCF is the Federal government's most important investment tool for ensuring access to local and state park and recreation opportunities. Please call your U.S. Senator and ask him or her to support the Salazar stateside LWCF amendment. Outdoor businesses from Colorado and Maine should thank their senators for their leadership on this issue. Please make your call today!
For more information or to take action visit:
http://capwiz.com/outdoorindustry/callalert/index.tt?alertid=7248481&type=CO
Tuesday, April 5 6:00pm
City Council Chambers
Municipal Building
1777 Broadway (corner of Broadway and Canyon)
City Council will comment on the final draft of the Open Space/Mountain Parks Visitor Master Plan (VMP), and decide whether to accept the plan. Public comment will be taken. The final draft of the VMP contains unnecessary restrictions such as no off-trail travel in Habitat Conservation Areas (HCAs) Numerous climbing / bouldering areas are located within HCAs (Mickey Mouse Wall, Sacred Cliffs, Upper Peanuts Wall), and this restriction will make it illegal to access these destinations. Furthermore, the Open Space Board of Trustees (a group primarily consisting of rigid preservationists who have repeatedly shown their hostility toward recreational interests) has recommended "extreme caution" when planning new trails in HCAs (read: no new trails)
If you care about continued access to your public lands, please show up for this meeting and voice your concerns! Our city officials will construe a lack of climber turnout as a lack of interest on the part of climbers, and the plan will likely be approved as a result.
You can learn more about the VMP at: www.flatironsclimbing.com and http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/openspace/plan.htm
YOUR COMMENTS MATTER - PLEASE CONTACT CITY COUNCIL TODAY!
Please also take a moment to contact city council, and let them know that a ban on off-trail travel in HCAs is unacceptable.
You may contact the City Council in several ways. You may send an e-mail to council@ci.boulder.co.us , you may call at 303-441-3090 or send a fax to 303-441-4478. You may send a letter to:
City Council
P.O. Box 791
Boulder, CO 80306
The Access Fund awarded $45,480 in its first round of grant funding for 2005. Awarded three times annually, Climbing Preservation Grants provide financial assistance for local climber activism and protection of the climbing environment. The grants will be distributed for trail improvements, land acquisition, education and assistance for a newly formed local climber organization.
"The Access Fund is committed to preserving the climbing experience for present and future generations," said Shawn Tierney, Access and Acquisitions Director. "We're proud to fund these important initiatives on behalf of our members and the entire climbing community."
The Access Fund awarded the following grants:
The Southeastern Climbers Coalition received a grant to help pay for the purchase of the Jamestown climbing area. The crag, which was on land privately owned, has been closed since the early 1990s. Many of the best climbing areas in Alabama are closed due to private landowner issues.
The Forest Service received a grant to purchase an installation of a CXT vault toilet at Sam's Throne. The Forest Service is in the process of upgrading the area to include a primitive campground and additional day use parking area with informational kiosk.
The Forest Service received a grant to help pay for a slope stabilization and belay platform construction project at a popular climbing destination near Mt. Hood. Heavy use at this site has resulted in erosion and vegetation loss at the base of the rock and outlying areas. The project will involve the construction of rock retaining walls, a trail on the northeast side of the formation that will direct use, and revegetation in areas that are no longer in the travel zone.
The Friends of East Mountain received a grant for a trail kiosk and site map for climbing areas and trails at Great Barrington.
The Rocky Mountain Field Institute received a grant for the Crestone Needle Restoration Project. The goal of the project is to preserve Crestone Needle (14,197') by constructing a sustainable summit route, and restoring badly damaged and heavily eroded areas along the route's perimeter.
The Forest Service received a grant for trail maintenance and base area improvements at this popular climbing area in the Snake River Canyon south of Jackson. The improvements will mitigate erosion problems and unintentional expansion of the trail.
The Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council. LVCLC received a start-up and organizational grant is dedicated to ensuring climbing access, encouraging stewardship of the environment, and cultivating a sense of community in a world-class climbing destination. Red Rock Canyon faces ever more threatening issues from encroaching development, increased land use, and access challenges as a result of issues imposed by the federal government.
The Forest Service for the Blackline Buttress received a grant for trail rehabilitation and a construction project. The targeted trail is 1.5-2 miles long, with roughly 800 feet of elevation gain. The trail needs drainage work, downhill retaining walls, and retreading. The grant will be used for materials, an informational bulletin board, and trail marker signs.
The Teton River Watershed Group received a grant for educational outreach for the Blackleaf Canyon climbing area. Working with the Forest Service, the climbing community is interested in proactively addressing emerging issues at this increasingly popular area. Parking, human waste, grizzly bear food order regulations, and access trails have been identified as key areas of concern.
The Silver Lake Ditch Company received a grant for restoration work at the Dome and Elephant Buttresses. Work will focus on ditch restoration and mitigating erosion caused by foot traffic at this heavily used site near Boulder.
The Madrone Wall Preservation Committee received a grant for ongoing public outreach work in the effort to protect Madrone Wall. The group is working to reopen the site to public access and lobbying to get the site permanently protected as a park or open space property. Madrone Wall has been closed since 1997.
In January of 2005, part of the world famous bouldering area known as Ibex came under attack. Located 50 miles outside of Delta Utah, the Ibex area is spread out over miles and miles of a mixture of BLM and State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands. A Utah mining company has leased a section of land from SITLA in order to mine for silica, a mineral used to make glass. This parcel of land contains both bouldering and routes in an area known as Topus.
Representatives from the Access Fund and the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (www.saltlakeclimbers.org) are working to try to preserve the climbing resources and prevent any further destruction if possible.
Sad Boulders parking development at the bottom of Chalk Bluff is finishing up. Climbers are starting to realize the change and have begun staging at the new parking area below. The trail is developed to the top, so climbers can access all bouldering areas from the new staging area. Our ultimate goal is to bring the upper road to its 1998 appearance, physical condition, and character. With the compliance of the climbing community and other user groups we will achieve this goal through means other than closure of the road. We will, however, continue to keep the short segment to the archeological site closed.
Scott Justham, Jim Jennings, Diana Pietrasanata, Rich Williams, and Jeff Starosta deserve all the credit for pulling this together on behalf of BLM with support from Eastern Sierra Climbers Coalition, Inyo County, and DWP.
Master trial builder Jim Angell passed away at the end of February. He was 76. Jim was President of Corplan, Inc. and provided trail design and construction expertise for more than twenty years for many state and federal land agencies in the U.S. Jim was an original Board member of the Access Fund, and provided more than a decade of service for the AF at climbing areas across the country. That work alone was significantly responsible for turning the tide in the early 1990's as land managers threatened to close area after area due to environmental impacts from climbing's exploding popularity.
Remembrance from Marion Hutchison, who worked with Jim on numerous trail projects in Oklahoma:
"Jim was critically opinionated and sometimes difficult to work with, but he knew what he was doing and he did it very well. But he was also a kind, generous and sensitive man. I remember him buying beers for more than thirty volunteers at the Old Plantation after a hard day of trail work in the Narrows and raising a cheer to their efforts. And, I remember walking back to the parking lot at Quartz to meet him for lunch after a difficult morning of brush clearing to find him in his pick-up listening to Mozart, eating smoked salmon, and drinking a Guinness. He was without question one-of-a-kind.
Thanks Jim, for everything that you did for us at the Refuge and Quartz. May your spirit live on along those trails and in the hearts of all of those who worked beside you."
All who knew Jim will dearly miss his spirit, fondness for climbers and great enthusiasm for the crags.
The Boise Climbers Alliance is pleased to report that we've completed our trail project at the Black Cliffs, popular crags with more than 350 established sport and trad routes just 10 minutes drive from downtown Boise. Volunteers helped reconstruct heavily eroded access trails and build sections of new trail in several areas, install signage and markers to help identify trails, and repair damage from erosion. Also, a contractor was hired to install a gate blocking access to a jeep road to the Short Cliffs where severe erosion problems had developed because of vehicles using it, and to build and install two information kiosks along the busier access trails. The kiosks will inform climbers about the BCA, The Access Fund, the AAC, and the BCA's voluntary closure of specific areas of the Black Cliffs during the spring nesting season for golden eagles and prairie falcons.
The work was funded by a $3,000 grant from The Access Fund and a $1,000 grant from The American Alpine Club. The BCA thanks both organizations for their support.
The BCA also recently installed signs indicating areas under voluntary closure during the spring nesting season for federally protected golden eagles and prairie falcons. Signs will remain up until early April in all areas where nests have historically been established (including Nixon Head, Scary Canyon, Wailing Wall, Highway Face, Face Canyon, and the very back of Car Body Canyon). In April, signs will be removed from areas where no nests have been established this year, and remain up near established nests until the end of June.
Areas not affected by the voluntary closure, and which remain open to climbing, include: the East and West sides of Car Body Canyon, the Short, Mid, and Tall Cliffs, The Fringe, and Populace Wall. These areas contain the majority of the most popular routes at the Black Cliffs. For more information, see www.boiseclimbers.org .
This spring, Lynn Hill will launch the first of six comprehensive climbing camps. The camps will celebrate the climbing lifestyle and help participants achieve a new level in their climbing. During the five-day course, Lynn will coach participants, demonstrate various types of climbing techniques, explain the process of problem solving, mental strategies, as well as give individual feedback through the use of video analysis. In addition to Lynn's mentorship, guests will benefit from the guidance of author and venerated off-width master, Craig Luebben, and noted boulderer and former British National Champion, Naomi Guy.
Camps are scheduled for the following locations and dates:
Bishop, CA April 4th - 8th
Moab, UT May 16th - 20th
Eldorado Canyon, CO June 6th - 10th
Vedauwoo, WY July 11th - 15th
New River Gorge, WV October 10th - 14th
Smith Rock, OR October 31st - Nov 4th
For more information please contact: naomi@lynnhillclimbs.com (720) 422-5755 or go to http://www.lynnhillclimbs.com/
Contact: Christian Beckwith, Editor, Alpinist Magazine
Email: cb@alpinist.com
Phone: 307-734-0600
Alpinist Magazine announced today that the town of Jackson, Wyoming, has proclaimed March 24, 2005, as Barry Corbet Day. The day coincides with the start of The Barry Corbet Film Festival, which will be held March 24-26, 2005, at Jackson's Mainstage Theater. Presented by Alpinist Magazine, The Barry Corbet Film Festival honors Corbet's athletic and artistic spirit with a series of films that evoke the joys of deep snow, wild water and steep stone. All net proceeds will be donated to the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation's Khumbu Climbing School, which seeks to lower the injury and fatality rate among the Sherpas who work and climb in the high Himalaya. For information on The Barry Corbet Film Festival, including film schedules, see http://www.alpinist.com/corbet or call Alpinist Magazine at 307-734-0600. Information on the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation may be found at http://www.alexlowe.org/
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From the E.D.- Development Director Michael Lindsey has been asked to join the leadership team with Outward Bound. He has accepted the "Director of Safety" position for Outward Bound Wilderness Schools and will be starting his new post at the end of March. We are excited for Michael as he begins a new adventure and thank him deeply for his service to the Access Fund.
From Michael - I want to thank each of you for your support and leadership during my tenure at the Access Fund. As a climber for over 30 years, I feel privileged to have been part of an organization that has done so much in advancing climbing access, advocacy and education.
Thank you for the opportunities and the friendships made. I will remain an advocate and member of the Access Fund for many years to come.
Warm Regards,
Michael
The Access Fund is a national climber's organization promoting recreational access and conserving the climbing environment through advocacy, grassroots alliances, acquisitions, education and stewardship. We believe in the diversity of the climbing experience, an ethic of personal responsibility, self-regulation, minimal impact and sound management of climbing resources throughout the United States.
The Development Director is responsible for the organization's individual and foundation fundraising program including: major gifts solicitations, special events, annual fund, capital campaigns, planned giving, and maintains the Access Fund's eligibility for charitable donations with state and federal agencies.
The Development Director's key responsibilities include: creating an annual fundraising plan to meet annual needs of the organization; research, outreach, relationship building, grant writing, reporting, planning/implementing fundraising events, multiple annual appeals and enhancing the individual donor program. Coordination and teamwork is required with Marketing/Business Development and Membership Directors.
Key requirements include: self starter with at least 3+ years of successful fundraising experience, record of success with developing and implementing fundraising plans, excellent writing and oral communication skills, mature professional judgment and the ability to maintain donor relationships with individuals, organizations and other external partners; and working collaboratively as part of a team in our fast-paced organization. Climbing background preferred. Competitive salary and benefits. Small, progressive workplace in Boulder, Colorado.
Send resume and cover letter electronically no later than MARCH 31ST 2005 to the Access Fund Executive Director at: steve@accessfund.org . Be sure to write "Development Director 2005" in the email subject.
No calls or paper submissions please.
To streamline the events process, the AF has created a new page on the website under the EVENTS where interested people or groups can complete a webform for their event. If your event qualifies, membership materials and goodies may be sent additionally. All events the AF is involved with will be included on the event schedule. The deadline for event registration is one month prior to event. To register an event, visit:
http://www.accessfund.org/events/index.php
The February issue of Vertical Times (volume 62) is online as a PDF file for downloading. The issue offers additional news and photos (not included in the Access Fund E-News). It can be downloaded from http://www.accessfund.org/news/vt.php (Adobe Acrobat is required).
The Access Fund is still giving members the option of viewing Vertical Times online instead of receiving the paper version. This decreases printing and mailing costs, thus allocating more funds to protect YOUR CLIMBING FUTURE. To take part in this effort, and cease shipment of the Vertical Times to your home, e-mail your name and address to memberservices@accessfund.org with "Remove Vertical Times" as the subject.
Presently, 2024 members have chosen our online option - a savings of over $10,120 per year to be utilized towards the Access Fund's Mission to preserve and conserve the climbing environment.
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