Access Fund
E-News #59
September 2005
The Access Fund
E-News Online
›› IN THIS ISSUE ››
ADOPT-A-CRAG
2005 Take Action Now!
Action Alert- Great Falls Park, VA
Grassroots Advocacy Group
Formed to Represent Climbers' Interests
Membership Survey --Win a Rope!
Reese
Martin Memorial Award & Grant
Hans Florine Slideshow in
Boulder, CO
Call For boulderProject Web Developer
Donate Your
Car or a Digital Video Camera
Access Fund Events
Vertical Times #65 (August
Issue) is NOW Online as a PDF!
ADOPT-A-CRAG
2005
| Take Action
Now! ››
Adopt-a-Crag 2005 is in full
swing. Thanks to all the volunteers who
are making it happen.
There’s still time to
organize an Adopt-a-Crag (if there isn’t already one in your area) or join a
scheduled Adopt-a-Crag. It’s an easy and important way to give back to the
crags that give you so much.
Adopt-a-Crag is the Access Fund’s
signature stewardship event, a national commitment by the climbing community to
natural resource stewardship and volunteerism. Activities often include litter
clean-ups, visual impact mitigation, trail construction and restoration,
erosion control, and wildlife monitoring.
“Adopt-a-Crag is about giving
back [but] there’s always a chance to climb a bit, watch the cliff birds fly,
and have a great party with friends” says writer, long-time
Adopt-a-Crag
is an excellent avenue for building alliances and partnerships and to plan for
the future. Adopt-a-Crag inspires activism, advocacy,
volunteerism, and stewardship. Be it a crag clean-up of 8 volunteers or a
fundraiser, comp, and trail work day with 100 volunteers, Adopt-a-Crag is about
giving back to those places we love and use on a regular basis. In the five
years since the inception of Adopt-a-Crag,
This year
we have expanded Adopt-a-Crag once again. We made this change to encourage organizers to schedule their Adopt-a-Crag
event on a day that works best for their community and to partner with other
organizations.
As in the past, you can get all your
Adopt-a-Crag information and register online at http://accessfund.org/cons/aacreg.php
or contact Deanne at Deanne@accessfund.org.
As an organizer, a complete resource kit will be at your disposal helping with
everything from organizing to providing swag for volunteers. Be sure to check out the
Adopt-a-Crag schedule of events at: http://accessfund.org/events/aac.php.
If you find an Adopt-a-Crag in your area contact the organizer to volunteer,
and if there is not one yet at your favorite crag, you still have time to start
organizing!
ACTION
ALERT | Great Falls Park , VA
Draft Management Plan Could Seriously Limit Climbing Opportunities in the Park- YOUR COMMENTS NEEDED NOW!
The
National Park Service has released a draft General Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for
A
public meeting was held at the
GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY GROUP FORMED TO
REPRESENT CLIMBERS’ INTERESTS | Indian
Creek ,
UT
The Friends of Indian Creek recently organized as a volunteer climbing advocacy group that seeks to preserve the unique and undeveloped character of Indian Creek while also providing necessary funding and other resources for stewardship projects and outreach efforts to ensure the conservation of the valued and world-class recreational, natural and cultural resources found at Indian Creek.
The mission of the Friends of Indian Creek is to preserve the unique experience we all love at Indian Creek. We support dispersed free camping, reasonable management policies, access to crags, limited development and a voice in future land management decisions. Our vision includes responsible recreation to ensure the conservation of Indian Creek’s natural resources and primitive character. To accomplish our mission, the Friends will raise funds for stewardship projects and provide outreach and education to the climbing community to assist in the protection of Indian Creek’s unique qualities.
To become a free member, email friendsofindiancreek@hotmail.com and write in to express your views regarding how Indian Creek should be managed and your opinion about the proper role for the Friends group. The Friends will email you updates which can also be seen on the Friends of Indian Creek's website: http://www.moabdesertadventures.com/foic.htm
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY | Win a
Rope! ››
Must complete
survey by October 10th
We need a few
minutes of your time for the Access Fund 2005 Survey. This survey is important on many fronts from lobbying in
If you haven’t
already completed the survey head to http://accessfund.org/survey/
by October 10th!
REESE MARTIN MEMORIAL AWARD & GRANT ››
The Access Fund is pleased to announce the Reese Martin Memorial Award & Grant:
Reese Martin was killed in a paragliding accident on July 9th, 2004. Reese was an amazing man, a good friend, climbing partner and Access Fund board member, supporter and donor. Reese had an enthusiasm and passion for life, friends, family, climbing and adventure.
Reese began climbing in 1971, and had climbed in the Pacific Northwest,
In the spring of 2005 the Access Board of Directors, acting with the support of Reese’s family, formally established the Reese Martin Memorial Award to honor this great man and his years of work on behalf of the American climbing community as an activist, regional coordinator and board member of the Access Fund.
The Reese Martin Memorial Grant is an activist grant that will provide up to $5,000 annually to an Access Fund Regional Coordinator (RC) and their affiliated LCO for projects that meet the Access Fund climbing preservation grant criteria.
The Reese Martin Memorial Award will provide up to $1,000 annually to an Access Fund RC for outstanding achievement to be used for training that will further enhance the RC’s work.
HANS FLORINE SLIDESHOW | Boulder , CO
The Access Fund welcomes Hans Florine to EMS in
When: Thursday,
September 29th at 8 pm
Where: EMS in
$7 at the door, all proceeds will benefit the
Access Fund. There will also be a gear
auction!
About Hans: Hans Florine is an international rock climbing champion. He
has been the US National Speed Climbing Champion eight times in the past 15
years as well as a three-time ESPN X Games Champion. He holds numerous
speed climbing records in
9th ANNUAL CLIMB SMART | Joshua Tree, CA ››
Climber’s Gathering in
Joshua Tree kicks off the season September 30th
Friends of Joshua Tree will host
the 9th annual Climb Smart gathering at Indian Cove group
campgrounds from September 30 through October 2, 2005. This is the largest gathering of
The cost of Climb Smart 2005 is reduced for this year, only $70 for the full weekend experience for those who register by September 12. Camping space is included in the cost, but is limited to the first 100 registrants. Don’t miss out on the chance to help kick off the Joshua Tree climbing season, hone some skills, take home some gear, and support your climbing community. For more information, visit www.friendsofjosh.org.
THE NEW MemberSHOP››
Check
out the new section of the Access Fund website- MemberSHOP. Here you will find member-only discounts on
AF merchandise and special discount subscription offers from Alpinist, Climbing, Rock and Ice,
and Urban Climber.
We
are working on adding more member-only discounts so check out this page
whenever you’re on the AF website.
You
must have your AF membership number which appears on your membership card to
login and receive discounts. If you
recently joined the Access Fund and/or don't have your member card, please
email membership@accessfund.org
(write "need ID#" in subject line) or call toll free: 888-8-MEMBER
(888-863-6237) x106 to obtain your member ID#.
.NET DEVELOPER NEEDED ››
The Access Fund is currently in need of some .NET software development assistance to help us complete a company intranet feeding off of SQL Server 2000 for in-house reporting. Ideally this person would have extensive Microsoft/web-based reporting experience and be willing to volunteer a minimum of 2-3 hrs/week over the next four months to provide guidance. Interested? Contact Cindy Trotter, cindy@accessfund.org, 303-545-6772 x107. Thanks!
CALL FOR STORIES ››
Why do you
climb? Why are you a member of the
Access Fund? Have you had a personal
experience with access issues that you think others could learn from? Why do you volunteer your time? What do you do to help conserve the climbing
environment and keep climbing areas open?
Here’s your
chance to tell the climbing world your story. Write it down and send it in so
that we can all learn from your experiences. Submissions limited to 500 words
(if your story takes more, submit an abstract limited to 200 words). Send submissions to Media@accessfund.org. Include your name
and all contact information so that we can properly credit you and get a hold
of you if we need to.
CALL FOR boulderProject
WEB DEVELOPER ››
The boulderProject is about how
We’re looking for
a young developer who is passionate about climbing and understands their role
in the future of climbing. This project
is open to high school and college students only. You must submit samples/links of past web
work/projects and anything else you think would help us make a decision.
Include your name, email, phone, address, year in school, and a 200 word essay
discussing your role in the future of climbing.
This is an unpaid
project, though we will set you up with a mondo gear
package valued at over $500. This is a great way to build your portfolio,
showcase your work, and give back to the climbing community.
E-Submissions only. Send to Media@accessfund.org with “yourname- boulderProject
web” in the subject line.
DONATE YOUR CAR or a DIGITAL VIDEO
CAMERA ››
Unwanted
Vehicle? Don't trade it in, donate it to us! Vehicle
donation is easy, it's tax deductible and often times
yields more to you than the dealer offers in trade in. Click here for more
details http://www.v-dac.com/org/?id=943131165
·
IT'S
EASY. You don't have to do anything except fill out the paper work. Once you
mail in your paperwork, our service will call and pickup your vehicle within a
week. The Access Fund will receive the funds from the sale within 8 weeks.
·
IT'S
TAX DEDUCTABLE. You are entitled to an itemized tax deduction of the fair
market value of your vehicle.
·
It
can be worth more to you than the dealer offers in trade in. Compare what the
dealer offers against the value of your tax deduction before you trade-in. Plus we get the net proceeds to work on programs to keep
local climbing areas open.
·
You
can donate ANYTHING. Cars, trucks, airplanes, boats— any vehicle can be
donated.
For
more detailed information on donating your vehicle to the Access Fund please
contact
Do you have a DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA that you never use?
Send
it our way and let us put it to work! We’re looking for a higher-end camera to
take with us to events to document all the hard work of AF volunteers (okay,
we’ll probably shoot some climbing footage too). So if you have a good
working digital video camera sitting in a closet collecting dust, or if you
just need a good excuse to upgrade, donate it to the Access Fund. You
can take a tax write off and hey, we’ll even name it after you. Email Robb with
details: robb@accessfund.org.
ACCESS FUND EVENTS
Check out the latest Access Fund affiliated events accessfund.org/events/events.php
To streamline the events process, the AF has created a new page on the website under the EVENTS tab where interested people or groups can complete a web form for their event. If your event qualifies, membership materials and goodies may be sent in support. 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: accessfund.org/events/index.php
VERTICAL TIMES #65 (August Issue) is NOW
ONLINE as a PDF!
The August issue of Vertical Times (volume 65) 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 accessfund.org/news/vt.php (Adobe Acrobat is required).
Viewing Vertical Times online instead of receiving the paper version 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, over 2300 members have chosen our online option - a savings of over $11,000 per year to be utilized towards the Access Fund's mission to keep climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment.
AF E-NEWS POLICIES
1. The Access Fund office in
2. The AF will not sell or give away email addresses of AF E-News subscribers.
3. AF E-News is an announcement-only monthly e-mail list; therefore, you cannot reply to any of the list members.
4. All e-mail addresses will remain confidential with every mail sent.
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