Idaho Breaking News

Volunteer Raptor Closures a Success at Black Cliffs, ID (06/18/2007)

By Brian Fedigan - Boise Climbers Alliance, Access Fund RC

Thanks to all Boise Climbers for helping with the raptor closures at the Black Cliffs. The voluntarily closures will be lifted and all areas will be open to climbing at the end of June. This year two pairs of Prairie Falcons, a Barn Owl, one pair of American Kestrels and a Red Tail Hawk successfully nested in sections of the Black Cliffs. Thanks for participating.

Raptor Closure at Black Cliffs, ID (04/19/2007)

By Brian Fedigan

The Boise Climbers Alliance has closed sections of the Black Cliffs for raptor nesting. Current closures include the back of Car Body Canyon, Highway Face (all routes), Scary Canyon (all routes), the Iron Man Traverse and the Nixon Head. The route closures will last until late June. For detailed information on exact route closures go to www.boiseclimbs.com.

We are currently working with the Idaho Fish and Game to see what walls have current nesting activity. If an area is determined not to have a nesting raptor it will be opened immediately. This is a voluntary closure, but the cooperation of local climbers has enabled us to maintain free of federal and state imposed restrictions. Thanks so much for your cooperation.

North Idaho Report (01/11/2007)

By Rex Mundo

2007 promises to be a busy year with great challenges and opportunities. The Kootenai Klimbers and the North Idaho College outdoor pursuits program continue with the Adopt-A-Crag effort. The success of this work has revealed to the City of Post Falls the climbing community's positive impact on conservation, preservation, environmental awareness and the all-important tourist dollar. The timing is excellent because the city has acquired 60 acres of additional parkland on the river that has great potential for bouldering and mountain biking. There is also a route-free wall of beautiful granite.

There is also another city property of approximately 20 acres that the city is developing into parkland. It is an environmental oasis right downtown that goes to the river. Rusty Baillie, myself and a city park representative toured the area and found a primo bouldering wall over 300 feet long with near-perfect landing all along the base with easy topout from 10-18 ft. More about this later.

We also are continuing our on-going discussions with Avista Power Company to allow continued use of climbing/bouldering areas on Avista property adjacent to the dam/Q'Emiln Park climbing area. The dam is currently going thru the relicensing process. Once the license is renewed, they'll have it for 30-50 years and access issues may arise.

As Rusty Baillie stated in past reports, possibly the best wall in the area is just out of the boundary of Q'Emiln Park. The Klimbers are working with the city and others in the Spokane Climbing community to acquire this valuable resource before it's gone.

Black Cliffs, Boise, ID (01/11/2007)

By Brian Fedigan

The Cliffs subdivision, above the Black Cliffs in Boise was approved by the county commissioners. The Cliffs will place approximately 1,400 new homes above Boise’s most popular crag.

The developer owns an extremely popular climbing area; known locally as Car Body Canyon and has expressed an interest in keeping this climbing area open to climbing. The Boise Climbers Alliance continues negoiations with the developers attempting to obtain a conservation easement for Car Body.

Kootenai Klimbers Update, ID (12/15/2006)

By Rusty Baille, President

The Kootenai Klimbers are strategizing on how to open up Outlaw Wall near Post Falls, Idaho. This is the finest cliff in our area with 100 hundred feet of solid granite-gneiss climbing but, alas, it sits on private land. There are several semi-completed routes on The Outlaw and early climbers had tacit permission to climb here. With an increase in climbing pressure, and most local landowners rushing to develop their holdings into housing estates, we need to “speak now - or forever lose” this great crag.

In the Spring of 2007 we will form a group to work on access. This group will be led by one of the climbing activists who did such an impressive job of acquiring Big Rock – part of the Rocks of Sharon, just south of Spokane WA.

Our second initiative is to clean up and legitimize our boulders. This project is being inspired by Jason Baker who grew up around here and knows all the secret spots. If there’s a chalk smear on an impossible hold way up there, especially if the landing is “interesting”, it’s probably his!

Bouldering in the Pacific Northwest is rather like organic gardening. Whoever said that mosses and lichens take thousands of years to grow should check out our local varieties! While such biotica could perhaps help rehabilitate more stricken ecosystems, it makes rocksports here impossibly slimy. The solution (hopefully) is to work closely with the land managers to designate key areas as biological preserves and viewsites while identifying good bouldering that can be reasonably and legitimately cleaned for climbing. Maybe then I can get my moneys worth from my new super-thick, super-wide bouldering pad!

Access Fund Organizes Idaho Climbers to Reopen Twin Sisters at the City of Rocks, ID (08/16/2006)

In late June the Access Fund organized climber meetings across Idaho in Pocatello, Ketchum, and Boise to raise climber awareness, and meet with congressional representatives and park managers regarding the on-going climbing closure on the City of Rocks’ historic Twin Sisters formation. For background, see www.accessfund.org/display/page/AA/35

The Access Fund urges climbers to take three separate actions that could help reopen the Twin Sisters:

National Park Service (NPS) planners will release a draft CIRO CMP at some point in late August or September we will cue you to write comments at that time. CIRO’s comprehensive plan is a ways out still, but that will be a crucial time for submitting your comments regarding the climbing ban on the Twin Sisters.

Email Kristo Torgersen at kristo@accessfund.org to get on our mailing list for this issue or keep your eyes peeled for future Access Fund Action Alerts. Additional background info can be found at www.accessfund.org/display/page/AA/35 and www.accessfund.org/pdf/AFciro.pdf

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