press releases

2008 Adopt-a-Crag Awards
The Access Fund would like to thank everyone who participated in the 9th annual Adopt-a-Crag series. We are pleased to announce that this has been Adopt-a-Crag's biggest year yet, with over 6,500 climbers contributing over 37,000 hours to help conserve the climbing areas they love. Restoration projects included trail rehabilitation, litter cleanup, planting shrubs, removing invasive weeds, and distributing mulch. These amazing efforts from our climbing community are valued at $721,870* worth of volunteer time devoted to improving our climbing areas.

Since its inception in 1999, Adopt-a-Crag has been the largest climbing community volunteer initiative throughout the nation. Adopt-a-Crag events show land managers and the public that climbers take care of the places they climb. These stewardship efforts not only conserve the climbing environment, but also strengthen the reputation of the climbing community.

Each year the Access Fund and its sponsors award Adopt-a-Crag organizers that went above and beyond. With so many impressive Adopt-a-Crag events this year, choosing winners was no easy task. This year's awards are presented to:

Central Texas Mountaineers
2008 Adopt-a-Crag of the Year Award
REI and the Access Fund are proud to present the 2008 Adopt-a-Crag of the Year Award to the Central Texas Mountaineers (CTM). This organization participated in nine different Adopt-a-Crag projects this year. From repelling down bridges to picking up trash to rehabilitating trails at Reimers Ranch, this organization shows how dedicated they are to the land they use. For many events, CTM collaborated with a variety of organizations, including their local REI Austin store, local climbing youth teams, American YouthWorks, and Friends of McKinney Falls State Park. Over 200 volunteers contributed almost 1,000 hours of their time to rehabilitating their local area. We are truly honored to have this organization as an affiliate of the Access Fund and hope that Central Texas Mountaineers will continue their efforts for many years to come.

Mid-Atlantic Climbers
The Access Fund 2008 Stewardship Award
GORE-TEX products and the Access Fund are proud to present the Access Fund 2008 Stewardship Award to the Mid-Atlantic Climbers. This local climbing organization has been hosting Adopt-a-Crag events since 2002 with huge success. This year they reported record-breaking attendance, with a total of 320 volunteers contributing over 1,800 volunteer hours. Mid-Atlantic Climbers hosted three Adopt-a-Crag events, which included trail rehabilitation and litter cleanup. They are a truly inspirational organization, and we are proud to have them as an affiliate of the Access Fund.

Dave Erley
2008 Conservation Award
CLIF Bar and the Access Fund are proud to present the 2008 Conservation Award to Dave Erley, the Southeastern Field Agent for Utah Open Lands, for hosting the Castleton Tower Stewardship Day. Dave organized 30 volunteers to rehabilitate trails for three full days and an additional15 volunteers to remove invasive weeds for another full day. Volunteers contributed approximately 1,000 hours to helping preserve the access trail and campground at Castleton Tower. We are grateful for the efforts of Dave Erley and his dedication to conserving this area.

Ken Yager and Yosemite Climbing Association
2008 League of Their Own Award
Last year the Access Fund started the League of Their Own Award to honor Ken Yager and the Yosemite Climbing Association (YCA) for their amazing efforts organizing the Yosemite Facelift. This year we are privileged to give this award to Ken and the YCA yet again. In 2008, the Yosemite Face Lift hosted over 2,000 volunteers who contributed almost 18,000 hours to conserving Yosemite?s precious resources.

An event like this takes the dedication of many people and the cooperation of many organizations, especially the National Park Service. We look forward to the 2009 Yosemite Facelift and are appreciative of Ken Yager and YCA for their devotion to this event. For more information, see www.yosemiteclimbing.org/category/events/facelift

Adopt-a-Crag provides a national voice and resources to the many local stewardship events organized within the climbing community each year. These events would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, GORE-TEX products, REI and CLIF Bar.

*Based on 2007 Independent Sector study citing $19.51 per hour as the monetary value of volunteer time. www.independetsector.org