CALL TO ACTION!

As you may have heard, Congress passed the EXPLORE Act in 2025, which included the important ‘Protect America’s Rock Climbing’ Act (PARC)- this was a very important step in making permanent protections of fixed anchors (bolts, pins, slings) on public lands. Unfortunately, there are numerous weaknesses in this Act that can still have dramatic influence on the use and replacement of fixed anchors on these lands- and there is precious little time in which to comment on how Climbing Management Plans should be developed.

The American Safe Climbing Association has created a very good description of the scope and limitations of the EXPLORE/PARC Act on public lands– please take a few minutes to carefully read this, and take action by making comments before the deadlines.

Of the four federal lands that are affected by the EXPLORE/PARC Act, climbing in the San Jacinto Mountains is largely on USFS National Forests- Tahquitz & Suicide Rocks both sit in designated ‘Wilderness’ areas, so comments about developing guidance on these lands are especially pertinent. (In fact, active climbers regularly climb on all federal lands, including National Parks, BLM, USFS, and Fish & Wildlife.) About 30% of nationwide climbing takes place on USFS-National Forest land- as it relates to climbing at Tahquitz, Suicide and the greater San Jacinto mountains, your comments here are very important. The deadline for USFS comments is this Monday, July 20!

This is very time sensitive, and the Climbing Management Plans that will develop from these comments will have lasting impact on how climbing and fixed anchors are used in these areas. A great number of the comments that have already been submitted are from those who oppose fixed anchor use of any kind! Take a few quality minutes to provide guidance on this important, timely issue!