Deseret News: Letter to the Editor: Rep. Curtis Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act
Congressman Curtis climbing in American Fork in 2020 with the SLCA& AAC
Deseret News: Letter to the Editor: Rep. Curtis Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act
May 2, 2023
Utah is blessed with world class rock climbing opportunities, from roadside cragging to alpine summits. Thanks to a partnership between local climbers and Representative John Curtis, we have a chance to keep it that way.
Representative Curtis is a sponsor of the bipartisan Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, which would bring consistency to federal management of Wilderness climbing. In a hearing on March 28, Representative Curtis laid out the stakes and opportunities driving this bill:
“[The PARC Act] is critical to protect access to popular climbing routes in Wilderness areas on federal lands, creating a predictable standard for the rock climbing community who has been using wilderness areas since their inception,” Representative Curtis said. He then continued, calling climbers, “among our most predictable caretakers of these Wilderness areas.”
Climbers care deeply about public lands and Wilderness areas and appreciate Representative Curtis’ leading out on this important issue.
The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance’s two decade long partnership with local Forest Service districts to steward outdoor climbing landscapes will be bolstered by this national level guidance. Common sense climbing area management will ensure that the public will continue to benefit from access to local and national climbing areas.
Julia Geisler
Executive Director, Salt Lake Climbers Alliance
Salt Lake City, Utah
SaltLakeClimbers.org
Submitted April 14 and May 2, 2023 to letters@deseretnews.com
8:35 mark starts the conversation about the Congressman’s Support of the PARC Act