National Park Service and USDA Forest Service seek public input on proposed guidance for managing climbing, protecting natural and cultural resources in wilderness areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) are seeking public input on proposed guidance that would guide agency personnel in managing climbing opportunities on national forests, grasslands and parks. The public is invited to provide input on both agencies’ guidance through Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.

Climbing activities (including rock climbing, snow and ice climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering, and caving) are popular in national forests, national parks and across public lands. Fixed climbing equipment, also referred to as fixed anchors, includes bolts or other equipment that is left permanently in place after the climb. Some fixed anchors may be necessary for safe public use of the resource. The proposed guidance affirms that climbing is an appropriate use of public lands, including in wilderness areas, and should be managed in a manner that helps protect cultural and natural resources.

The draft guidance reflects input received during NPS- and USFS-held Tribal listening and Tribal consultation sessions for Tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations and Alaskan Tribes and Organizations. Following the public comment period, the NPS and USFS will develop and publish final policy and guidance informed by public comments.

National Park Service
This draft NPS guidance will help NPS wilderness and climbing managers make informed decisions regarding the placement and/or replacement of permanent bolts, chains, or other climbing equipment used in NPS wilderness areas. The draft guidance outlines the processes for managing existing and new climbing routes in wilderness. The analysis will help NPS determine what level of fixed anchor use best preserves the totality of wilderness character while taking account of human safety concerns.

“Like many in the climbing community, I share a lifelong love and appreciation of outdoor recreation sparked by a childhood spent exploring and enjoying the natural world,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “The proposed guidance will help provide a consistent process for installing new or replacing existing fixed anchors in wilderness and ensure that we are managing these important areas for the benefit of current and future generations.”

U.S. Forest Service
The proposed U.S. Forest Service guidance will clarify management and provide specific guidance for climbing on National Forest System lands, including within Congressionally designated wilderness areas. The proposed guidance includes language that highlights the need for climbing area management plans that balance objectives with site-specific needs and opportunities, including alignment with the Wilderness Act. Currently, national guidance is not in place regarding acceptable climbing practices on national forests and grasslands.

“Climbing is a popular way to enjoy the outdoors and recreate on public lands,” said Forest Chief Randy Moore. “The proposed directive would ensure the Forest Service supports world-class climbing opportunities while also protecting natural and cultural resources for future generations.”

Like any recreational activity, best practices for climbing can help climbers avoid damage to natural and cultural resources. The proposed guidance will provide local Forest Service land managers with direction on how to guide climbers on the most appropriate places and practices to recreate responsibly and protect resources.

The proposed guidance follows the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which directs the Forest Service to develop guidance to manage climbing on national forests and grasslands.

Learn more about the proposed U.S. Forest Service guidance and submit your comments online: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=ORMS-3524 Starting November 17, learn more about the proposed National Park Service guidance and submit your comments online: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=132387



Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

New Film Tracks Animal Migrations in and out of Grand Teton National Park

A new wildlife documentary chronicling the large mammal migrations of Grand Teton National Park was released online this week, showing how the park is biologically connected to distant habitats in Idaho and Wyoming.

The film documents more than a decade of research revealing how Grand Teton National Park’s mule deer and pronghorn actually depend on habitats up to 190 miles away from the park boundaries.

Animal Trails: Rediscovering Grand Teton Migrations is now available for streaming, after screening in Grand Teton National Park’s Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center and Colter Bay Museum during the summer of 2023. You can watch the film on Vimeo here:

Animal Trails: Rediscovering Grand Teton Migrations from Wyoming Migration Initiative on Vimeo.

You can find more information about the film and large mammal migrations here.



Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Hermitage Point

Hermitage Point in Grand Teton National Park. Another excellent hike that offers great views and a bit of solitude:

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Park seeks public input on Colter Bay Legacy planning

The National Park Service (NPS) is at the beginning of a master planning effort to reestablish Colter Bay as a key destination and central location for all visitors to stay, play and learn in Grand Teton National Park. The NPS is seeking public input from November 13 to January 11, 2024, on a range of high-level planning concepts focused on improving visitor use and experience in the Colter Bay area, located in the northern part of the park. Increasing visitation, changing visitor and employee needs and aging infrastructure highlight an opportunity to plan for the next generation of Colter Bay. The park will use this feedback to develop alternatives for the Colter Bay Legacy planning effort. Grand Teton wants to hear from you about the problems and opportunities to consider through this planning process.

There will be an opportunity to learn more about this project, how to provide feedback and ask park staff questions through a virtual meeting on November 29 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. (MST). To join the meeting, please visit the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/colterbaylegacy.

The park also invites the public to learn more about the Colter Bay Legacy planning and to submit comments through the PEPC website (linked above). The park will use this feedback to develop alternatives for the Colter Bay Legacy planning effort, which will be analyzed in the future per the National Environmental Policy Act.

You may also submit comments by mail to: Grand Teton National Park, Attention: Planning Office – Colter Bay Legacy, P.O. Box 170, Moose, WY 83012. Comments submitted through social media, phone calls, or email will not be accepted.

Dive into the details about the Colter Bay Legacy planning effort and discover ways to participate in the Civic Engagement Newsletter.



Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

The West That Has Passed

In 1911, Charlie Russell opened his first national exhibit at the Folsom Galleries in New York City. Widely regarded as one of one of the greatest cowboy artists in American history, the exhibit featured more than two dozen paintings and bronze sculptures, which Russell called “The West That Has Passed.” The exhibit was effectively a requiem for the era of cowboys and Indians, the open range, and free-roaming bison that had passed during his lifetime. This wasn’t a life he observed from afar, but rather a life he witnessed growing up in Missouri, and one that he actually lived after moving to Montana at the age of sixteen.

Fast-forward to 1968 and we find Edward Abbey railing against the National Park Service for making parks more accessible. Abbey’s now famous “polemic” was written well after the west had transitioned from a land that needed to be tamed, to a land that was to be used and exploited - save for a few islands preserved for tourists and outdoor enthusiasts. In his book, Desert Solitaire, Abbey bemoaned the idea of paved roads being built in Arches National Monument, his place of employment in the mid-1950s. More pointedly, he decried “The Developers, the dominant faction” within the National Park Service who sought to make parks more accessible by means of what he called “Industrial Tourism”. He feared, or foresaw, how more roads, hotels and restaurants would lead to national parks becoming overrun by “mechanized tourists,” those that he defined as the “indolent millions born on wheels and suckled on gasoline, who expect and demand paved highways to lead them in comfort, ease and safety into every nook and corner of the national parks.” He argued that these types of tourists didn’t belong in parks because they didn’t appreciate them the way he did, nor did they share his wilderness ethic.

Equally provocative, Harvey Manning asked readers in the Summer 1975 issue of Backpacker Magazine: “Where did all these damn hikers come from?” In this piece, Manning concluded that automobiles were squarely to blame for making trails and wilderness areas more accessible, and thus more crowded. Without question, good or bad, automobiles have played a major role in the overcrowding of forests, parks and trails. Honestly, however, when I made my first pilgrimage to the West in 1986, I never would’ve recognized either of these complaints as legitimate. Not having anything to compare with, I didn’t see those “crowds” as problematic.

If your first visit to a major national park occurred after the dawn of the social media age, you may not be aware that the experience is profoundly different from what it was just a few years before. To illustrate the extent of this transformation, consider that between 2013 and 2019, total national park recreational visits jumped by nearly 20%. That’s almost 54 million additional visits per year! And it shows. Discounting a reprieve in 2020 due to Covid, visitation remains near record levels.

I really don’t remember how the conversation started, but somehow my friends and I hatched the radical idea of driving out West from our homes in suburban Cincinnati. Radical, because I don’t believe any of us had ever been west of Indiana up to that point. Being poor college kids, there was never a question that this was going to be a camping trip. Several weeks later, the three of us packed all of our camping equipment, a box of canned foods that we appropriated from our parents pantries, and loaded it all into John’s mid-1970s Ford Pinto hatchback. If you’ve ever seen a Pinto from this era, you may be wondering how three guys and their camping equipment could fit into such a cramped vehicle. Let me tell you, it was tough! We had to lay the back seat down, which forced us to take turns lying stretched-out in the back.

We really didn’t have a plan on what we were going to do on this whirlwind trip; only the places we intended to visit, and that we would be gone for 10 days. Though there were brief stops in the Badlands and Mount Rushmore, our focus was Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain national parks. Unlike today, we didn’t need a reservation to camp in the parks. We simply drove up to the campground, paid our fee, and then selected our site. Moreover, we didn’t need any timed entry permits. We drove in and out of the parks as we pleased. In fact, I don’t recall ever having to sit in any lines at any of the park entrances. Most importantly, we always found parking spaces available at the trailheads or the points of interest we visited. We never had to wake up before sunrise to beat the crowds into the park. Nor did we ever have to fight traffic or sit in any slowdowns, unless of course they were caused by a herd of bison or some random bear sighting.

We had a great time. Though it was a lot of driving in a very short period of time, and we really didn’t do all that much hiking, this will always be my most memorable road trip. While in Yellowstone, each of us saw our first 10,000-foot peaks, our first geothermal features, our first moose, our first elk, and our first bison. One evening, after watching the sunset atop Signal Mountain in Grand Teton, we saw our first grizzly bears while driving back to the Colter Bay campground. One of the most sublime moments for me occurred one evening while taking a solo walk along the shores of Jackson Lake. While fully entranced by a spectacular fiery sunset, a gaggle of geese flew overhead in a perfect V formation. I was hooked forever.

Subsequent trips in the following years were similar. No matter the time of day, we never experienced any trouble accessing trailheads or major points of interest. Believe it or not, but once upon a time you could drive up to Glacier Gorge in Rocky Mountain, Logan Pass in Glacier, or even Jenny Lake in Grand Teton at just about any time of day and find plenty of parking spaces available. You may be thinking that shuttles should’ve solved problems with overcrowding in recent years. That doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, there are unintended consequences associated with shuttles. According to one study, after the introduction of shuttles in 2007, the annual number of people hiking to Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park had tripled to 90,000 by 2011. During that same time period, the number of visitors hiking the Highline Trail from Logan Pass to “The Loop” exploded from just 1800 hikers per year to more than 40,000, despite overall park visitation remaining flat during this time period. The study’s author, Norma P. Nickerson, Ph.D., blames the increase on the park’s shuttle system, which has made trailheads more accessible. Prior to the introduction of buses, hikers were forced to go elsewhere once trailhead parking lots became full.

Today’s experience is significantly different - in multiple ways. In recent years more precise planning is required. Hotel reservations are now needed at least 9 or 10 months in advance for many parks. In many cases you need to be at your computer at a precise moment to ensure you’ll be able to secure timed entry permits for the park you’re planning to visit. As a result, you now need to know several months ahead of time which hikes, or at least the area of some parks you plan to visit on any given day. Even with timed entry permits, it’s still a race to arrive at some trailheads in time to ensure you’ll have a parking spot waiting for you. That effectively means waking up in the wee hours and being at the trailhead by sunrise in some instances. If you wait just a little later, you run the risk of not finding a parking spot. After your hike, depending on the park, you may run into congestion on the roads. Our past two trips to Grand Teton, including this past September, were the absolute worst. We encountered major traffic jams between Teton Village, Wilson and Jackson, as well coming into Jackson from the north. We also experienced heavy traffic on the Idaho side of the park. If you plan to dine at a restaurant afterwards, you may need a reservation, arrive early, or wait in yet another line.

In short, at least for me, the national park experience has deteriorated in recent years. Perhaps my perspective is the same as that of Russell, Abbey and Manning, in that I see the West as the way it used to be, and lament for those bygone days. Whether that’s perception or reality, I’ll concede is up for debate. However, as I see it, the national parks are now in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand they were established so that all Americans can enjoy their exceptional natural beauty, while at the same time the National Park Service has been mandated to leave parks “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Some fear that allowing too many people to enjoy parks now could irreparably impair them for future generations. While I fully embrace the broader meaning of the line “I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly” in John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” something clearly needs to be done. While it’s beyond the scope of this article, I do offer several detailed suggestions in my book on the history of hiking. The final chapter is dedicated to the future of hiking, and how overcrowding is currently impacting trails and parks.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.