NRAC Lobbying with Access Fund in Washington DC

A message from Matt, our President:

"I first want to thank all our donors, volunteers, and those who support and continue to support our organization! None of our work would be made possible without your support!

This week I traveled to Washington, DC, where several of us have spent the last few days with the Access Fund (@accessfund) lobbying our senators to support America's Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) and Protect America's Rock Climbing Act (PARCA).

Fixed anchors in the wilderness are threatened due to policy changes in land managing agencies.

AORA and PARCA are bipartisan bills that aim to protect fixed anchors in the wilderness and establish rock climbing as an officially recognized and accepted the use of wilderness areas.

This matters to us at the NRG even though none of our climbing is in wilderness areas because many of us travel and climb in these threatened areas. They are part of our community.

Senators seemed receptive to our plea and promised to support outdoor recreation industries. However, the fight is far from over, as we expect bill markups sometime around May. It'll require more action by writing our legislators to support AORA/PARCA.

We've been working on revamping our rebolting program. We hosted a training day where we taught some of the ins and outs of bolt replacement techniques, and we will continue to train a new cohort of rebolters. We'll also rebolt much of the Tattoo Wall at Bubba City in April.

Our largest trail-building project of the year, (Not) Work Week, is happening from May 13th-20th! Sign-ups will open up shortly, so stay tuned and be sure to sign up to volunteer!

The Climber Stewards Program is back in partnership with the Access Fund! This program was wildly successful last year, and we're excited to continue it. So be on the lookout for the Stewards at the Crag from May thru October!

Meadow River access... While I have nothing definitive to offer now, many of our brightest minds are all working hard to restore access. The future looks bright.

Let's keep working together to preserve our well-loved climbing areas!"