Public Lands Policy & Climbing.

As many of you may have heard, things are not looking so good for Public Land policy. This has a direct impact on our climbing and outdoor recreation. In particular here are some climbing specific issues I have been following:

• Bears Ears National Monument threat level increased. Secretary Zinke's report on national monuments,  recommends an unspecified reduction to Bears Ears National Monument. However, the Salt Lake Tribune uncovered a proposal from Utah's Governor Herbert to President Trump that would reduce Bears Ears by 90%, exposing Indian Creek to industrial development.

• Congress considers new public lands energy leasing bill. The Federal Land Freedom Act proposes a massive transfer of oil and gas leasing authority on BLM and USFS lands to individual states, circumventing environmental regulations and public input. This can significantly impacts access and climbing.

Both the AAC and Access Fund are working hard in Washington DC to have climber's voices heard, however it is an up-hill battle.  Section Member Mara Burns, Store Manager Patagonia Meatpacking  shared this for those of you who would like to get more involved.

One of our grantees and partners in the campaign to protect our public lands, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), is coordinating a public lands video project this month.  They are collecting short (15-30 seconds) videos, from people who love the outdoors and value our protected public lands. Here is video BHA made as an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsYGXLCmSM

If you’d like to participate in the video project, please do the following when shooting your quick video from your phone:

1) Introduce yourself by stating where you are from and describe your favorite public land or what you like to do on public lands. The video could be shot on public land - but it’s not necessary.

2) Tag @Patagonia and #publiclandowner and #keepitpublic

3) Share this with your friends and network – encourage others to join this positive, public lands message. 

We’ll be sharing these via our social channels – and encouraging folks throughout our entire network.   Here is a great example from our own Trail Running Ambassador - Luke Nelson - https://www.instagram.com/p/BZgwhEaHzna/?tagged=publiclandowner