Hey everybody:

A general meeting of the Washington Climbers Coalition will be held in room 202 at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 SUnnyside Avenue North, in Seattle, on Monday evening November 12, 2007.

Topics include:
Topics for the agenda include:

1. How to get involved with WCC:
(we're an all volunteer organization and this means YOU can help)

2. USFS roads maintenance issue / identification of recreational "assets" underway by Rep. Dicks and Senator Cantwell:
(many forest roads are going to be abandoned or decommissioned in the coming years and we'd like to be sure those serving areas of interest to us receive adequate consideration)

3. Roadless Area Rule -- a bill that could affect much of WA state North Cascades NP/Ross Lake:
(this legislation is proceeding and climbers may be interested in getting involved)

4. Recreation Area planning progress re: Newhalem and Diablo:
(update)

5. Static Point/FERC/DNR planning and access concerns:
(there is talk of a current proposal to close the road providing access to this unique crag and we're looking into how to best promote or preserve access here)

6. Additional Topics:
(over the next few weeks, we'll firm up the agenda a bit more and maybe you have ideas of other things we should discuss)

7. Entertainment:
(we're hoping to have a slideshow to provide some entertainment on this dark winter evening)

Bump. If you care about climbing in Washington, please show up to this meeting!

The Roadless Area Rule is not a bill in Congress but was a regulation passed by the Forest Service which has been tied up in endless litigation since. The latest case went in favor of implementation - so prehaps that's what you're referring to.

Otherwise, if you're talking about a bill in Congress, than you would be referring to a Wilderness bill and not the Roadless Rule. Just an FYI.

Just an FYI -

I think Matt meant to type Roadless Act.

See here!

got ya. thx.

Hope to be there, will PM.

Cool. If the politics of Environmental Groups and "green" legislation aren't "hot" enough for you, the reality that we gotta get our act together or we're going to lose many roads seving crags and hiking destinations ought to be of interest. And who doesn't want to watch slides on a dark November evening?

I think you'll find that the politics of the current environmental movement are in direct conflict with the stated interests of WCC. Hopefully your group will be a force for reasonable access and not one of endless compromise with the "let nature take over" crowd. The Great Bolt Debate aside - based on our conversations here, Matt, I think you are on the right track regarding trailhead access. I would love to attend this event, but I have class that evening from 5pm until 10. Please keep me posted on future meetings. (I'll be nice. )

I think there are definitely at least two sides to the debate when it comes to whether conservation and stewardship on public lands mean "let nature take over" or "lets take care of what we have while fostering human appreciation and enjoyment of the wild" (obviously, this dichotomy ignores other goals for the management of public lands, like water supply protection or resource extraction or ...).

The Sierra Club was founded by people who believed in getting out and experiencing the wonders of nature, and they even used to run trips and stuff (maybe they still do). In our more recent experience, the Trust for Public Lands and the Chelan County Land Trust bought a parcel in Icicle Creek specifically with the intent of allowing rock climbing to continue there. There clearly remains a strong and vocal contingent who believes that recreational use of wild lands is inherently destructive, but there are others who believe that managed recreational use is part of the reason for public land ownership. In my personal opinion, we want to work with the latter.

Sorry you won't make our meeting.

Hope you'll post some of the highlights here. I sincerely wish your group the best.

Matt, thanks for letting us know about this. I plan to be there, and I sent a message to the Bushwhacker Climbing Club listserve, so perhaps a few people from the club will participate.

See you then!
Dox

Wish I could join you but 7pm is too early for me to show up

Bringing this back to the top by noting that the date is truly auspicious as the FA of the Nose ended on a 12 November.

Under agenda item #2, there is a currently proposed piece of legislation by US Red Doc Hastings to re-open the historic stehekin road, giving climber and hikers access to the North cascades from Lake Chelan and the east side.

http://hastings.house.gov/Read.aspx?ID=889

The funds for such a project would come out of the NPS budget and therefor not be in competition with west-side road repairs that are on national forest land. Access to peaks such as: Gunsight, Dome, Spider, Formidable, Storm King, Goode, Booker, Buckner, Sahale, Boston, and Logan would all be affected by the potential repair.

I wish I could make it down for the meeting, but I hope that this will be discussed and the WCC will be in favor of the repair (which would merely move the road's right-of-way to a safer location away from the rover bank, and result in no net change of wilderness area)

Jim Nelson recently posted a petition in favor of the repair at his shop and is in favor of the efforts as well.

Yesterday, Representative Reichert introduded a bill to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the Pratt River Area, near Snoqualmie Pass. The Wilderness Society has contacted board members of the Washington Climbers Coalition, seeking our formal support. This, among other things, will be on the agenda for Monday.

Dave Reichert Press Release

One of those evil Republicans? How can this be!

Don Brooks will be showing slides of the second clean ascent of The Nose and Jesse Huey will show pictures of a more modern speed ascent. For more local interest, we'll be looking at current harder crag climbs and bouldering around Washington.

By the way, Fairweather:
To the extent it is a Dems. vs Reps issue, it is the Democrats who are currently pushing for funding of roads serving climbing areas and mountains where we like to climb. In the House, Norm Dicks sponsored the current funding legislation though he had bi-partisan support.
Source.

In the Senate, the Wilderness society reports, "Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), has prepared a letter to the Chair of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to support LRRI. Senator Cantwell is looking for fellow senators to join her letter to Chairwoman Feinstein. Please encourage your senators to sign on to Senator Cantwell's letter in support of the LRRI. This initiative will protect water supplies, wildlife habitats, and recreational opportunities, including fishing and hunting."
Source.

I'm not sure if you're in the sixth or not, but you should call Norm Dicks' office, say you are from his district, and give him the thumbs up. Cantwell too. They are your new heros.

I'm hoping to make it for the first hour or so. Will the meat and potatoes issues be at the top of the agenda?

OK. Just for you, we'll be sure to talk about nutritional food groupings first. Meat & Potatoes = business before play.

Norm Dicks is my rep and the only Dem who regularly gets my vote. (Adam Smith in nearby Tacoma is a good guy too.) I wasn't making a D/R distinction for your benefit, just pointing out irony. I'll look into Cantwell's efforts to see if they are worthy of praise. I remain skeptical, although I hear she's been seen in the mountains lately.

Is anyone from West Seattle planning on going to this meeting? I am looking for a ride to/from the meeting. I hope to get there a bit before the meeting as I am supplying the laptop for the slideshow and want to test to make sure all works fine.

/porter

i have a ride. thanks!

I'll be there a little late. Thanks for the posting, Matt.

Good meeting last night. Had to leave before the slides, but I think just the size of the group that showed shows that there are climbers out there who care. Whether they bolt, peak bag, stock fish in lakes, or are an alpine hardman. I hope this bodes well for the future of WCC.