mattp Posted July 22, 2004 Posted July 22, 2004 Four of us conceived of the Washington Climbers' Coalition in a conference phone call a couple of months ago. Local groups like ours are encouraged by the Access Fund, and in fact Jason Keith, the Policy Director for the Access Fund, was the one who suggested it. In addition to Jason, those four included Andy Fitz, Bryan Burdo, and myself (Matt Perkins) We hope the Washington Climbers' Coalition can draw Washington climbers together for discussion of the common issues we face and for concrete projects like crag clean-ups or whatever. We also hope to be able to coordinate communication about access-related issues with land managers or other outside parties. We do not necessarily speak for all Washington climbers. No group ever will. There are and there always will be separate interest groups based on climbing locations or climbing styles, and some people just won't want to interact with any group no matter what it tries to do. At this point, we are working to put together what we envision as a coalition of diverse interests within the climbing community. 43 people attended Tuesday night's meeting. Several came after hearing about the effort on cc.com, but some folks saw our notices at the gym, some responded after I contacted them when I visited Index and Little Si to spread the word, and a few had responded to notices sent out by the local American Alpine Club contact. Michelle Reesh facilitated a fine meeting that included a mix of informative presentations and some discussion. We talked about various current issues, including the fact that there may be a change in the status of the road to Static Point, near Sultan, which could result in there being a long walk of many miles to get to the crag. The recent concerns about bolting and trailbuilding in Darrington and on Mount Garfield (near North Bend) have been placed on hold because the main contact with the Forest Service has been on paternity leave. However, rock climbers have a generally good relationship with the Forest Service in both Darrington and the North Bend, and I believe our past willingness to work with these agencies is going to serve us well here. We concluded the meeting with some discussion of the start-up process for the WCC, and our relationship with the Access Fund. We hope to make progress toward defining the structure as we go along. Andrew Sell has launched a website for us, and we hope to build it into an informative site that will be dedicated to access-related issues around the State. To find us, visit washingtonclimbers.org Quote
Alpinfox Posted July 22, 2004 Posted July 22, 2004 There is no secret about it, but I may not be "able to discuss" it because I can't remember all the details. We discussed what the goals and mission of the WCC should be and though it isn't formalized yet, it will probably be something like: to act as an advocacy group for climber's interests in discussions with land managers and policy makers... to preserve access to established climbing areas and allow access to newly developed areas... to act as a first point of contact for land managers/property owners concerned about issues related to climbing (trails, bolts, people, parking)... to educate climbers about no-trace ethics and land management issues... etc. These things are still under discussion, and we would welcome input on helping to formulate/refine these statements. One of the issues discussed was whether "detailed minutes" from the meeting should be published on the website or if we should merely publish a general sketch of issues discussed. I don't remember a definitive conclusion being reached on that issue, but the latter seemed to be a more popular plan. Quote
Lambone Posted July 22, 2004 Posted July 22, 2004 I wasn't implying that there were any secrets being kept... I checked the web site and didn't see any updated info, so I was just curious....as I wasn't able to attend. I think posting some sort of minutes would be nice, it'd just help more people be involved and stay in the loop. Sounds cool, thanks Quote
chelle Posted July 22, 2004 Author Posted July 22, 2004 Give us a couple days to get new info up Lammy. We're all volunteers with day jobs. Quote
marylou Posted July 23, 2004 Posted July 23, 2004 If I may respectfully give a little input, I think one of the first orders of business might be to educate the members about some stewardship issues, what Wilderness designation means to climbers, and how the public comment process works. I say this because I feel I've been able to give a lot more input on stuff I care about as a private citizen than as a volunteer for WTA. Having everyone undertand how the system works is half yer battle, IMO. BTW Matt, I don't think Gary's out on paternity leave anymore. Quote
Szyjakowski Posted July 23, 2004 Posted July 23, 2004 www.washingtonclimbers.org join and preserve are access. Quote
Alpinfox Posted July 23, 2004 Posted July 23, 2004 muffy moment... We need a graemlin for it... How about this one: Quote
Fairweather Posted July 23, 2004 Posted July 23, 2004 Matt, I look forward to hearing more about your efforts here. In spite of your otherwise goofy politics , I think we agree on many access issues. I would warn against following the WTA model as was suggested in another post, however. In spite of the valuable trail maintenance work they do, they are NOT supporters of access for climbers...or even hikers, for that matter! They have swung hard into the wilderness 'ethics' arena of late and their support for the Middle Fork closure demonstrates their true motives. Has a mission statement been developed? Is this group to be centered more around rock climbing/crag access, or will it address issues like road repair and access to popular alpine areas? If this group is to be truly focused on access and stewardship of public land balanced with responsible recreation, then count me in! If it is to become yet another mouthpiece for limiting human presence in our mountain areas, then I'm likely not interested. Keep me posted! Quote
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