Comment from Stacey Chen

I am a climber whose passion for climbing shapes my care and appreciation for wilderness and non-wilderness public lands. I have seen my climbing community rally to protect the character of wilderness lands and to advance appropriate recreation in public lands. Responsible management of fixed anchors aligned with the climbing community's best practices is crucial to enable continued safe recreation by a legitimate and responsible user group. I support the recognition that climbing is an appropriate Wilderness activity and that fixed anchors, critical pieces of the climbing safety system, are allowable in Wilderness. I also support provisions to allow climbers to place or replace fixed anchors without authorization in the event of an emergency. I appreciate that the policy protects existing climbing routes that were developed before the PARC Act was passed into law. Legacy Wilderness climbs should remain available in order to preserve America’s rich climbing legacy. Please improve policies to expedite timely replacement of fixed anchors in order to avoid unnecessary barriers to climber safety. The authorization process for new climbing routes that require fixed anchors should be easier to navigate. Please provide a clear path for programmatic authorization, or preauthorization, at climbing areas that do not necessitate case-by-case special use permits.