Only 3 weeks left to comment on draft Bears Ears management plan
Climbers know Bears Ears National Monument for the world-class cracks of Indian Creek and more remote climbing adventures in areas like Valley of the Gods. But this 1.3+ million-acre monument means far more than recreation for Indigenous Tribes who advocated for its creation and are leading the creation of a new draft Management Plan that is now out for public comment until June 11th.
Friends of Indian Creek welcomes the extensive Indigenous Traditional Knowledge that was built into the planning process and hopes climbers will support preservation of this sacred cultural landscape through responsible climbing, camping, and hiking following Visit with Respect principles.
Running more than 1,000 pages in length, this draft plan will direct future management of Bears Ears for decades to come. However, many details of future management will be worked out in the coming years via “implementation level plans.” While we don’t expect climbers to read the entire document, we encourage you to send comments to the BLM and Forest Service which jointly manage the monument in collaboration with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Commission.
5 Things you should know about the plan:
- The plan includes 5 potential alternatives, with Alternative E, which is the Tribal Alternative, being named as the agencies’ “preferred alternative.” While this indicates the preference of the agency to adopt a final plan that resembles Alternative E, it’s likely there will be changes before the final plan is adopted, which may include components from other alternatives.
- The “preferred alternative” calls for close collaboration between land managers and Tribes in determining future management actions, many of which are not clearly defined in this plan but will be worked out in coming years. It will be crucial for climbers to be involved for years to come in working with Tribes and land managers to find practical solutions to protect the landscape and preserve climbing access.
- The plan would create a new permit system for placing new anchors. While allowing maintenance of existing anchors without any permit, new climbs requiring anchors would need to be approved by the agencies prior to placement of new bolted anchors. Given that climbers have already developed thousands of climbs in the Monument, Friends of Indian Creek supports this new system, which would ensure that new climbs do not create impacts on cultural sites or for wildlife, reducing future conflicts that could risk climbing access. However, the process by which new climbs would be analyzed is not detailed in the plan, nor does it indicate how long it would take for a requested permit to be processed. So, we encourage climbers to submit comments that describe the need for a fair, transparent process based on clear objectives and timelines.
- The plan calls for a new day-use permit system for all “canyons” in the Monument. While it’s not clear if Indian Creek would be considered a “canyon” where a day-use permit would be required, there is a chance that climbers may need to acquire a day-use permit (likely at a trailhead) in the future prior to climbing. While there is some history of requiring visitors to pay for day-use permits in Bears Ears (a day-use fee has been required on Cedar Mesa for decades), these permits would likely be free, at least in the beginning. Many climbing areas around the country require similar permits, but this would be a big change for how climbers have experienced the Creek.
- The plan calls for pets to be leashed at all times everywhere in the Monument. As many climbers love their canine companions and bring them climbing with them, this would be a big change. Clearly, rowdy, poorly-behaved dogs are a problem at the crag, and Friends of Indian Creek encourages dog owners to leave poorly-behaved dogs at home. However, requiring dogs to be leashed in areas where cows are allowed to roam free and ATVs can blaze down trails, will make some feel like dog owners are being unfairly targeted by this plan. Climbers who own dogs may want to comment on this provision and encourage less restrictive leash policies, like requiring leashes at trailheads, cultural sites, and campgrounds, but not a blanket leash requirement.
- Do we want a specific line or two, or segment about camping specifics? Fires/dispersed camping/new campground development….seems like climbers would be pretty interested in camping access secondary only to climbing access….
- Also, Jason and I talked about the fact that most of the climbing in IC falls into the remote zone- although it;s unclear what this will mean for climbing restrictions….is seems safe to assume, this will be the most restrictive zone.
Comments on the plan must be made through the E-planning website by June 11th. We encourage climbers to submit constructive comments that support honoring Tribal concerns and protecting this landscape for future generations with practical, fair, and enforceable policies.