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December 13, 2005
Another Reminder: Great Falls Management Plan, Comment Period Ending Soon!
Bouldering at Hueco Tanks, TX
Photo by Matt Stark © 2005Great Falls, VA.- The National Park Service has released a draft General Management Plan (GMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Great Falls Park and is currently accepting public comments until December 15. Anyone who has ever climbed at Great Falls is encouraged to send comments to Audrey Calhoun, Superintendent, and copy greatfallsaccess@gmail.com.
The plan evaluates two alternatives for the park. The park’s preferred alternative (B), as written, would severely and unnecessarily restrict climbing in the park by making some popular climbing areas off-limits, forcing climbers to use a limited number of fixed anchors installed by the park, and possibly requiring climbers to compete for a limited number of climbing permits. The climbing community is concerned that the draft GMP, specifically the preferred alternative, was created on an unscientifically-substantiated belief that climbers, who are one of the smallest and most environmentally conscious group of park visitors, have a serious impact on the park’s resources and must be regulated.
Based on public input during the comment period, the park will prepare a Final GMP/EIS where they will either select Alternative A or B as the preferred course of action, modify the alternative based on comments received, or explore additional alternatives. For more information, please visit Friends of Great Falls.
The Management Plan can be found here.
A previous WiredNut item can be found here.
Great Falls is the closest climbing area to Washington DC and is an important regional climbing resource. Many climbing organizations in the DC Metro area have come together to create a unified voice on behalf of the climbing community under the umbrella of the Friends of Great Falls. This coalition includes representatives from Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, the Blue Ridge Section of the American Alpine Club, DC Outdoor Rock Climbers, Sheclimbs, Sportrock, and the Access Fund.
Posted by WiredNut at December 13, 2005 12:03 PM
Comments
While the pictures are nice, why not post pictures that are actually relevant to the news item? Wouldn't a picture from Great Falls be better here?
Posted by: Anonymous at December 27, 2005 06:48 PM
Yes, it would be better to have a picture from Great Falls. Unfortunately I have none. Generally, posting pictures from the areas discussed in the news items would take more organization and effort than simply posting nice pictures on a whim, which is my current method.
Posted by: WiredNut at December 27, 2005 08:31 PM