The
meeting was conducted via Zoom. There were 25 participants on the call.
Participants included: Board members Jesse Zacher, Paul Stoner, Rich Connors,
Matt Lisonby and Eve Tallman. Other participants included: Cody Abshear, Michael
Schneiter, Marty, Sam, Kent, Fritz, Daniel Garman, Thierry Legrain, Krystyna
Dillard-Crawford, Amanda Bornschleger, Michelle, Dan Ben-Horin, Andrew, Ashton
Johnston, Sara Brooker, Cameron Bourne, David Jenkins, Marlee, Abe Herman and
other unidentified participants.
Rich began the meeting with a brief description
of the communication channels the WCCC uses to reach out to the climbing
community, including emails, Facebook posts, Instagram, and posts to the WCCC
blogspot website. The board agrees it should aim for quarterly updates in
addition to periodic messages to the community.
Jesse presented a brief history
and an update on access to Escalante’s Cabin Wall, which is on ranch-owned
private property. He talked about the recently-installed fence with a
climber-specific no-trespassing message. Jesse talked about the increased
traffic in the canyon and speeding vehicles. Rich suggested climbers were
singled out because they present an easy target for the ranchers. Jesse
described his conversation with the ranch owner and revealed the owner did not
know about the fence and closure but was not surprised the ranch managers had
taken that course of action. Jesse suggested the speeding vehicles were a
specific concern of the ranch. Jesse reviewed the history of actions WCCC had
attempted in the past, including offering to install signage, but he indicated
the ranch was not interested. In the past weeks, the rancher had appealed to the
sheriff and BLM law enforcement and tickets were issued to speeders and illegal
campers.
The prospect of distributing the newly-printed WCCC leaflets
encouraging climbers to drive slowly, respect private property, camp
appropriately and more, was discussed.
Matt asked if WCCC should write a letter
to the ranch owner. David Jenkins, a climber and official with the BLM, stated
he had contacted the state BLM director and the National Parks and Conservation
Association about the closure. Paul asked about what the closure is trying to
accomplish. Kent recalled the changing nature of the relationship between
climbers and the ranch managers over the past 20 years. He said the tone used to
be friendly but now there are too many users. He suggested that speeding is the
rallying point for the ranch. Kent concluded by giving the example of Joe’s
Valley and how climbers can lead by good example as an exemplary user group. Sam
stated he had experienced large groups of 30 and more people from institutions
from the Front Range. Jesse said that Colorado Mesa University (CMU) sets a good
example, training outdoor users to employ Leave No Trace ethics. Dan from the
BLM stated that climbers are not well-represented in the 2017 resource
management plan; he stated the main uses of the canyon are heritage tourism and
picnicking. He said a three to five-year plan for camping management is
underway. Dan was asked if he could provide statistics from the sheriff and BLM
law enforcement officer regarding the types of tickets issued (speeding, illegal
camping, etc.). Jesse asked if signage for the BLM climbing areas would be
possible. Eve asked about limits to commercial group size and allowable use and
whether there is a climbing management plan.
Marty presented his Adopt-A-Land
program that will target the Nine Mile bouldering area in Unaweep Canyon. He
stated there will be a training for best practices for the land stewardship
project. He said he would like to expand the program to include Escalante. More
information about the Adopt-A-Land program will be forthcoming.
Jesse brought up
the board’s interest in recruiting new board members. Marty asked about anchor
replacement and Jesse described the process by which anchors can be replaced
with support from the American Safe Climbing Association.
The meeting ended at
7:15pm.
--Submitted by Eve Tallman, Secretary [corrections or edits can be emailed to: western_co_climbers@hotmail.com]
