New NPS Director's Order Could Affect Climbing Regulations in Wilderness

Rocky Mountain National Park in north central Colorado is a fairly recent addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System. While the park was managed as wilderness for many years, it's relatively new wilderness designation 2009 has park managers exploring new options for managing use and impacts from climbing. A recent article in the http://www.coloradoan.com/ details steps that the National Park Service (NPS) is taking in order to operate in compliance with NPS wilderness guidelines...

"The NPS is taking public comments through March 10 on Director's Order 41, which governs how the agency manages wilderness areas within the 394 units of the National Park Service. The order mandates "clean climbing" and Leave No Trace techniques, which encourage the use of temporary equipment and anchors that can be removed from rock faces without altering them. At Rocky Mountain National Park, the order could mean the park might eventually implement a permitting system for the installation of fixed anchors within the park's 249,000 acres of designated wilderness, Chief Ranger Mark Magnuson said."

Read the full article here: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110128/NEWS01/101280322/Park-Service-seeks-comment-on-change-to-climbing-rules