NPS and Access Fund sign agreement to work together

The National Park Service and the Access Fund have announced that after six years of collaborative negotiations, they have finalized and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The newly signed MOU frames a cooperative relationship between the climbing community and the National Park Service. It outlines the common interests that the parties share—such as conservation and planning—as well as how they will work together to reach common goals.

The Access Fund has demonstrated a long history of constructive solution-building between climbers and Park Service officials, illustrated through successful climbing management in areas like Yosemite National Park in California, Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska, New River Gorge National River in West Virginia, and Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, to name a few.

The Access Fund and local climbers have made major contributions to NPS lands— such as collaborating on conservation events, participating in management planning, granting funds for trail improvements, and installing
bear boxes.  NPS officials recognize that climbers are a cooperative and responsible user group.

Numerous NPS officials provided endorsements for the Access Fund in support of the MOU, including the previous Superintendent of Yosemite National Park, Michael Tollefson. Tollefson endorsed the MOU “based on years of
collaboration….that has directly benefited park operations and the visitor experience, as well as work that less directly, but importantly supports park management strategic direction. We enjoy a direct line of cooperative
and thoughtful conversation with [Access Fund staff], and believe that this connection allows forward-thinking solutions.”

Much of the value of this MOU will be realized by the Access Fund’s seventy-plus affiliated local climbing organizations, which can make use of the agreement to initiate relationships with managers of the national parks in their areas. The agreement will make it easier for climbers to develop mutually beneficial relationships with NPS officials regarding climbing management and stewardship issues.  The MOU also will help these organizations express their interests when management planning is undertaken on NPS lands that contain climbing resources.

The MOU is available for review and download at www.accessfund.org/mous.

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