Stand up for Wilderness in the EXPLORE Act

Over the past few months, thousands of you have urged your members of Congress to oppose the so-called Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act and to make critical changes to the Connect Our Parks Act. Thank you!

Unfortunately, both of these troubling bills have now been wrapped into a mega bill called the EXPLORE Act (H.R.6492), which is gaining support in Congress.

Now we need you to defend Wilderness again by writing your members of Congress and urging them to remove these two anti-Wilderness bills from the EXPLORE Act.

The Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act would deface and degrade Wilderness by legalizing the installation of fixed climbing anchors. Using and maintaining fixed anchors in Wilderness is, and always has been, prohibited by the Wilderness Act’s ban on “installations.” Fixed climbing anchors degrade wilderness character through lasting signs of human development and by attracting and concentrating use—at great expense to native plants and animals.

If this bill would become law, it would effectively amend the Wilderness Act for a subgroup of recreationists—inviting other user groups like mountain bikers and hobby airplane pilots to do the same.

Meanwhile, the Connect Our Parks Act could allow the National Park Service to decide cell service is necessary in the backcountry and to install that coverage. This bill contains no restriction that might prohibit these structures from metastasizing to designated, potential, recommended, or eligible Wilderness throughout the national park system.

The EXPLORE Act also has some other troubling components. For example, there is a provision that changes the current laws about commercial filming on public lands. This provision introduces ambiguous language that could backdoor commercial filming/photography into Wilderness even though the Wilderness Act prohibits commercial enterprise.

The EXPLORE Act also reforms recreational permitting so that permits might more easily skate around environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. This would obscure from the discerning public the extent of potential impacts of permitted recreation on our public lands, including Wilderness.

Please write your members of Congress and urge them to remove the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act and Connect Our Parks Act from the EXPLORE Act.

Also ask your members of Congress to clarify that the provisions about commercial filming do not apply to federally designated Wilderness and recreational permits do not amend what is required under the Wilderness Act. Finally, make sure your senators and representative know that if these bills and provisions are not removed, they should vote no on the EXPLORE Act.

Thank you for once again raising your voice to defend Wilderness and the Wilderness Act!