Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign

Unfortunately, we live in a country where climbing is a fringe activity, and as such, is given little respect by the general public. Even organizations that should be on the same page, like the National Park Service, continue to threaten climbing access. In order to step up efforts to preserve and protect climbing areas across the country, the Access Fund has launched a really great new program: the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign. I’ve pulled a few quotes from their site that summarize the initiative.

“The Access Fund works with a national network of over 70 local climbing organizations (LCOs). These volunteer-run organizations are the first line of defense when a climbing area is threatened. But rarely do they have the capacity or the capital to react quickly to purchase endangered lands—leaving irreplaceable climbing resources vulnerable to cash-ready developers. That is why the Access Fund has launched a bold new campaign to save endangered climbing locations.”

Climbers are great at mobilizing for a cause, whether that be to help an injured friend, or purchase a beloved crag, but in the case of the latter, these things take time. This new initiative could really boost the ability of climbers to be serious players when it comes to acquiring properties that are for sale.

“The Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign (AFLCC) is the first-ever multimillion-dollar revolving loan program that will give local climbing organizations the money and power they need to act swiftly to protect valuable climbing resources. The AFLCC will provide LCOs with short-term loans and transaction expertise to enable them to rapidly protect at-risk climbing locations through direct acquisitions, leases, easements, and other tactics.”

You can find out more on the Access Fund website. I think this is a solid step in the right direction, and apparently so do companies like Metolius, who has launched a two pronged effort to raise awareness for this program. First up, on all Master Cams is a new hangtag explaining what the Access Fund is and the details of this new program. And secondly, whenever a Master Cam is purchased on their website, customers will be given the option to make a donation to the AFLCC, and Metolius will make a matching donation of $1. Always nice to see the climbing companies step up and support the industry that supports them.