troymayr
Oct 17, 2008, 3:34 AM
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Registered: Dec 5, 2005
Posts: 13
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Three Years Later ‘Temporary’ Climbing Closure at Williamson Rock (one of So. Cals. most popular sport climbing area) Continues.
Your Letters to Congress Needed by November 15th.
The Angeles National Forest continues to enforce a “temporary” climbing closure at Williamson Rock near Los Angeles three years after the ban was first implemented. The climbing ban was intended to protect critical habitat of the mountain yellow-legged frog (MYLF) while the Forest Service studied options for an alternate access trail. Unfortunately, while climbers have complied with the access prohibition, the USFS has failed to even obtain funding to pay for an E.A. environmental analysis.
Your letters to Congress are needed to increase pressure on the USFS / Angeles National Forest to fund an environmental analysis that may open up climbing access at Williamson Rock while also protecting the MYLF. It’s time to ask your federal representatives to put pressure on the Forest Service to do its job.
Please take a couple minutes to write Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and your US House Representative. Ask them to contact the Angeles National Forest and urge them to begin the environmental analysis for Williamson Rock that was promised there years ago.
An original letter, in your own words, (using the sample below as a guide) is most effective.
However, any letter is better than none, so if need be feel free to use the following sample letter and send a hard copy via US mail.
(email should only be used as a last resort).
To find your US Representative, enter your zip code in the following link:
http://capwiz.com/...iance/dbq/officials/
Mail to:
[Date]
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, California 94104
John_Watts@Feinstein.senate.gov
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, California 94111
Committee@Boxer.senate.gov
The Honorable [_________]
US House of Representatives
[____________________]
[____________________]
RE: Climbing Access to Williamson Rock,
Angeles National Forest
Dear Senators Feinstein and Boxer,
Representative [__________]:
I write today on behalf of the Friends of Williamson Rock (FoWR) requesting assistance towards funding an environmental analysis that may lead to public access and wildlife protections at Williamson Rock. The Friends of Williamson Rock (www.williamsonrock.org), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to preserving climbing access and activity, as well as protecting the natural environment of the Williamson Rock area. The FoWR is also an affiliate of the Access Fund (www.accessfund.org), a national, non-profit climbers’ organization dedicated to preserving the natural resources used by climbers, and climbers’ access to those resources.
The Williamson Rock area is a well-known recreation site on public land used predominately for rock climbing since the 1960’s and is widely regarded as a unique rock climbing resource for the entire Southern California region. Indeed, Williamson is the premier sport climbing destination in Southern California. For three years climbers have respected a “temporary” closure at Williamson Rock while the Angeles National Forest prepared an alternate trail study that would protect sensitive frog species while also providing public access to this popular area. Climbers have participated in a scoping process for the environmental analysis investigating alternatives to a total closure of Williamson Rock including re-routing trails, seasonal closures, and climber education. This “temporary” closure has been in effect since December 2005, yet the Angeles National Forest recently indicated that it will again not have the funds to begin the environmental analysis in its 2008 fiscal year. For more information on this issue, see http://williamsonrock.org/blog/
I request your assistance in contacting the Angeles National Forest and urge them to prioritize the appropriation of funds for an environmental analysis process. Rock climbing at Williamson is a valuable low-impact recreational use, a complete closure of the public’s land is unacceptable, and a 3-year “temporary” closure is too long (if not illegal).
Local climbers have addressed this issue in a proactive manner, and seek a solution that will be acceptable to all over the long term. Unfortunately, the Angeles National Forest has been unresponsive and has failed to appropriately address the closure of public lands at Williamson.
Please call or write as soon as possible to inform me of actions you have undertaken to help us pursue a balanced, compromise solution to the issue of public access at Williamson Rock. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address here]
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