When Hope is Not Enough - Indian Creek at Risk

by Dan McNeil

Indian Creek is a truly wild climbing area: remote, undeveloped, and beautiful. The Friends of Indian Creek make the noble commitment to preserve these qualities with minimal management, primarily with the aim of maintaining the Creek’s “primitive character.” Through grassroots efforts and ally-building strategies, Friends has been the key force in shaping important components of the Creek’s new management plan. The plan rests heavily on: 1) informing the public, 2) the responsibility of climbers to regulate themselves, and 3) the expectation that significant growth of climbing use – and therefore crag access – can be supported with limited facilities and fees.

While the aim of Friends is honorable, current circumstances and oversights in the management plan could ultimately jeopardize access to Indian Creek.

The following sections will anecdotally discuss:

A. Increasing numbers of climbers and protraction of the climbing season is significantly stressing the stability of the crag trail infrastructure, access roads, anchors, relations with the ranchers, and, of course, the health of the natural environment.

i. Trails: Many crag trails are being eroded significantly by higher use and are without repair. Increasing the impact of each trail system, hikers must extend switchbacks and cut new paths. Many crags do not have well-defined trail systems, and even experienced Creek users are cutting random tracks across delicate areas.

ii. Roads and Anchors: Deeply rutted roads and shoddy anchors are proliferating. Rutted roads, without maintenance, push drivers to each side, causing greater, unnecessary impact to the area. High use of anchors dependent solely on individual renovation is increasing the danger of fatal accidents.

iii. Ranchers: Campers, hikers, and dogs are using areas that the paying ranchers own the rights to. Innumerable tents have been pitched and RVs or campers parked in plain view of the Dugout Ranch. Climbers with seven out-of-state cars camped at the kiosk pullout to Beef Basin for a weekend and initiated a drumming circle late into the night. A trailer and bus was parked at the Fin for a weekend. Campers have been sighted in front of Supercrack Buttress and allegedly spread across other unestablished camping sites. Dogs disturb cattle with their barking and have been known to harass the grazing cows. The ranchers have reportedly expressed annoyance about and even threatened to shoot dogs that are unleashed. Most climbers close gates after they’ve driven through, however the risk of leaving them ajar could be significantly mitigated by proper signage and improved latch mechanisms.

iv. Ecology: Dogs, humans, automobiles, and cows come with a heavy toll to the natural environment of Indian Creek. Unrestricted camping, unmaintained trails and roads, lack restroom facilities, and unleashed dogs place the local ecology in pointless risk by increasing the likelihood of damaged cryptobiotic crust, disturbed flora and fauna, erosion, and litter.

B. Due to increased use and the abovementioned current trends, Indian Creek’s present management plan is falling short in several areas:

i. Restrictions – Lack of camping, parking, driving, and pet regulations fail to minimize climbers’ impact on the environment and ill will of the ranchers. Signage to inform users is clearly inadequate as confirmed by rampant misuse of the Creek Basin.

ii. Enforcement – The absence of official monitors to oversee the area allow irresponsible use of the land go unanswered.

iii. Facilities and maintenance – Lack of proper parking, roads, trails, and restroom facilities all but guarantee a greater impact on the Indian Creek Basin.

iv. Funding – Proper signage, improved latches and gates, monitors, road and trail maintenance, anchor renovation, and public relations efforts are inadequately funded by donations. Proper tracking of use for management planning is deficient.

v. Priorities – Maintaining “primitive character” of Indian Creek should not be the principal objective of any management plan. Unrestricted, unmonitored, unmaintained use of the Creek puts climbing access itself in jeopardy. While the pioneer character of Indian Creek is quaint, it is not realistic to expect a world class climbing area, an area that draws thousands of foreigner and Americans each year, to be as it once was. People are flowing into the Creek in greater numbers than ever, and the current growth trend seems to be constant. Sustaining responsible use of the environment and maintaining good relations with the ranchers should be the two paramount priorities of the management plan. Restrictions, regulations, and fees should be minimized only to the degree that they are still extremely effective in supporting access to all Indian Creek crags.

C. While a more robust management plan seems requisite for proper use of and access to Indian Creek, the plan devised by all land users and stakeholders must accommodate the top priorities of each.

• Who are the key users and stakeholders? What are their priorities?
• Can long term Indian Creek crag access be viable without enforced restrictions on camping and user fees?
• How can the current arrangement be adjusted to be a responsible management plan?
• If fees and enforcement are necessary, how will collection and funding be administered?
• Is it possible to use the current framework to patrol the basin, collect fees, and/or complete regular maintenance of roads, trails, and anchors?
• Can an evaluation be conducted to reveal more (about: a. numbers of visitors, b. crag usage, c. camping habits, and d. environmental impact) that will help planners target the challenges and put effective measures in place?

D. Placing an excessive amount of importance on maintaining an evaporating reality is shortsighted. The current management plan is proving itself inadequate for the numbers of users, delicate environment, ranching colleagues, and layout of Indian Creek. Some alternative plan must be explored to better protect access to the amazing cracks of Indian Creek.

Please post comments, suggestions, and critiques.

Check out the Friends website at the following address: www.friendsofindiancreek.org