Comment from Millard, Michael

I care very much about climbing in wilderness areas around the United States and have had incredible experiences with my friends and family climbing on public lands. Climbers place fixed anchors with consideration, care,restraint and good judgement and they absolutely help minimize rescue scenarios inthe back country and in wilderness areas. I support the recognition that climbing is an appropriate Wilderness activity and that fixed anchors, critical pieces of the climbing safety system, are allowable in Wilderness. I also support provisions to allow climbers to place or replace fixed anchors without authorization in the event of an emergency. I appreciate that the policy protects existing climbing routes that were developed before the PARC Act was passed into law. Legacy Wilderness climbs should remain available in order to preserve America’s rich climbing legacy. Please improve policies to expedite timely replacement of fixed anchors in order to avoid unnecessary barriers to climber safety. The authorization process for new climbing routes that require fixed anchors should be easier to navigate. Please provide a clear path for programmatic authorization, or preauthorization, at climbing areas that do not necessitate case-by-case special use permits. Thank you guys for considering these issues!