Climb NJ
NJ Rock Climbing Access Advocacy
Access NJ, Inc.
ACCESS NJ is a state-wide grassroots organization whose mission is advocacy and education to expand climbing access in NJ by working to remove unnecessary regulations and policies, while working to preserve and protect NJ's fragile climbing environment and natural resources. Access NJ focus is a resource for climbers, non-climbers, property owners, land managers, park administrators and others. Access NJ is an affiliate of the Access Fund.
Hunterdon County Issues
RARE PLANTS OF HUNTERDON COUNTY Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is a wildflower in the Orchid Family. CYPRIPEDIUM plants are protected as a NJ ENDANGERED PLANT SPECIES. They are endangered because "foolish" people collect them. Do not boulder in or near these flowers. REPORT PERSONS PICKING SUCH WILDFLOWERS TO THE POLICE.
Folks who boulder in Hunterdon County are fully against ecological damage. Bouldering actually does nothing to the diabase vegetation communities because climbers are picking sites that are free of the microsite heterogeneities that the native indigenous plants grow. In traditional climbing with the use of temporary protection, climbers end up using the same microsites that the plants use and hence there is competition and resulting damage between the climbers and the plants at these sites. These type of climbing sites are not found in Hunterdon County. The 200 to 300 million year old trap-rock diabase boulders (possibly quarried stones) in Hunterdon County are the only sites where climbers boulder so protection is not used. Folks who boulder use chalk and pads to firm grips on rock and protect self from landing injury. The boulders average height is 10 feet high, mostly less. The problems are hard and on the upper end of world scale difficulty. Novice climbers don't come near such sites as they are kept away by the shear difficulty of the boulder problems. It takes time to have the ability to boulder on such rocks. Access trails to the boulders in Hunterdon County are along existing County established wood roads. Who would have thought that an act of civil disobedience would be stepping 5 feet off an already established trail in a heavily day hiked park area. Unrestricted access to rock outcrops have caused cliff side and boulder ecology's and their associated biotic communities to be totally erased by climbing . Given that some rock outcrops hold the last vestiges of original biodiversity, it seems that the restrictions are appropriate. The sites in Hunterdon County for bouldering hold no original biodiversity ecological communities and this by Hunterdon County Parks own literature. Those sites that that are ecologically fragile are ones that remain fully undeveloped (thankfully) climbing and bouldering sites.
Folks have been a bouldering on site for a good many years. In the fall of 2004 Access NJ was approached by climbers about the site being closed. Access NJ entered into discussions w/ the Hunterdon county (HC) park folks who were set but willing to discuss the issue. Yes climbing is not allowed but we can discuss the issues. In late November and into the first part of December the HC freeholders (elected officials who set policy and make laws) came out w/ the following statement.
Rock climbing, bouldering and rappelling are illegal in HC. HC identified four reasons why bouldering is illegal.
1. liability - we pointed out the state of NJ had addressed the issue via a wavier. HC freeholders came back and said they are against the legalization of climbing in NJ state parks and that the wavier system is not appropriate for the state and county.
2. climbers will cause damage and are only out in the woods partying - we pointed out not true as the boulders are along a well established trail and we are bouldering and nothing more and that likewise climbers are fine stewards of fragile woodlands.
3. climbers will bring invasive species to the woodland - we counter and other users of the park do not ?
4. HC pointed out it's a local issue only - we said ok, and had only local climbers contact the park system. then it turns out the land is actually state of NJ green acres lands that is managed by the county thus it is a state and regional issue.
We as Access NJ is doing the following.
1. Contacting as many climbers in-state and out of state to point out that if one county in NJ makes rock climbing illegal (the County is even unwilling to provide a administrative code or statue that makes the activity illegal) that the ripple effect could be substantive. We are asking climbers to send e-mails and letters to the HC freeholders stating you are opposed to such bans.
2. We have spoken to the media and have been interviewed for the issue.
3. we are putting together background papers for the HC freeholders.
4. we have contacted legal folks in the county and asked for help in addressing the issue.
5. we are preparing to give a presentation before the board of freeholders on the issue to ask that climbing be legalized.
6. we are working on the id all sites in the county to put together a climbing resource inventory and conducting rare plant surveys.
7. other actions are being worked
What we would like you all to do.
1. send along an e-mail to the folks listed to show that climbers are not fringe people, that climbers are found throughout the USA. that climbers are responsible on access issues.
2. that you can spread the word to others in your group and the USA to also send e-mails to the freeholders saying that people favor the legalization of climbing.
3. that climbers are responsible.
4. along these lines. let Access NJ know of your concerns and issues
Tactics & Strategy
Face to face meetings w/ elected and Hunterdon county officials to ask them to assist in amending the Hunterdon county code to allow rock climbing or other passive recreation activities on County Owned and Managed lands. Keep pressure (direct, indirect) on Hunterdon County Track your actions in the enclosed action matrix. The action matrix can be used to track your individual actions that you do to assist getting climbing legal in Hunterdon County, NJ.
SPREAD DE WORD. Send an e-mail to the following: Spread de word.
- freeholders@co.hunterdon.nj.us
- gmuller@co.hunterdon.nj.us (George Muller)
- fuzo@co.hunterdon.nj.us (Nick Fuzo)
- npalladino@co.hunterdon.nj.us (Nancy Palladino)
- aswkarrow@njleg.org (Marcia Karrow)
- melick@earthlink.net (George Melick (head of the freeholders))
- county lawyer (Gaetano M. De Sapio)
SPAM ATTACKS ARE NOT COOL, WE DO NOT ADVOCATE THERE APPLICATION. CONFRONT WITHIN THE LAW.
ANJ does advocate that State elected officials be made aware of issues and citizen's lobbying the same via the internet is ideal. No spam attacks. A) ASK THESE TWO ABOUT HOW ONE WOULD GO ABOUT LEGALIZING BOULDERING IN HUNTERDON COUNTY PARKS. B) ask under what administrative code is climbing and bouldering not allowed. C) Ask your own questions.
Citizen Action Matrix Tactics Strategy
In order to confront and question authority over amending the NJAC to allow rock climbing and other passive recreation on State owned and managed lands you may find the information on this page of assistance.
Direct Actions: letter writing, telephone calls, e-mails, face to face etc....
Indirect actions: Trenton Bouldering, meetings, web site, etc... "Guerilla Tactics": 'Gandhi' style personal passive actions, internet apps. passive legislative actions, poster campaigns, illegal activities frowned upon and not part of Access NJ actions.
Contact: info@climbnj.com
Reference material:
1) Any books by Saul Alinsky or John McKnight
2) Sierra Club Grass Root Activism Manual
3) Access Fund - Local Climbing Organizations
Morris County
We need to find some folks in Morris county who are willing to work on getting the Morris county park service and Morris county freeholders in possibly getting the climbing bans amended. This will take some doing, don't make any calls to the freeholders or others in the parks. This is the formative stages of the issue. If you all know of someone from Morris county who climbs and is wanting to get more active in such areas let me know. We'll work the issue from down here in regards to other aspects of such areas.
Cranberry Ledges
Closed to all trespassers and climbers. Site is way fragile ecologically. Access Issues: Liability to property owner, preservation of site, protection of ecology, parking, others manifest.
May 25, 2007 We have made contact w/ the local owner of Cranberry Ledges (non-State land and very fragile so the access is not a given) and are working out a possible agreement on climbing access there.
TACTIC & STRATEGY
Numerous areas of concern will be addressed including: passive legislative actions (PLA's), preparation of slide/photo show of climbing in New Jersey, internal dissemination and review of policy statements among coalition, evaluation on the NJ Landowners Liability Act and other grass-root actions. The goal is to have active coalition members in each of NJ's 21 county's and in the key municipalities where climbing can and takes place. Amending the Administrative code requires organization and action. These tenets anchor the coalition.
Princeton Boulder Fields
Cradle Rock Local Climbers Organization Formed, dedicated to solely addressing and evaluating access and stewardship issues of the boulder field.
Legislative Report
The New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC) has to be amended to allow climbing and rappelling on state owned and managed land. Once the NJAC is amended the belief (based on direct comments from land managers) is that land managers in turn will follow the NJ State lead and we can get climbing opened up on state owned and private lands here in NJ. This effort is a true grass-root effort and we require to bridge to associations of climbers in the community. As a for instance: NJ's climbing gyms is one of these forges. The conservative estimated number of NJ's citizens who use NJ's 4 climbing gyms exceeds 5,000 people of voting age. Attend and give public testimony before the NJ Governors Task Force on the NJ Highlands. Contact ingvarja@cwenj.com for exact details.
NJ State Park Code Comments
Comments Needed to Amend the New Jersey State Park Code to explicitly allow rock climbing! Deadline for Comments: January 19, 2007 Despite this long history of climbing on State Park Service lands, N.J.A.C. 7:2-2.22, effectively prohibited climbing in the State Park Service system for many years, except for certain commercial guiding services, which were allowed by special use permit. This policy changed in 2004, when, after working closely with Access NJ, the State Park Service implemented a waiver system that now permits climbing. In light of the long history of climber use of the resources in the State Park Service system, and the DEP’s acceptance of climbing as a permitted use on lands within its jurisdiction, it is time that the State Park Code is amended to explicitly permit climbing, in all its disciplines, and to recognize climbing as a legitimate, valued and positive use as it is on public lands throughout the world. N.J.A.C. 7:2-2.22(a) provides a list of specific recreational activities on State Park Service lands that are prohibited without specific approval of the Assistant Director of the State Park Service, or the Regional Superintendent or their designee. Among the listed activities is rappelling, an activity often conducted in conjunction with climbing. Furthermore, N.J.A.C. 7:2-2.22(c) provides that any other activity not specifically regulated is prohibited without approval of the Assistant Director of the Division for the State Park Service or the Regional Superintendent. Climbing is not specifically regulated in the State Park Service Code. Here are some points you may wish to include in your comments: 1. Climbing is found in the following State Parks: Ringwood, Allamuchy, Hacklebarney (w/ a stipulation), Highpoint, Skylands Manor, Stephens, Ramapo Mountain, Kittatinny Valley and Wayawayda. Bouldering is found in the majority of Central and Northern NJ’s State Lands and Forests. This list is not inclusive. 2. Climbers have been and continue to be willing to work with the State Park Service and NJ DEP to develop reasonable climbing regulations and area specific climbing management plans as may be necessary. 3. In each of the past three years Access NJ, with the support of the Access Fund and in conjunction with the State Park Service, has held an Adopt – A – Crag event at Allamuchy Mountain State Park in which climbers and park staff came together to improve trails and erosion control, perform site clean up, and undertake other activities to mitigate climber and other user group impacts at Allamuchy 4. The State Park Service should eliminate the waiver system, which currently permits climbing on State Park Service lands. 5. The Department of Environmental Protection should amend the State Park Code to explicitly permit climbing in all its disciplines. The proposed amendments and explanation can be found on line at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/112006a.pdf Here is how to submit a comment online: Submit Comments by January 19th 2007 to: Alice A. Previte, Esq. Attention: DEP Docket Number 21-06-10/537 Office of Legal Affairs Department of Environmental Protection P. O. Box 402 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0402 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) requests that commenters submit comments on disk or CD as well as on paper. Submittal of a disk or CD is not a requirement. Each comment should be identified by the applicable N.J.A.C. citation, with the commenter name and affiliation following the comment.
