The Climbing Advocate

This month’s episode features a powerful individual in the climbing world: founder of Flash Foxy, Shelma Jun. Shelma started Flash Foxy as a social media platform to provide a way for ladies to share their climbing stoke. It quickly evolved into something much larger, as now she hosts multiple women’s climbing festivals a year to celebrate women in climbing.

In addition to her work with Flash Foxy, Shelma holds a seat on the board with Access Fund. She has brought a diverse set of skills to the board, focusing a lot of her work on justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (JEDI). Conversations around JEDI have become more prevalent in the outdoor industry over the past few years, and Shelma and many others are captaining the ship.

Enjoy!

Flash Foxy: https://flashfoxy.com/

Flash Foxy Instagram: @heyflashfoxy

Shelma’s Instagram: @shelmatic

JEDI Taskforce: https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/meet-the-jedi-advocates-behind-climb-the-hill

REI Film, Do Better Together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TDhBWywpf0&t=35s

Arc’teryx Film, Duality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ngyRDE6Z0&t=8s

Avarna Group: https://theavarnagroup.com/

Diversify Outdoors: https://www.diversifyoutdoors.com/

For this episode, we highlighted the latest happenings in the Northeast. My guests were Seth Maciejowski with CRAG-VT and Mike Morin with Access Fund. They have done an incredible amount of work for New England climbers and continue to do so on a number of stewardship and acquisition projects.

We covered CRAG-VT’s approach to conservation and Seth’s impressive résumé of successful acquisitions during his time spent with CRAG-VT. Mike ran through various projects he is currently managing in Massachusetts, New York, and Maine and the huge undertaking of improving access at Rumney. Both of these guys hail from the Northeast, so it’s only fitting that they are leading the charge in this region.

Enjoy!

CRAG-VT Instagram: @crag_vt

CRAG-VT Facebook: @cragvt

Ground Up video: https://vimeo.com/145324762

Restore Rumney: https://www.accessfund.org/take-action/campaigns/ongoing-campaigns/restore-rumney

My guest today is Brian Tickle, Access Fund’s Texas regional director. The Texas Legislature was entering their session in January when I first had Brian on, and now that the session has ended we wanted to chat again about the outcomes. Brian and Access Fund had their plates full working on influencing policy surrounding funding for state parks and Texas’s recreational use statute. Brian’s work has since expanded from when we first chatted, and now his scope includes Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Enjoy!

Funding for state parks: https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/access-fund-lobbies-for-increased-funding-for-texas-state-parks

Texas Landowner Liability: https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/texas-adds-rock-climbing-liability-protections-for-landowners

My guest for this episode is Ashlee Milanich, the executive director of the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition (RRGCC) based in Lexington, Kentucky. Ashlee has spent the majority of her time climbing in the Red and knows the place inside and out.

We covered some of the historical events and issues that climbers and the RRGCC have dealt with in the past, along with some of the ins and outs of working with a number of different landowners. With the increasing popularity over the years, the Red has experienced severe impacts from climber traffic. The RRGCC hosts several large stewardship events over the course of the year to help remedy these issues, and Ashlee highly encourages people to attend and get involved.

Ashlee and the RRGCC have a lot on their plate to ensure this world-class resource stays in good shape for years to come. But they know what to do and how to do it.

Enjoy!

Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition: http://rrgcc.org/

Facebook: @rrgcc

Instagram: @rrgcc

10 Climbing Areas in Crisis: https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/10-climbing-areas-in-crisis

Sora Aerial Arts: https://www.soraaerialarts.com/

The guests for this month’s episode came from the Midwest Climbing Advocacy Summit, held this year at Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin. Jenna Winkler and Zachary Lesch-Huie from Access Fund facilitated conversations with local advocates from across the Midwest, learning more about what is happening with them on a local level. These conversations highlighted the issues that are ubiquitous across the climbing community and really drove home the point that those who make up the climbing community can learn from each other on how to manage and remedy the problems that they are facing.

This regional summit boasted a number of different workshops and sessions throughout the event, as Jenna and Zachary highlighted during the episode. These sessions are examples of what you can expect at one of Access Fund’s annual summits. There is a ton to be learned from attending one of these events, so be sure to check out the next one!

Arkansas Climbers Coalition: https://www.arkansasclimbers.org/

AdventurHER Travel: https://www.adventurhertravel.com/our-story

Minnesota Climbers Association: https://www.mnclimbers.org/

Wisconsin Climbers Association: https://wiclimbers.com/

This is the second part of the conversation with Access Fund Senior Policy Advisor Jason Keith. In part one, we discussed the recent success of the passing of the Emery County Public Land Management Act. This act was part of the huge public lands package that the president signed into law early last month. That discussion naturally led us into discussing the long-contentious topic of bolting in wilderness.

We rounded out our conversation discussing the current affairs surrounding Bears Ears National Monument. Jason brings up some provoking thoughts about how things have changed dramatically over the years and what that means for future management of the area. Jason also reminds us that although Indian Creek is naturally put under the microscope here, there are several other world-class climbing areas nearby that cannot be ignored either. These incredible climbing resources in southeastern Utah depend on current and future climbers being responsible advocates and having awareness of their impact.

Enjoy the conclusion of my conversation with Jason Keith!

This episode’s guest was Access Fund Senior Policy Advisor Jason Keith. Based in Moab, Utah, Jason wears multiple hats in his line of work. He runs a small nonprofit called Public Land Solutions. They work to maximize recreation assets within local communities by supporting effective public land solutions (hence the name). He also is a professional advocate for the national climbing community as Access Fund’s policy director. Jason spends a lot of his time working with political figures to influence policies that impact climbing resources.

Jason’s knowledge and passion for climbing advocacy is obvious, and he had so much to say that the episode had to be broken up into two parts. In part 1 of the episode, we focused on the Emery County Public Land Management Act, which was a big part of the public lands package and bolting in wilderness. We finished the episode discussing the current affairs surrounding Bears Ears National Monument, which will be released as part two next week.

Enjoy the first part of my conversation with Jason Keith!

Public Lands Solutions: https://publiclandsolutions.org/

Outdoor Alliance: https://www.outdooralliance.org/

News on the public lands package: https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/president-signs-public-lands-bill-wilderness-climbing-protections-written-into-law

This month’s guest was Laura Boggess, a professor, scientist, and yoga instructor based in Mars Hill, North Carolina. We discussed the importance and aesthetic of lichen at our cliffs. She doesn’t claim to be a lichen expert, but she is obviously very qualified and her passion for lichen is palpable.

So how does climbing fit in? As cliff dwellers, climbers are often interacting with lichen at close proximity, which can pose challenges. As Laura explains, climbers have the opportunity to be good stewards while out climbing and to work with land managers to minimize their impacts on lichen communities while at the cliff.

Not only does lichen play an integral role in the greater ecosystem, but it is also beautiful to look at! Laura encourages climbers to be more observant the next time they’re out at the crag.

Enjoy!

Cliff Ecology book: https://books.google.com/books/about/Cliff_Ecology.html?id=ZWjFU9ZiuIoC

Climbing & Raptors:

https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/its-nesting-season-give-raptors-space

This episode features a conversation with Access Fund Texas Regional Director Brian Tickle and Texas Climbers Coalition President Adam Mitchell. We discussed all things Texas and confirmed that there is much more climbing than just Hueco Tanks. These guys have a lot going on down south and have for a long time. The recent acquisition of the Medicine Wall outside San Antonio is just one example of the great climbing in Texas. They are working hard to continue the fight for climbing in Texas and have some big plans for the coming years.

Enjoy!

Access Fund Texas: https://www.accessfund.org/pages/access-fund-texas

Texas Climbers Coalition (TCC): https://www.texasclimberscoalition.org/

TCC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/texasclimberscoalition/

TCC Instagram: @tccrocks

ICELab @ Western- https://icelab.co/

Western Colorado University: https://western.edu/

This episode is a conversation with Access Fund Stewardship Director Ty Tyler about the program he oversees. We chat about the growth of the stewardship program and the traveling conservation teams, tips for building trusting relationships with land managers, and recent success stories.

Enjoy!