YOSEMITE PERMIT SYSTEM HERE TO STAY, AND HERE’S WHY

As many recreational and wilderness areas continue to gain popularity, the resulting increase in visitors to these places has compelled many organizations to develop new regulations and policies to conserve the integrity of the land and protect its public users. To support these changes, we are also seeing an increase in education and public outreach to address environmental stewardship, with varying degrees of success.

Yosemite National Park, and specifically its big wall climbing areas, is an example of a place dealing with high-volume visits and a consequent degradation of wilderness values like litter, human waste, abandoned items, illegal fires, accidents and improperly stored food products leading to encounters with wildlife. In response to these issues, YNP tested out a Wilderness Climbing Permit Pilot Program which manages overnight climbing on the park’s big walls, and they plan to make a permanent transition to this program by 2023. 

Although YNP’s plan will mainly affect the area’s climbers, any outdoor enthusiast out there has been exposed to some part of the “Wilderness vs. Public Access” divisive debate spectrum, and it’s always interesting to hear what people have to say about these things.

The decision is still open for review, and public comments can be submitted until Nov. 13th, which you can do HERE.