ANNOUNCEMENT: The Ink is Dry!!!!! Murray Property Project

Post by **Gretchen** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 5:38 pm

The RRGCC has signed the contract with the Murray family to purchase the 700-acre Murray Property!!! The closing is set for January 15, 2004.

The Murray Property, located 20 miles south of the Red River Gorge, contains nearly 200 top-quality rock climbing routes, along miles of red sandstone cliff lines, ranging in difficulty from 5.6 to 5.14, with room for hundreds more. This is the largest direct land acquisition ever by rock climbers, which will permanently secure their right to climb. The Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition, the new owners of the Murray Property, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring quality climbing opportunities for the recreating public by promoting responsible climbing. This historic purchase represents the RRGCC’s absolute dedication to keep its promise to climbers to ensure quality-climbing opportunities, on public and private land, as part of its long-term strategy to responsibly secure climbing first, then make climbing sustainable, and eventually exemplary.

Since its formation in 1997 the RRGCC has worked with public land managers, such as the U.S. Forest Service, to find ways to protect natural resources while allowing for climbing opportunities. With the Murray Property purchase the RRGCC has now permanently secured the right to climb on the largest concentration of privately owned climbing routes outside the national forest. The Murray Property contains more established routes than the Motherlode, Torrent Falls and Roadside combined, and has five times the land mass.

The RRGCC has purchased from the Murray family the surface, timber, and coal rights to the two tracts of land that comprise the 700-acre Murray Property. The oil and gas rights are owned, or leased, by Charmane Oil, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based-company that has been extracting oil from the land for years, and will continue to do so. The RRGCC and Charmane Oil are making arrangements to discuss cooperative plans that will both accommodate continued oil extraction and rock climbing. As the surface right owners, the RRGCC will be managing the Murray Property, setting guidelines to avoid conflicts while providing climbing opportunities for its constituents.

The RRGCC acquired an option to purchase the Murray Property in 2002 with the help of John Myers, a Gunks climber and land acquisition director for hiking and trails organizations in New York. As a long-time climber and climbing activist, Myers recognized the need to protect climbing opportunities on private land, especially in the East, as well as working to ensuring climbing opportunities on public land, and approached the RRGCC. The RRGCC’s advocacy work with the Forest Service was paying off, a solid working relationship with the Forest Service had been established and climbing opportunities on national forest land were becoming more secure. The time was right to do something about protecting climbing on private land.

On May 24, the RRGCC announced the “Murray Property Project,” MPP, at Climbing Derby Fest. On August 1, the RRGCC launched its web site www.thered.org dedicated exclusively to the Murray Property Project to help start raising the money needed to buy the land. Since August 1, the RRGCC has raised over $40,000, including $10,330 from the Charity Route Auction. The agreed to down payment price has been raised. The RRGCC plans to aggressively raise the remaining $300,000 purchase price in the next three to four years.

Thanks everyone! And stay tuned...

Post by **Crankmas** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:31 pm

Thank you and all the hard work so many people have and continue to contribute to this wonderful effort.

Post by **Meadows** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:35 pm

Woohoo! So who gets to remove the gates?

Post by **Gretchen** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:05 pm

Patience Grasshopper, our work is not done.

Post by **canadaclimbergirl** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:05 pm

I am sooooo excited for all of you who made this happen, and for all of us who will enjoy the land for years to come.

Congratulations!!!!!!!

Post by **captain static** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:42 pm

This is truly an historic moment for rock climbers and is certain to change the way climbers look at access. But alas, the real work has just begun.

Post by **dhoyne** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:13 pm

Meadows wrote:Woohoo! So who gets to remove the gates?

I'll tow them away with my Jeep next time I'm down there.

Post by **Gretchen** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:29 pm

Let's not joke about that dhoyne! This is a HUGE accomplishment for the climbing community and everyone should be proud of what we have and will achieve with this landmark moment! We will need to focus on establishing a relationship/partnership with Charmane which is going to last a long time!

So right now, let's celebrate! this is the LARGEST EVER to date land aquisition done by a local climbing org. Not to toot our horn but bigger than anything that the Access Fund has done to date! And our community made it possible!

Big round of appluase for everyone!!

And Static, live in the moment for a second!

Post by **rhino** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 10:40 pm

"The closing is set for January 15, 2004."

Stay off the gates

Post by **young'n climber** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 4:34 am

i still havent been there, i feel like an outkast