Shannon wrote:First, I want to thank everyone who provided information to J.H. questions while “people in the know” have been busy. The RRGCC is an all-volunteer organization, which means we volunteer our time after hours, while we are at home, while we are at work, on the weekend, etc., and there are no regular business hours. As Gretchen posted, the board of directors, other dedicated volunteers, and myself have been putting in full days lately and do not always have extra time to read and post, in addition to everything we are doing, to this forum.
Although we would love to be able to provide an “on demand” way to answer questions for everyone, we have prioritized the Coalition’s highest goal to focus on securing the opportunity to climb, first. For example, exhaustive meetings with the FS, doing extensive legal and scientific research, pursuing and securing the best legal rights for climbers to climb on private and state owned land, etc., much of what we are doing is termed “advocacy.” In other words, we are spending our limited time where it will do the most, long-term good regarding securing all of our climbing opportunities, first. The opportunity to climb is not secure and that is what we focused on before we lose our ability to climbing. We have not have the luxury of extra time to also provide all the information that could be made available. However, all RRGCC executive members and volunteers are dedicated to being as open, candid, forthright and informative as they possibly we can be given our limited time and resources. We are growing and are committed to continually expanding our services, including information and outreach. Recently, the first of what we plan will be a series of “RRGCC Fact Sheets” have been drafted and are in the final stages of editing before being widely distributed to the public.
That said…
“What is the land going to be used for?” Recreation. The “rules of use,” who, what, how, etc., will be set by the board of directors who are the policy makers for the organization, with recommendations from the executive director, then executed by the executive director and staff. The RRGCC also has the unique distinction of having an elected representative body, the Climbing Advisory Council, that the board of directors asks for, through the executive director, recommended guidelines for climber related activities i.e., Guidelines for New Route Development, which have already been written and are available from any CAC member or the RRGCC. The CAC are representatives of the larger climbing community and are charged with representing climber’s interests as a way to address and resolve climber concerns. The CAC’s recommendations are sent to the board for their approval as the formal policy makers for the organization and give to the executive director to execute.
So, the correct answer is, whatever the board of directors decide with input from the CAC. So far, the board and myself are proceeding on everyone’s first choice of making the Murray property as open as possible. However, certain restrictions, such as no hunting, tree cutting, etc., will undoubtedly be imposed. No final determination regarding what activities will be allowed has been made at this time, but openness is the goal, with reasonable restrictions based upon responsible action.
No, you do not have to pay to join. You can make in-kind donations of volunteer time. If you want to join by volunteering please be sure you let us know so we can “credit” you and make you a member.
The answer to camping is similar to the answer regarding, “What is the land going to be used for?” The “rules of use,” will be set by the board of directors who are the policy makers for the organization, at the recommendation of the executive director, with input from the CAC, executed by the executive director and staff. No final determination has been made at this time, but openness is the goal with reasonable restrictions based upon responsible action.
No, the RRGCC will not follow the same rules/restriction as the FS. The rules the FS imposes are based upon federal laws, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Act, and several others that do not apply to private land. The RRGCC will be free to set reasonable rules for camping as any private landowner would.
Please note, the RRGCC does not officially own the land, yet. All climbers are guest of the Murray family. The RRGCC cannot and does not make any official claim to be able to set rules for the Murray property until the RRGCC actually owns the land.
Shannon
Thank you for answering my question Shannon. You have been more than helpful and very forward with this topic.
