Notice2026-11959
EXPLORE Act Mandated Wilderness Climbing Guidance for National Park Service
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of draft guidance governing the management of climbing activities in wilderness areas in the National Park System, as mandated by the EXPLORE Act Section 122 (Protecting America's Rock Climbing). Comments are now being accepted from the public, and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 114 (Monday, June 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 114 (Monday, June 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35997-35998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11959]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-VRP-WS-NPS41952; Docket No. NPS-2026-0101; PPWOVPADW0,
PPMPRLE1Y.Y00000, 266P103601]
EXPLORE Act Mandated Wilderness Climbing Guidance for National
Park Service
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of
draft
[[Page 35998]]
guidance governing the management of climbing activities in wilderness
areas in the National Park System, as mandated by the EXPLORE Act
Section 122 (Protecting America's Rock Climbing). Comments are now
being accepted from the public, and local, State, Tribal, and Federal
agencies.
DATES: Comments must be received or postmarked on or before 11:59 p.m.
ET on August 14, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The documents this notice announces are available for public
inspection at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> in Docket No. NPS-2026-0101.
Interested persons should submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. All comments received will be
posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any
personal information provided.
Instructions: Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or in
any way other than specified. Comments delivered on external electronic
storage devices (flash drives, compact discs, etc.) will not be
accepted. Bulk comments in any format (hard copy or electronic)
submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Michener, Deputy Associate
Director, National Park Service, (202) 513-7080.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Park Service (NPS) has long recognized that climbing
is an important and historically relevant recreational activity in many
NPS wilderness areas. Wilderness is a unique resource that has
overriding implications for all recreation uses, including climbing.
Climbing is among those recreational uses that are traditionally
associated with wilderness and identified by Congress in the
legislative record for the development of the Wilderness Act (Pub. L.
88-577). As with any human activity, however, climbing will have
impacts on wilderness resources and values. Climbing, including
climbing in wilderness, continues to grow in popularity, which has
prompted both the public and park managers to express the need to
establish standard climbing management procedures that recognize the
NPS statutory responsibility to preserve wilderness character while
also providing appropriate opportunities for recreational climbing in
wilderness.
In 2025, the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences
(EXPLORE) Act was signed into law (Pub. L. 118-234). EXPLORE Act
Section 122, Protecting America's Rock Climbing (PARC), addresses
recreational climbing and is codified at 16 U.S.C. 8422. It contains a
requirement for bureau issuance of guidance for recreational climbing
activities on covered federal lands, including wilderness.
The NPS requests public comments on the draft revisions of two
related documents for wilderness climbing management in the NPS: (1)
Director's Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship, Section 7.2 (draft) and
(2) Reference Manual 41: Wilderness Stewardship, Section 7.1 (draft).
Together, this guidance clarifies NPS policy on managing recreational
climbing activities in wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act
and consistent with the requirements of PARC with respect to the NPS.
This request for public comment is entirely separate from the
opportunity to provide comments on Director's Order #41: Wilderness
Stewardship that also published in today's Federal Register. If you
wish to submit comments on the broader policy framework, please comment
on that docket.
Michael P. Michener,
Deputy Associate Director, Visitor and Resource Protection, National
Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-11959 Filed 6-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 15, 2026.
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