The Access Fund has been working for the past three years with the Park Service and Idaho State Department of Parks & Recreation (IDPR) to develop policy for the Twin Sisters that preserves both its historic values and recreation opportunities, see Access Notes, Vol. 9.
Although not yet signed, the Park Service's latest decision is an affront to the vast majority of visitors to City of Rocks and to the hundreds of climbers who participated in the preparation of the Comprehensive and Climbing Management Plans for the reserve.
The Twin Sisters has significant historic, geologic, and recreational values. It was a landmark along the California Trail in the mid-1800s (in fact, the Reserve is a National Historic Landmark, and was created primarily to preserve the area's historic values). The rock is some of the oldest in the country. And the area attracts hikers, climbers, and picnickers.
Specifically, the Twin Sisters closure would: allow access for scientific research (any time, by permit); allow very limited climbing (for sixteen days during the month of September, by permit, with only two permits issued per day and a maximum of three climbers per permit); and prohibit all other public use.
What is most objectionable about this closure is the fact that it is not based on objective criteria. The rationale for it is that the presence of visitors on and around the Twin Sisters somehow degrades the "feeling" and "association" of the "historic scene," and that "some historic preservationists might object..." These concerns are answered by the agency's own historians, who wrote "pioneers, cattlemen, and Native Americans over the preceding centuries may have climbed one or both (of the Twin Sisters)...", suggesting that the historic scene included the presence of people.
Moreover, the closure flies in the face of scientific evidence. The Park Service conducted a study in 1993, supported by the Access Fund, that analyzed the environmental and social impacts of climbing on the Twin Sisters. This study concluded that climbing causes "insignificant" environmental, auditory, and visual impacts in the area. Presumably, the occasional hiker and picnicker in the area cause equally insignificant impacts.
Many places listed in the National Register of Historic Sites have limitations on public access, some even full closures. But all such sites are manmade, not natural (i.e., Mt. Rushmore). The idea that a historic site must be appeciated only "under glass," with no opportunity for the interactive, hands-on type of experience that most climbers value, is anathema to both the purpose of historic sites and the Park Service's mission.
The application of full closure to natural, historic landmarks is a precedent that sets a new standard of exclusion for Americans from their own heritage.
When the government's own research indicates that public use causes insignificant degradation to the values of a resource, that use should be allowed, and managed to preserve all the values and experiences the resource provides. It is neither appropriate nor useful to capitulate to a few history buffs who want to seal off public lands resources to satisfy their own agenda. The Access Fund believes this precedent could be applied to other natural resources which are historic/cultural sites, such as Devils Tower.
The Access Fund has met with representatives of the Idaho State Historic Preservation Officer's office and local historic preservationists, to discuss alternatives. They have unwaveringly insisted on a ban on public access, based on the flimsy argument that people climbing on the Twin Sisters is somehow demeaning to its historic value, even if they can't be seen or heard from most places in the historic viewshed.
The Access Fund has proposed several compromises, including an innovative "day-on, day-off" concept which amounts to a sacrifice of 50% of climbing and hiking opportunities at the Twin Sisters. Under this concept climbing and other recreation would be allowed by permit at the Twin Sisters every other day, with maximum visitation pegged to historic use levels. This way visitors wishing to experience the historic scene without intrusion by hikers or climbers would have ample opportunity, and those desiring a more hands-on experience with the resource would also have this opportunity.
The Access Fund is committed to achieving a reasonable, workable compromise regarding the Twin Sisters, but cannot and will not accept the present terms under which public access would be by-and-large prohibited. Even for our most sensitive and protected natural resources, a requisite management objective is balance between preservation and use, absent any compelling and documented threats to the resource.
"The Access Fund will pursue every option to achieve a sustainable, resource-based solution at the Twin Sisters," said Keith Lenard, Access Fund Executive Director.
At this time the Access Fund is working to generate support from Congress for reversing or amending the Twin Sisters decision. We also have petitioned for a formal review of this decision by the National Historic Advisory Council.