Wilderness use: Recreation vs. preservation. The case of rock climbing in wilderness areas within Joshua Tree National Monument

Americans are increasingly utilizing 10 million acres of legally designated Wilderness to meet their recreational needs. Yet due to legal need and cultural demand to conserve these areas, recreational access is being sharply curtailed. Rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Monument exemplifies this growing land use conflict. Examples of regulation from other climbing areas in the U.S. indicate that unlike traditional Wilderness uses such as backpacking, climbing consists of two distinct activities which contribute to overuse: route establishment and route use. While there is a strong precedent for rationing which is effective in mitigating the overuse of areas containing existing climbs, there is little precedent for rationing the establishment of new routes. Rationing examples presented here represent the full spectrum of options available to the Park Service and climbers on whose mutual shoulders the management of Joshua Tree's climbing resources legally rest.