New Rules at Indian Creek Are Now in Effect. Here’s What You Need to Know.

In the waning days of the Biden administration, the Bears Ears Commission, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service, released a document long in the making: the finalized Bears Ears Resource Management Plan. Since Indian Creek primarily falls within the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, this plan is the new law of (most of) the land for the Creek’s climbing community.

While two of the new rules at Indian Creek apply specifically to climbers—and more specifically, to prospective routesetters—there are many more provisions that apply to all recreational users, including climbers. Guidelines around camping, waste management, dogs, and more now apply to everyone recreating in Bears Ears. Here’s what the climbing community needs to know.

What is the Bears Ears Resource Management Plan?

This newly finalized plan is designed to help preserve the natural and cultural resources of Bears Ears National Monument, which is the first and only national monument co-managed by Indigenous tribes. As a result, the document is collaborative in both development and in spirit.

The Bears Ears Commission—which consists of representatives from the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe of Uintah and Ouray Reservation—worked on the plan alongside the BLM and US Forest Service. But they also reached out to key stakeholders, including climbers, for input.

According to Jason Keith, Access Fund Senior Policy Advisor and former Friends of Indian Creek volunteer, climbers are the largest recreational group in Bears Ears. Access Fund and Friends of Indian Creek both provided input during the planning process, and helped gather wider feedback from other climbers.

Keith emphasizes that he has been working at Indian Creek with the BLM and other stakeholders since 2001, and with the Bears Ears Coalition since 2016 to advocate for climbing access. After providing education about the importance of fixed anchors, he says the climbing community and the tribes “came to a really good understanding.” The new plan, he explains, reflects those years of advocacy work.

With the plan’s release, the five Tribes of Bears Ears praised the collaborative planning approach. “The Resource Management Plan embodies the collective dedication of the Tribes and federal agencies to honor and safeguard this sacred landscape,” says Malcom Lehi, a Bears Ears Commissioner and Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Councilman. “The finalization of this plan marks a significant step forward in ensuring that our voices and traditional knowledge remain central to the stewardship of these lands for future generations.”

Other Tribal Bears Ears Commissioners echo that sentiment. Craig Andrews, who represents the Hopi, says that the plan affirms “Tribal knowledge and the shared responsibility of stewarding these lands together for future generations to come.” And Christopher Tabbee, of the Ute Indian Tribe, notes that the plan’s collaborative approach should serve as a model for other federal land management plans.

What climbers need to know: The new rules of Indian Creek

The word “climbing” appears 43 times in the Bears Ears Resource Management Plan, and there is an entire section dedicated to guidelines specifically for Indian Creek. The plan makes it clear that the ultimate goal of these new guidelines is to reduce the impact of climbing on plants and wildlife, including raptor nests, as well as to respect and preserve the cultural heritage of Bears Ears.

The biggest new rule for climbers is that new routes in Indian Creek that fall within the Bears Ears boundaries, and that require new fixed equipment, must now be approved through an application process (more on that below). However, swapping out existing bolts or fixed anchors with new hardware does not need to go through an approval process (Keith notes that it was “a big deal” to secure this application-free process for replacing existing hardware).

Regarding existing anchors and hardware, the plan states: “Replacement of existing bolts, anchors, and fixed gear will be allowed on existing climbing and canyoneering routes as needed for safety reasons without prior authorization. Agencies will encourage users to install the highest quality hardware to manufacturer specifications.”

The other new guideline that applies specifically to climbers is that any new hardware installed in Indian Creek must be matte or painted stainless steel—no plated steel—in order to preserve the visual landscape of Bears Ears. While many developers have long prioritized matte or painted hardware in Indian Creek, this is the first time this unspoken rule has been formalized.

The new plan also specifies an intent to continuously educate climbers and climbing organizations about low-impact, responsible recreation, as well as protecting both natural and cultural resources.

According to Keith, surveys show that climbers are overwhelmingly supportive of Bears Ears National Monument. And initially, at least, the response to the new plan has been positive, too. “For the most part, what I’ve heard is that climbers in general are supportive of the new provisions and just want to make sure it works,” Keith says.

Indian Creek’s new route application process

The finalized Bears Ears Management Plan requires routesetters to get any new fixed anchors and routes approved. It states: “Any new climbing or canyoneering routes that require the placement of bolts, anchors, or fixed gear requires approval from the agencies, who will work collaboratively with the BEC [Bears Ears Commission] to determine whether the route is appropriate to protect BENM [Bears Ears National Monument] objects, including cultural resources and wildlife, as informed by Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. Until a process for approving new routes is established, new routes will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”

While this sounds like an entirely reasonable approach to ensure routes are thoughtfully developed going forward, Keith cautions that “fixed anchor authorization processes rarely work well.” So while the route approval requirement is good in theory and intent, the caveat is that functional, timely route approval processes are few and far between. He adds that the process in Bears Ears is even more complicated since both the BLM and the Bears Ears Commission must approve of every application (vs. only the BLM or one agency). He’s also skeptical that the BLM is adequately staffed to oversee this route application process.

Currently, the prescribed process is to send an email with GPS coordinates, access details, and justification for the new route to BLM Recreational Planner Jeremy Martin (j4martin@blm.gov). “For folks wanting to put up new routes in Bears Ears National Monument, it is important to remember that monument decisions are a collaborative effort between the BLM, USDA Forest Service, and the Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission,” Martin says to prospective Indian Creek routesetters.

Decision-making will be based on a combination of scientific data and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. “The BLM looks forward to collaborating with the climbing community on potential new routes where appropriate,” Martin affirms. “We encourage climbers to shift from a pioneering mindset—developing new and/or difficult routes—to a mindset of ‘how can we improve what’s out there already.'”

However, it’s important to know that this is only an interim process, according to Keith. He explains that the BLM’s goal is to develop a “more clear, concise process” not only for new route applications, but for new trails, parking areas, camping, and so forth within the next three to five years.

In the meantime, how long will it take to get a new route approved? Keith calls the timeline for new route applications “uncertain.” For the BLM’s part, Martin notes that a timeline isn’t yet available and they’re still working through what the process will entail.

A more efficient process that Keith would like to see considered would authorize certain zones where new routes could be developed, permitted they follow established rules, like maintaining a certain distance from cultural resources. Though within Bears Ears—which is considered a sacred, cultural landscape by the five Tribes—the consideration of cultural resources becomes more complex. Martin advises climbers to generally avoid and stay far from both cultural and paleontological resources. “Bears Ears is a living, cultural landscape,” he says.

If you intend to apply for a new fixed anchor within Indian Creek, Keith recommends that you “know where you are.” The application rule only applies if you’re within the Bears Ears boundaries. While the main Indian Creek corridor lies within Bears Ears, some of what climbers would consider the Creek falls within private lands, state lands, and remote BLM land. For example, The Nature Conservancy owns the acreage where the iconic route Supercrack is located.

Martin reinforces the importance of precise route location in new fixed anchor applications, including GPS coordinates of the route, a detailed map of the approach to the climb, and any details on parking. This will allow the BLM and its partners to adequately analyze the impacts of a new route.

Considering all the advocacy work that was required to allow continued access and hardware replacement, Keith is asking the climbing community to respect the new guidelines. “We’re really hopeful that folks will follow the rule,” he says. In addition, he’s excited to see climbers “test the process” in place for new route applications to see how it works and can be improved.

Other changes in Bears Ears that impact climbers

In the 284-page Bears Ears Plan document, there are many guidelines that apply to climbers, primarily related to camping. If you follow Leave No Trace, you may already be adhering to most of these “new” rules. Most are common-sense guidelines designed to reduce the impact of visitors on the environment, local wildlife, and the many cultural resources.

While the new anchor application process is getting most of the attention in the climbing community, Keith says that “the real impacts are the camping impacts” when it comes to the Bears Ears Management Plan. “The plan has got a lot of provisions related to campgrounds and dispersed camping,” he explains. “Human waste, dogs on leash, and stuff like that.” Friends of Indian Creek has created some helpful FAQs regarding all of these guidelines in a recent newsletter.

The future of Indian Creek and Bears Ears

“This whole thing could change tomorrow,” Keith reflects. Indeed, most readers will be familiar with the yo-yo legislative past of Bears Ears: Established in the 11th hour of the Obama administration in 2016, dramatically reduced in size (by 85%) and subdivided by the Trump administration a year later, then restored to its original scope by the Biden administration in 2021. With Trump back in office, his administration has already alluded to the fact that it will be revisiting public land designations.

“There are already direct signals from the current administration that they’re going to be taking a look at a lot of national monuments designated by Biden,” Keith says.

Given the opposition of Utah leadership to the extent of federal lands within state boundaries—and the energy resources located in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase—some have speculated that these two national monuments (among others) may see downsizing once more. That has some calling into question the fate of this new Bears Ears Management Plan, not to mention Bears Ears and Indian Creek itself.

That said, when Trump downsized Bears Ears in 2017, it became two separate units: Indian Creek, and Shash Jáa to the south. While purely speculative, if Trump’s new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum does indeed resculpt Bears Ears, Indian Creek could, as previously, continue to be preserved as a unit within the monument if they mimic the previous Trump administration’s approach

Another question mark is whether the Trump administration eventually rejects this new Bears Ears Management Plan, sending the BLM, the Forest Service, and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition back to the drawing board. Keith explains an executive action would be required to amend the plan. If the current administration simply trashes the document rather than commission its own, Indian Creek would fall within the jurisdiction of the BLM Monticello Field Office and its 2008 governance plan.

In the meantime, the climbers of Indian Creek remain in somewhat of a holding pattern, as they await reported firsthand experiences with the route application process, a more formal application process from the BLM, and a potential twist in the federal fate of the land itself.