Roadless Areas are the precious 30% of National Forest that are not wilderness, but where logging, drilling, and mining are prohibited. Federally designated Roadless Areas are some of the most important recreation lands we have, and in WA, include Mineral, Incognito, Quicksilver, Dark, and Prairie. Right now, the USDA is planning to rescind these protections, and these canyons could be decimated by logging. The Forest Service is accepting your comments until September 19, 2025.

 Submit your comment today!

Learn More about the Roadless Rule

Read WCC's Response Letter

Check out the Interactive map below to see which canyons you care about are at risk.

Other US Canyons include: Waterslides (AZ), Lytle (CA), Teacups (CA), Big Creek (CA), Royal Gorge (CA)

Weehawken (CO), Oak (CO) and Corbett (CO) are safe for now because CO secured an agreement to be carved out of the rescission process 

North Cascades Ecosystem Management Plan Comments

On August 11, 2025, WCC submitted comments during the first phase of public comment periods for the park's revised Management Plan. 

We requested that canyoning be explicitly recognized as an appropriate recreational activity within the planning area, and that the Park Service should consider including language that allows for access to established canyons and creates opportunities for sustainable canyon route development across the ecosystem. 

Read our full comment letter here

UPDATE: EXPLORE ACT PASSES! 

Probably the biggest win for outdoor recreation since the Great America Outdoors Act of 2020, the EXPLORE Act sends a clear message to our federal land managers that outdoor recreation is a priority. Read more about what this means for canyoning.

Even though in WA we are lucky to have lawmakers who value outdoor recreation, simply knowing they'll vote in our favor isn't enough. There are so many issues in Congress, we rely on our congressional representatives to advocate for making bills we care about a priority. Without advocates in congress, bills will never even make it to the floor for a vote. Let your representatives know you're paying attention, and you're grateful for their work to prioritize the EXPLORE Act and get it across the finish line!

This will encourage them to listen to us in the future!

Thank your lawmakers

FIXED ANCHOR PROHIBITION WITHDRAWN

In late summer 2024, the National Park Service and National Forest Service published a draft of new directives which would classify fixed anchors (webbing and bolts) as "prohibited installations," making it unrealistically onerous for anyone to place new bolts or even replace old bolts. Thanks in part to more than 7,000 public comments, hundreds of which were from canyoners, this winter both the Park Service and Forest Service withdrew their proposals.

PARC ACT PASSES

While threats to fixed anchors loomed at the administrative level, our community was hard at work encouraging our lawmakers to pass the PARC (Protect America's Rock Climbing) Act. On December 19, the PARC Act passed into law, as did a large number of outdoor recreation bills that were contained in the EXPLORE Act (see above).

For now...

Thanks to your public comments and letters to your legislators, sustainable fixed anchors are protected. We should continue to show up as good stewards of our public lands, including sustainable maintenance of fixed anchors.