Rib Mountain State Park 2020 Master Plan Open for Public Comment

The Department of Natural Resources is beginning a process to revise the 2005 master plan for Rib Mountain State Park. The planning process will evaluate the full range of public uses occurring at the park and habitat management opportunities. In addition, options for the future will be assessed, including possibly new recreation activities.

If you've ever climbed at Rib Mountain, please fill out the online comment form and help express that bouldering is a valuable amenity of this park and access should be expanded, or at least maintained for future generations of climbers!

Currently bouldering is only allowed in a few select areas of the park. However, scrambling is allowed everywhere. Those of us who climb or are familiar with climbing know that there's not a big difference between the two in terms of their potential to impact plant communities. Now is a great time to educate people and secure climbing access to the rest of the park!

The public comment period runs from January 22 to February 22, 2020.

Click this link to make a comment

Thanks in advance!
Will

The online form includes bouldering as one of the activities they want to hear about.  There is room for you to tell them why you love climbing at Rib Mtn - do!  They love to hear what draws you to places like this.  And if you’ve not been yet ... there is room for you to tell them what you think would be cool to do while you’re at Rib.  They want to hear what you are looking for.

I've been playing up there since the 70's and still drop by to boulder each autumn while driving back from the north. Best view in Sconnee especially when the river clouds are below. It feels like a day climbing in the White Mountains, NH.

My wife and I climbed at Rib this summer and had one of our most enjoyable days of climbing ever! Truly a special little gem you have up there in Wisconsin!

One of the reservations against climbing that the Rib Mt. State Park staff has expressed are the possibility of bringing in a people that do not respect the environment. We know that that is hardly the case as many climbers today have worked hard to clean up there image and practice environmentalism religiously. Perhaps it  would help if comments help the DNR understand that climbing is a often a family activity involving people who really want to see our natural world protected. Please comment if you can, Duane Dittmar.

Duane Dittmar wrote: One of the reservations against climbing that the Rib Mt. State Park staff has expressed are the possibility of bringing in a people that do not respect the environment. We know that that is hardly the case as many climbers today have worked hard to clean up there image and practice environmentalism religiously. Perhaps it  would help if comments help the DNR understand that climbing is a often a family activity involving people who really want to see our natural world protected. Please comment if you can, Duane Dittmar.

Sigh.  And yet, this logic is not extended to any other group than climbers.  What this actually shows us is a profound distrust of climbers

The other thing it shows is that they don't understand that we've already been there for 50 years!

Another factor is their belief that climbers will be inclined to walk off-trail and possibly destroy endangered plants, yet they have no qualms with bulldozing an area of the western side of the mountain to allow more ski runs,which is the impetus for the plan change in the first place.

They seem to be making an effort to listen, please make you wishes known. Rib Mountain is a beautiful place to climb!