The BCC team leaned in hard the past couple of weeks on State Bill 103 (SB 23-103). This Bill was in response to a Colorado Springs lawsuit (James Nelson and Elizabeth Varney v. United States of America) that instilled fear into local land owners by threatening their legal protections under the Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS). SB-103 would have removed the world “willful” from the Colorado Recreation Statue if passed and made it harder to litigate against landowners for accidents occuring on public or private land accessed without a fee.

The BCC’s chair, Anneliese Steel, wrote an excellent summary of the Bill and its importance to the outdoor community and the climbing community.

The BCC’s staff and board supported the legislation as a protection for climbing on private access. The BCC drafted a letter to the Colorado State Senate Judiciary Committte in support–it was co-signed by 14-recreation organizations, including the Access Fund and American Alpine Club.

In total, 30 organizations representing outdoor recreation, local municipalities, landowners, farmers, and water districts came together to support the bill. BCC Execuitve Director, Kate Beezley, and former Access Fund Executive Director, Brady Robinson, testified in favor of the Bill on Wednesday March 1st, 2023. The only opposition came from the Colorado Trial Attorneys. Unfortunately, the bill was rejected by the Judiciary Committee on a partisan 3-2 vote due to sentiment that the CRUS was strong enough as it is. As a result access to popular 14ers, Lincoln and Democrat, on private land was lost within hours of the decision. Lincoln and Democrat saw 30,000 visitors in 2020 and mountain tourism generates an average of $5 million dollars annually to Alma’s local economy.

The BCC will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for climbers. Questions can be directed to advocacy@boulderclimbers.org