The Ontario Alliance of…

The Ontario Alliance of Climbers (OAC) enthusiastically supports the proposed amendments to the Devil's Glen Provincial Park Management Plan.

The OAC represents outdoor climbers of all disciplines (i.e. rock and ice) in Ontario, and advocates on behalf of climbers across the province, working to foster recreational access and environmental stewardship. We have been incorporated as a non-profit since 2009 and have over 3000 members, most of whom are climbers in Ontario.

The proposed Climbing Management Plan mentions consultations with the climbing community. We would be pleased to serve as the voice of the climbing community with Ontario Parks, complementing our ongoing successful relationships with land managers of all types (e.g. Conservation Halton, Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, Niagara Parks, private land owners, etc.).

The Climbing Management Plan also mentions partnering with the climbing community to organize invasive species removal. The OAC has a track record of facilitating climber participation in garlic mustard removal, and is ready to contribute to the stewardship of Devil's Glen and other provincial parks, including organizing volunteer labour for invasive species removal.

The OAC strongly supports the proposed development of a parking lot and improved trails to the cliffs and hopes that it can make progress from long-term priority to something with a closer time horizon. A parking lot will reduce the necessity of parking along Highway 124 and Concession 10, providing a better and safer user experience.

The OAC supports the proposed change of Devil's Glen to "natural environment" and the proposed zoning split between "development", "natural environment", and "nature reserve" zones, with the proviso that it is critical to ensure that the cliff areas fall into "natural environment".

The OAC is keen to see the enforcement of unauthorized access and use in the context of recent events at Devil's Glen. We trust that the current trails to the cliff on Park property will be classified as "authorized trails".

The OAC accepts the necessity of day use fees to offset the costs of increased services to be provided to park users.

We have two minor proposed changes to the wording, which have also been brought up by individual climbers.

* The wording "No free climbing, slack-roping or any form of un-roped climbing is allowed in the park" must read "No free solo climbing, other forms of unroped climbing, or slacklining are allowed in the park," for consistency with common usage in the rock climbing community.
* "Rock alteration is prohibited and includes any removal of rock from its natural position, chipping, or gluing, cementing, or installing artificial holds is prohibited. O. Reg. 347/07, s. 2 (1)." should read "Routes may be cleaned of loose or dangerous materials, but chipping, or gluing, cementing, or installing artificial holds is prohibited. O. Reg. 347/07, s. 2 (1)," to allow route developers to ensure that routes are safe. This is not as much of a concern at Devil's Glen as it is at other cliffs, but we would like to see this wording consistently in all Climbing Management Plans.

Once again, the Ontario Alliance of Climbers strongly supports the proposed amendment and the Climbing Management Plan, and hopes that this is the first of many Climbing Management Plans for Ontario Parks. We are ready to work with Ontario Parks in supporting this fast-growing user group.

Thank you for your consideration,

The OAC Board of Directors