Feds Mull Reopening Popular Angeles Forest Rock-Climbing Site

ARCADIA (CBSLA.com) — A popular rock-climbing spot in the Angeles National Forest that was closed nearly a decade ago to protect could soon be reopening.

KNX 1070's Megan Goldsby reports the U.S. Forest Service is proposing a way to re-open Williamson Rock without further risk to the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog.

Williamson Rock has been closed to the public since December 2005 under an ongoing order (PDF) which limits access to approximately 1,000 acres in the area north of the Angeles Crest Highway near Cooper Canyon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The closure has allowed federal authorities to analyze the impact on the mountain yellow-legged frog due to human activities within the area, which was designated as critical habitat by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, according to officials.

"This frogs have been here for a lot longer than most of us humans have, and they provide a lot of ecosystem services like eating bugs, eating mosquito larvae," said Ilene Anderson with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Under the plan, Williamson Rock would be opened through Nov. 15 and limit the number of climbers to 90 per day by requiring each to obtain a visitor pass from the National Recreation Reservation Service for $6 a pop, according to a Forest Service environmental document released Aug. 6.

But local climbers such as Troy Mayr with Friends of Williamson Rock insist the two groups can peacefully co-exist.

"[It's] absolutely not a 'climbers versus frog' issue, in my opinion," Mayr said. "Climbers are a pretty proactive group and they want to be good stewards of the land."

Public comments on the proposal through Sept. 5 can be sent to the Forest Service <ahref="mailto:comments-pacificsouthwest-angeles@fs.fed.us" target="_blank">via email or mailed to Jose Henriquez, (Williamson Rock), Angeles National Forest, 701 N. Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006.