Wilderness visitation surged 75% during the pandemic and hasn't come back down. Federal staffing hasn't kept pace. Meryl Harrell of Friends of the Forest Service and Lisa Ronald of American Rivers joined The Wild Idea at the National Wilderness Skills Institute to talk honestly about what that gap looks like on the ground, and where the stewardship community is actually filling it.

They cover the federal capacity crunch, American Rivers' 2025 National Protected Rivers Assessment (which found that over 80% of U.S. rivers lack adequate protection), the management pressure building on the Flathead Wild and Scenic River, and the technology reshaping how visitors move through wild places. They also bring specific examples of partnership models working right now: a single advocate driving a Wild and Scenic designation for Florida's Myakka River, and the Flathead Rivers Alliance building community river patrols in Montana. And they're direct about what "showing up" actually requires, beyond the trail.

Before diving into that conversation, we kick off the episode with host Ashley Arnold previewing Raising Wild, Wild Idea Media's new podcast about raising kids in nature.

Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com.

This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking Farm Bill wilderness designations for Virginia, Arkansas, and Illinois; Kevin Lilly's confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Interior's proposed rollback of oil and gas drilling safeguards; a leaked Flathead National Forest memo that would open recommended wilderness to off-road vehicles; an emergency Forest Service salvage timber declaration covering up to 11 million acres with a one-week comment period; NPS restrictions on fatality reporting; and the death of environmental journalist James Bruggers.

Find the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com.

For nearly 30 years, whether fixed anchors belong in wilderness was answered differently by every park superintendent who had to decide. In 2023, the National Park Service proposed prohibiting them outright, nationwide. Congress stepped in. The Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act, signed in January 2025, established that climbing and fixed anchors are appropriate in wilderness and required federal agencies to issue public guidance within 18 months. That guidance is now out, and the public comment window is open.

Erik Murdock, Deputy Director of Programs, Policy & Government Affairs at the Access Fund, has worked this issue for nearly three decades, from doctoral research at Joshua Tree National Park to the policy fight that produced the PARC Act. In the first episode of our Fault Lines bonus series, he traces the full history, explains what the draft guidelines actually say, and makes the case for why this comment period will shape wilderness climbing management for a generation.

Learn more about Erik and how you can take part in the public comment period at our website, thewildidea.com.