Hey All -
Some of you may remember that a bill was passing through Congress in 2012 to change the park status of Pinnacles from a National Monument to a National Park. The bill passed through the House, stalled in the Senate, and was finally passed through the Senate on December 31st. The bill should currently be sitting on the President's desk and waiting for his signature, so it seems highly likely that Pinnacles will officially be a National Park in the near future.
What would this mean for climbing and general use of Pinnacles? As far as I can tell, the park status change would have absolutely no effect on climbing or other visitor use of the Pinns. The park status bill did not include any additional land acquisition or personnel funding... which likely means that park staff will have to manage Pinnacles resources for more visitors without any corresponding increase in personnel (law enforcement, interpretation, etc.) to deal with the increased usage.
At any rate, I thought folks might be interested in this development. I'll keep you posted as to when the park status change becomes official.
