Starting a coalition

So this may not be the correct place to ask questions like this, but I am interested in starting some sort of group or coalition in Ohio involved in access issues throughout the state. There are a couple gorges here that have walls from 30 to 70 feet high, most of which are untouched climbs, and many other hidden gems throughout the state. The majority of places are climbing prohibited, and if they are not, many require permits. To my understanding, the permit system, specifically for Cleveland Metro Parks is unnecessary by Ohio law, that naturally protects the land owners from liability. The permits for these specific areas require homeowners or renters insurance of 300,000 dollars in personal liability. Ohio will never be a major climbing destination, but for the residents here, or passerby, it would be amazing to only have to make an hour drive to a decent crag for a weekend as opposed to the 4 to 6 hours it takes to get to the red or the new. Obviously those places will always be a major destination for us in the Ohio Valley area, but again, having some "home turf" would be wonderful. There is already an existing coalition called the North East Ohio Climbers Coalition that has put in many hours of work to gain some access, but like the name says, they are mostly focused on the north east section of Ohio.

My questions revolve around legality issues involved in starting a group like this, and what this project would entail. If anyone has been involved in something like this please help with some information or advice, it would be gratefully appreciated.

It's a heck of a lot easier to just move.

I would recommend getting in touch with the NEOCC they obviously could point you in the right direction... who knows maybe they would like to expand.

No experience with what you ask, but as a NEO native I'd be happy to contribute some funds to a project like this. PM me if you're starting to collect an email list or something.

Get in touch with the access fund, they have a great deal of experience with these matters and will no doubt be able to point you in the right direction.

Access Fund

I joined the coalition after it was formed but I sit on the board for the Western Colorado Climbers' Coalition. This coalition originally formed to buy property that had a crag on it and we were successful with the help of the Access Fund. As a coalition we also work with land managers to keep climbing access open on local public lands and do what we can to replace old anchors at local crags with the help of the ASCA. Our land managers out here seem a lot friendlier than what you’re describing but we still have our challenges. The local national monument has been not so climber friendly for many years but it seems to be lightening up a little. On a more positive note, we have a crag that is on city property as a city park, our coalition works with the city to remove graffiti and trash as well as build trails and doing other maintenance. It’s a great relationship that is only possible because of community support.

Like I said I wasn’t there in the beginning but if I were to start a coalition it might go something like this:
• Contact the Access Fund and tell them what you’re thinking.
• Lay out ideas for what you would like the focus of the coalition to be, at first, start small.
• Find a place to hold a meeting (some climbing gyms will donate the use of their party room)
• Contact every climber you know and let them know about the meeting, hit up climbing gyms and local crags as well.
• At the meeting tell everyone what you have in mind and ask if anyone has any ideas for what they would like to see the new coalition focus on.
• Get 3-5 dedicated climbers to commit to sitting on the board.
• Have everyone pick a name for your coalition.
• Check with lawyer and accountant in your state to find out legalities of formation for 501 c 3 nonprofit or other status.
• Keep in touch with the Access Fund and let them know about every event you have, they are an awesome partner.

After this, the first act as a coalition, pick a local crag that has legal climbing access and contact the agency in charge of caring for it and arrange a trash pickup day. Don’t plan on building trails or doing any improvements, but maybe mention that you would be interested in doing that in the future, for now just pick up trash (you might freak them out otherwise, their bureaucratic minds can’t handle it). Get as many people to show up as you possibly can to show the land managers how much community support you have. Repeat a few times to show you're serious. Without community support land managers will not listen to you, if you can show them that there is an entire community of people that want this they will be more likely to listen.

This is just my opinion, and I’m sure there are plenty of ways to go about it, this is just how I’d do it. And by the way, this is the easy part. Have fun, good luck.