regulating rock climbing

Question
Mr. Allen,
I am a student at West Virginia University. I am doing a presentation about the subject of regulating rock climbing in a certian area. The area is known as Seneca Rocks. It is located on the Monogahela National Forest in WV. During the summer, while working for the Forest Service, I was sent on a search and rescue for a missing climber. I was the unlucky one that found the 16 year old boys' body.
I am needing your expert opinion on how you stand on this question.
Some info. on this is that he was allowed to go free climbing by himself, he had no climbing experience, no climbing partners and no climbing equipment.
Any reply would be appreciated.
  Thank You,
     Sam Grant  

Answer
Dear Sam---this is outside of my area of expertise........but I'll throw my opinion in.  As to the situation you encountered, the boy engaged in misconduct.  His parents could be charged with child abuse/neglect, depending on the circumstances.  So rules apply here.  As we see with the suicide bombers, no sets or rules or laws can deter someone bent on self-destruction and law breaking.

In this vein, I think civil and criminal law already apply and are used in climbing misconduct---Chouinard Equipment lost a lawsuit involving a death...there was a a lawsuit by a Salt Lake woman who was severly injured by an idiotic act.

Resource use is already protected by regulation againt climber misconduct.  I think the current legal remedies are sufficient to face serious climber misconduct.

George Allen