Yosemite Rock Climber Helps Promote Kids-In-Parks Program

POTOMAC, Md. (AP) -- A rock climber who recently made history at Yosemite National Park is lending his celebrity to a government program that encourages families to visit federal lands.

Tommy Caldwell joined Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Thursday in the Carderock area of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Potomac, Maryland. They're promoting President Barack Obama's "Every Kid in a Park" initiative.

In January, Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson became the first people to free-climb the 3,000-foot Dawn Wall of El Capitan at Yosemite. They used only their hands and feet to ascend the sheer granite face.

The presidential initiative offers fourth-graders and their families free admission to any national park for a year starting in September.

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