Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Zip-line rules are on horizon
Proposed regulations given to state for review, approval
When he opened Arkansas’ first commercial zip line in 2010, Mike Mills said he called several state agencies asking if the Buffalo River Canopy Tour needed to be inspected.
“I asked all over the state, ‘Are there any regulations for a zip-line canopy tour?’” Mills said. “The answer I kept getting was ‘No.’”
Three months after starting the zip line at the Buffalo Outdoor Center near Ponca, an inspector from the Arkansas Department of Labor showed up at Mills’ store and slapped a thick stack of regulations on the counter.
“It was like the Gestapo had shown up,” Mills said. “The one place I didn’t call was the Department of Labor.”
Mills said he read the documents, and “zip lines” were never mentioned. The regulations were for “amusement rides.”
Mills doesn’t consider his zip-line operation an amusement ride, but the state of Arkansas does.
Since Mills opened his canopy tour, the Department of Labor has been inspecting zip lines under Arkansas Code Annotated 23-89-504 through 23-89-506.
The law defines an
amusement ride as “any mechanical device which carries or conveys passengers along, around or over a fixed route or course or within a defined area for the purpose of giving the passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills or excitement.”
The law goes into detail about “bungee rides” and climbing walls, but it hasn’t been changed since 2005.
Nine fixed zip lines have opened in Arkansas since 2010 and more are planned. New regulations are in the works to specifically address zip lines in Arkansas.
Zip lines allow people to glide through the treetops at speeds sometimes approaching 60 mph. Passengers sit in a harness attached by a trolley to one or two cables, with gravity providing the zip from a platform in one tree to the next.
Since the Arkansas Department of Labor began inspecting zip lines in August 2010, 90 citations have been written.
Denise P. Oxley, general counsel for the department, said amusement-law regulations have been rewritten to include zip lines.
“They’ll actually be state regulations and enforceable,” Oxley said. “Right now, we’re doing those inspections, ... [but the] standards aren’t in place yet. The proposed regulations will enhance enforcement in the sense that they specifically address zip lines. They are device-specific.”
Enforcement options are “limited” until the new regulations are in place, she said.
The main infractions resulting in fines are failure to get a safety inspection and failure to maintain proper insurance, both of which are mentioned in the state law.
“Those are statutory requirements and are not dependent upon the new regulations,” Oxley said.
PROPOSED REGULATIONS
A draft of the new regulations shows that zip lines would have to conform to “Challenge Course and Canopy/Zip Line Tour Standards, seventh edition.” It’s an 84page booklet published in 2008 by the Association for Challenge Course Technology that includes information for installation, inspection and operation of zip lines. The association was formed in 1993 to set standards for the industry.
Oxley said the Labor Department uses the standards to inspect zip lines. Inspections must be done twice a year, and zip-line operators must have enough liability insurance to cover a $1 million per-accident legal judgment.
So far, only one zip-line operator has been fined, Family Farm Christian Day Camp near Malvern, and that was for not having enough insurance at the camp, which has several activities besides a zip line.
The proposed regulations were submitted Wednesday to the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, which has 10 days to comment on them. If approved there, the regulations will go to several other state agencies and through a 30day public comment period before final approval, which could happen by June 1, Oxley said.
James Borishade, executive director of the association, said zip lines shouldn’t all be lumped into the category of amusement rides.
He said there are two types of zip lines: challenge courses, which have been around since the 1940s and are for educational, recreational or therapeutic use; and zip lines that are meant to thrill. Long zip lines that are meant to thrill riders have been popular in the U.S. since about 2000 and should be classified as amusement rides, he said.
“It really isn’t a one-sizefits-all,” Borishade said.
He said he doesn’t know how many states regulate all zip lines as amusement rides, but Arkansas isn’t the only one.
Oxley said it’s a matter of statutory interpretation in Arkansas.
“I am not aware of any zip lines in Arkansas used solely for educational or therapeutic purposes,” she said. “If they are used for recreational purposes, I do not believe there is an issue.”
EDUCATION VERSUS THRILLS
Mills said his Buffalo River Canopy Tour bears no resemblance to a Tilt-AWhirl carnival ride. Instead, the tour gives riders a quiet, bird’s- eye view of the forest.
“We’re not trying to generate G forces,” Mills said. “It’s educational. The guides talk about the history. We take them by an old farmstead and well. We have seen deer, fox, elk, black bear, all from our canopy tour. You ought to see the look on a group’s face when they see a black bear.”
Canopy tours involve a series of zip lines, Mills said. Buffalo River Canopy Tour has six zip lines, and Mills plans to add two more. The guided tours take a couple of hours and are usually for small groups. Participants zip one person at a time on each line.
By contrast, some zipline operations have one or two long cables that allow passengers to go faster before reaching the next platform, which is sometimes on the other side of a river or gorge.
“Ours is one long thrill ride,” Barry Johnson said of the 2,300-foot-long zip line at his Horseshoe Canyon Ranch near Jasper. “At one point, you’re 300 feet over the valley floor.”
Borishade, of the regulatory association, said zip lining is safer than many other “adventure industries.”
“We can state that there have been a fairly low number of tragic events in this industry compared to other adventure industries like horseback riding and motorcycle riding,” he said.
But there have been deaths and injuries. Statistics on such things aren’t tracked by the association, Borishade said.
A construction worker died when a zip-line tower collapsed in Hawaii in 2011. Ted Callaway of Lahaina, Hawaii, was test riding the zip line when the tower collapsed, sending him 200 feet to his death, according to The Associated Press. An investigation determined that the tower collapsed because of weak soil.
The only accident the state Department of Labor lists occurred May 5 when a 7-year- old boy fell 7 feet from the zip line at Family Farm Christian Day Camp, injuring his right leg.
Although safe when operated property, zip lines can be dangerous, Oxley said.
FINES MORE SEVERE
Mills said it would be easy for someone to build a zip line and begin operating it on the assumption that there are no state regulations, as he did, but that could be costly.
According to the draft regulations, the fine for not notifying the state of plans to operate a zip line is $2,500. The fine for not having a state safety inspection is $2,500. Operating without the required liability insurance would mean a $5,000 fine. Those fines apply to all amusement rides. Criminal charges could also apply, depending on the circumstances.
Hor seshoe Canyon Ranch’s 2,300-foot zip line is Arkansas’ longest, said Johnson, who owns the dude ranch. Johnson said the business had Arkansas’ first zip line in 2000, but it was only for people who were staying at the ranch. Now, a larger zip line is open to the public.
“For years, we were just operating illegally, apparently,” Johnson said. “Then the state said, ‘ Hey, we’re supposed to be inspecting you.’”
Will Roberts said he and business partner Robert Nickell are putting in an even longer zip line in Carroll County. Ozark Mountain Ziplines at Eureka Springs will have 10 cables, the longest of which will be more than 2,400 feet, Roberts said.
Roberts said Arkansas’ regulations are “stringent.” Some states don’t have any, he said.
Arkansas has another six permanent zip lines, Oxley said. They are: Zippin Griffin at Griffin Park near Hardy, Fort Rock Family Camp near Saint Paul, Loco Ropes at Ozark Folk Center State Park near Mountain View, The Zip Lines at Ouachita Bend in Hot Springs, Rowdy Adventures in Okolona and Timber Lodge Ranch near Amity. (The last two are in Clark County.)
There are also three portable zip lines that operate in Arkansas: Amusement Masters, Extreme Fun Spot and GMB.
Each zip line has different rules, but weight restrictions for passengers are generally from 75 to 275 pounds.
Prices vary. At Fort Rock, customers can ride a 1,075foot- long zip line for $ 15, said owner Terry Forsyth. Additional rides are $5 each, he said.
“Definitely, I’m the leastexpensive ride,” Forsyth said.
Forsyth’s business is closed for the winter and to give him an opportunity to get training as a zip-line operator, said his wife, Roxanne Forsyth.
“We had all the requirements but one, and that was certification for Terry,” she said.
At Buffalo River Canopy Tour, the cost is $89 plus tax, but that’s for six zips, Mills said. Roberts said the Eureka Springs course will also be $89, and that’s for 10 zip-line rides.
Johnson said it costs $50 to do the “big zip” at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. A longer zip- line canopy tour there costs $115.
Mills said zip lines have been popular with a wide age group. The oldest zipliner he’s had at his business was 86.
“The demographic I did not see when we opened this is 70-plus-year-old women,” he said. “They’re spunky. They have grandkids, but they still want to get out and do things.”