WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Congress has found common ground on a sweeping legislative package that would expand access to federal lands and parks.
The bipartisan measure aims to boost the now $1 trillion outdoor recreation industry with measures from updating infrastructure and trails for visitors with disabilities to improving broadband connectivity.
“Our public lands are treasures that are owned by the American people,” said U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-AR.
Lawmakers and the outdoor recreation industry largely support Westerman’s legislation, the EXPLORE Act, that would also provide more ways for children to get to parks.
“Transportation is actually one of our larger, the data shows, blockages with getting especially kids in urban or underserved areas out to public lands,” said Michael Reynolds with the National Park Service.
“Parks and access to nature are not just ‘nice to haves,'” said Luis Benitez with Trust for Public Land. “This is essential to our lives and experience as Americans.”
Industry experts testified during a House hearing Thursday that more access means more money for everyone involved.
“If this bill passed, it’s likely to bring in new revenue as we manage lands with better tools and data,” said Jessica Wahl Turner with Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.
However, concerns still remain about the legislation’s consequences if it became law.
“This bill of access: yay! But I don’t want to be sending people to their death in forests that have not been appropriately maintained,” said U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-OR.
Bentz worries conservation efforts are lagging, but U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-CO, said there’s a solution.
“Adequately fund the agencies that protect and manage these public lands,” Neguse said.
The funding debate to avoid a government shutdown will pick up again early next year when lawmakers also expect to consider this legislation.
