Recreation Not Red-Tape Act Just Reintroduced
Today, Senator Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Blake Moore (R-UT) reintroduced the Recreation Not Red-Tape Act (RNR), a bill that promises to protect and enhance outdoor recreation on public lands.
With outdoor recreation more in demand than ever, RNR offers solutions that would make it easier to get outside, to protect places that are important to the outdoor community, and to enhance access for outdoor recreation. All of this would offer huge returns to the outdoor community and anyone looking for more sustainable, conserved public lands to camp, hike, climb, ski, bike, and explore.
Here are a few reasons we’re stoked about the bill:
It offers new ways to protect public lands. Right now, the tools to protect public lands do not include any process for protecting important outdoor recreation destinations. Creating a process to specifically protect outdoor recreation – from great trails to climbing areas to camping – will help diversify the type of land we can protect.
It will contribute to 30x30, the goal to protect 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. With new ways to protect public land, RNR will help add to the ledger of conserved landscapes that contribute to climate protections.
The Biden administration’s recent report on 30x30 recommends that the agencies “prioritize management planning that identifies lands and waters that are appropriate to be conserved and managed for outdoor recreation,” and welcomes “efforts in Congress to support outdoor recreation, including appropriate designations to improve conservation and appreciation of lands and waters.” RNR is a key way to set this recommendation in motion, improving how recreation hotspots are conserved and managed.
It streamlines access for hikers, fishers, hunters, campers, climbers, paddlers, and other outdoor recreation users.
As we look to protect 30 percent of our lands and waters as a way to mitigate climate change, it helps to have a diversity of protections. Meaning: there is a role for highly-protected Wilderness and a role for landscapes that are closer to population centers and have beloved trails, rivers, or campgrounds. RNR, and in particular, the provision for creating a system of National Recreation Areas that protect landscapes with high-value recreation, would help diversify the tools we have to protect public lands.
“Outdoor recreation is the most common way that Americans come to know their public lands and waters and develop a stewardship ethic. Recreation Not Red-Tape will help facilitate more quality, equitable access to the outdoors and give land managers and Congress a better process for helping to conserve important landscapes,” said Louis Geltman, Policy Director at Outdoor Alliance.
We’re also excited about provisions that will improve the recreational permitting systems of federal land management agencies so more people can experience public lands through volunteer-based clubs or with an outfitter, guide, non-profit outdoor leadership organizations, or university programs. The permitting language in RNR is also included in the Simplifying Outdoor Access to Recreation (SOAR) Act, which was reintroduced last month in the Senate. Our partners, including The Mountaineers, have worked on the SOAR Act for years. The bill will go a long way toward ensuring that guided experiences are available to introduce new participants to the outdoors, who have traditionally faced barriers to outdoor recreation.
“As a volunteer-driven nonprofit outdoor education and conservation organization, The Mountaineers have been getting people outside responsibly for over a century,” said The Mountaineers CEO Tom Vogl. “Streamlining the permitting process will enable more people to get outside safely and responsibly through organized experiences facilitated by outdoor leaders and educators.”
Outdoor Alliance has worked closely on this bill for years, and we are delighted to see it reintroduced. There are a few pieces of policy this year that would make the outdoors better for everyone, and RNR is one of them. There’s a key role for you to play – if you’re from Oregon or Rep. Moore’s district, drop the bill’s sponsors a thank you note. If you live anywhere else, encourage your members to sign on as cosponsors of RNR. We’ve made it easy with the tool below: