Senate Advances Recreation Package, Landscape Protections Through Committee

Public lands and waters are home to outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities. To protect, promote, and enhance outdoor recreation, Outdoor Alliance works to conserve more public land and water, and to improve outdoor recreation policy.

Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a package of recreation bills that includes both recreation policies and place-based protections, including America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022 (S.3266), and a number of landscape protections that the outdoor community has championed, including the Wild Olympics (S.455) and Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act (S.173).

America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022 offers some needed improvements to how outdoor recreation is managed on our public lands and waters. Outdoor recreation is growing more popular, and there are opportunities to both improve access and improve sustainable, high-quality experiences through expanded protections, better infrastructure, and improving equitable access. We are delighted to see Congress taking up the issue of recreation, and look forward to continued opportunities to shape the process and ensure sustainable, quality recreation experiences for everyone in America.

The committee also advanced a number of landscape protections, several of which have been championed by the outdoor community, including Wild Olympics and the CORE Act. These landscapes are important to the outdoor community and are home to spectacular recreation opportunities, from paddling to scrambling to climbing to mountain biking. The outdoor community has worked closely with lawmakers to ensure these bills are strong for both conservation and for recreation access.

Outdoor Alliance’s Policy Director, Louis Geltman, said: “Outdoor recreation is enormously important to Americans, and Outdoor Alliance is grateful for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s work to advance important bills for the recreation community. Since the bipartisan passage of the Great American Outdoors Act and the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, Congress has recognized that outdoor recreation on our public lands and waters is hugely popular among Americans and that there is more we can do to protect and facilitate these experiences.

Effectively managing our public lands and waters requires both conservation and sound policy guidance. We are pleased that America’s Outdoor Recreation Act will provide improved management for climbing and mountain biking; enhance the ways that land managers and agencies account for recreation; and invest in equity through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership and by making facilitated access experiences available to more Americans. We are also tremendously pleased by the committee’s attention to protecting critical landscapes for conservation and recreation, including through the CORE Act and Wild Olympics. These bills would protect amazing landscapes and rivers and the opportunities for paddling, hiking, mountain biking, and climbing they provide.

Today’s markup is a major step forward towards what we hope will be a negotiation with the House, culminating in a package of recreation policy and landscape protections that will improve the outdoors for everyone in America.”

Outdoor recreation is growing in popularity, and we are glad to see lawmakers picking up opportunities to address increased demand for outdoor recreation. Along with improving infrastructure, including trails, parking, and funding, we must think about ensuring sustainable access to the outdoors. This means addressing things like trash and bathrooms, as well as parking, and other infrastructure that helps manage and protect increased visitation.

We look forward to continued work with the Senate and the House to pass much-needed recreation policy and land protections.

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