Trip Report: Outdoor Alliance Advocates for Outdoor Recreation, Public Lands in Washington, D.C.
Last week, Outdoor Alliance staff, members, and partners met at our offices in Washington D.C. where we coordinated more than 40 meetings with members of Congress and the administration. We were joined by champions from American Whitewater, American Alpine Club, Access Fund, American Canoe Association, IMBA, The Mountaineers, Surfrider, REI, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance, and many of our key California partners, including the CAMTB and Sage Trail Alliance.
On our agenda was advocating for America’s Outdoor Recreation Act, better protected public lands and waters, and support for the administration’s agenda on conservation, outdoor recreation, and climate change. We met with the White House, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and dozens of members of Congress and their staff to share the stories of the outdoor recreation community and advocate for bipartisan legislation and administrative action on key outdoor issues.
America’s Outdoor Recreation Act
The recreation community has been working for years on proposals to strengthen, protect, and expand outdoor recreation opportunities on our public lands and waters. As participation in outdoor recreation grows, it becomes even more important that public land management agencies like the Forest Service, Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, have sound policies and resources in place that will support sustainable and equitable outdoor recreation access. Both the House and Senate are advancing complementary bipartisan recreation packages. These packages contain provisions that would identify and create long-distance bike trails, safeguard rock climbing, improve recreational permitting for outfitters and guides, and make the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, which provides grants for green space in urban areas, permanent. You can read more about AORA here.
Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is a must-pass bill that directs policy for much of the Department of Agriculture, including the Forest Service, which oversees all our National Forests. There are a number of key opportunities to address climate and the outdoors in the Farm Bill that we spoke to lawmakers about last week. You can read more about the Farm Bill here and read our full letter about our Farm Bill priorities here.
Protecting More Public Lands
Our country has the tradition of bipartisan support for protecting public lands, and there are many valuable landscapes that are under threat and deserve lasting protections. In the last Congress, Outdoor Alliance vigorously advocated for a package of landscape protections called Protecting America’s Wilderness. Now, many of these protections, including the Wild Olympics and protections for California public lands, are moving through Congress. Many of the offices we spoke to were also supportive of National Monument campaigns in their districts, with the hope that the administration would step in to protect important existing public land and water.
Administrative Action on Climate and the Outdoors
As we have written about, the administration has been moving with purpose to protect public land, improve outdoor recreation management, and address climate change. We shared our support with many of the offices we met with for closing on some of the best ideas at the land management agencies and the White House. This includes BLM’s Public Lands Rule, which would have many conservation and recreation benefits, and new recreation guidance at both the BLM and the Forest Service.
These meetings were made all the more powerful by the thousands of letters the outdoor community has sent in recent weeks to lawmaker offices. As both American Canoe Association and The Mountaineers reflected, there are many important forms of advocacy, and over time they build momentum to protect the outdoors. In our meetings, we heard repeatedly how important constituent voices are and how much lawmakers and their offices rely on people like you reaching out with your opinions as they make decisions about how to vote. With bipartisan legislation like America’s Outdoor Recreation Act in the hopper, the outdoor recreation community’s voice is more important than ever.
If you haven’t already, take a moment to drop a line to your lawmaker in support of this package of recreation policy.