How the EXPLORE Act is Promoting Accessibility on Public Lands | Article

America’s public lands, including national parks, forests, recreation areas, and more, have long been considered one of the nation’s treasures, full of stunning vistas and breathtaking recreational opportunities. However, navigating federal public lands is not always an easy task—especially for families and people with disabilities. Visitors and employees struggle with limited restrooms, spotty cell service, and parking shortages. Many trails and activities are entirely inaccessible to those with limited mobility. Meanwhile, the communities surrounding parks and public lands struggle to manage their role as gateways while dealing with issues like housing shortages and overtourism.

The bipartisan Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act (H.R. 6492) aims to change that. The bill, which would make outdoor recreation of all kinds available and accessible to all, passed the House of Representatives in April 2024. As the bill works its way through the Senate, it is inching closer to becoming law.

The first goal of the EXPLORE Act is to better understand the current state of outdoor recreation on public land. The Act would require an overall assessment of what resources for recreation exist at the moment and standardize visitation data in one reporting system to make it more understandable. It would also call for yearly budget reports on outdoor recreation to ensure funding data is available to Congress and the public. Additionally, many of the more specific provisions of the Act require assessments to be conducted before action can be taken, emphasizing the Act’s commitment to data collection.

The EXPLORE Act would also catalyze improvements to general facilities on public lands. Parking, restrooms, cell service, and even broadband internet are all targeted for additional support. Efforts like these can make a major difference for visitor and employee experience, thereby encouraging people to spend more time outdoors. In particular, visitors with medical conditions or young children will appreciate better parking and restroom availability. Meanwhile, more reliable cell service and internet connections can prove helpful in improving the safety of visitors and employees by facilitating communication.

There are also provisions designed to create opportunities for more types of outdoor recreation. The Act would increase the number of long-distance bike trails, facilitate safe rock climbing, establish target shooting ranges, and build new campsites. Safeguards are included to ensure that different forms of recreation are available without harming the land or ecosystems—for example, one provision authorizes the inspection and decontamination of boats and other watercraft leaving federal lands and waters. These inspections serve as a frontline defense against the spread of invasive aquatic species, to help protect native ecosystems.

Black and brown wild horses in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image credit: Amaury Laporte.

One of the highlights of the Act is the series of provisions relating to accessibility for people with disabilities, military and veterans, youth, and underserved communities. The Access for People with Disabilities section requires the development of new accessible trails and recreation opportunities—from campsites to water sports—on public lands across the country, following an assessment of the current situation. The Military and Veterans in Parks section builds upon the previous section to increase access for servicemembers and veterans with or without disabilities through measures like creating a national strategy to increase visits by members of the armed forces and veterans, appointing designated liaisons, and targeting the promotion of recreational and job opportunities. It also aims to make jobs related to the management of federal land more accessible to veterans, giving them a greater long-term stake in the land as well as a new potential career path after leaving the military.

Meanwhile, the Youth Access section focuses on making outdoor recreation more available and appealing to young people, particularly those from underserved communities who might otherwise not be able to spend time in nature. Underserved communities in both urban and rural environments are prioritized in the Act, particularly by the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. The program provides grants to low-income communities in urban areas and to federally-recognized tribes for projects that develop outdoor recreation facilities.

In addition to benefiting visitors of federal lands, the EXPLORE Act also aims to benefit the gateway communities through which visitors travel, and which often depend on tourism for a significant portion of their economy. The Act would require assessment of the needs of these communities and the impacts of tourism on them, ultimately authorizing technical and financial assistance and government partnerships to address these needs. It would also reform the permitting process for organized activities and for small businesses that depend on access to federal lands, simplifying requirements and making necessary permits easier to obtain and maintain.

To support the economies of the often low-income and rural communities around federal lands, the Act would also facilitate an assessment of how permits are used in underserved communities, including identifying what barriers exist to obtaining them and how these barriers can be eliminated. Permitted activities on federal lands can be extremely important economically for gateway communities, so ensuring that permits are available to all is essential.

The overall goal of the EXPLORE Act is ensuring access: widespread access to new activities; increased access for military, veterans, and people with disabilities; and optimal benefits for adjacent communities. The positive impacts of nature go beyond simple enjoyment, with many health benefits tied to spending time outdoors, including improved blood pressure, brain function, and mental health. Furthermore, spending time outside can lead people to care more about the environment and participate in its protection. With outdoor activities on federal lands serving as a major factor in how many people enjoy the natural world, passage of the EXPLORE Act would dramatically alter the landscape for outdoor recreation.

Author: Emily Phillips