[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]












 H.R. ____, ``EXPANDING PUBLIC LANDS OUTDOOR RECREATION  
       EXPERIENCES ACT'' OR ``EXPLORE ACT''

=======================================================================

                          LEGISLATIVE HEARING

                               before the

                     SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL LANDS

                                 of the

                     COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                      Thursday, November 30, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-80

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources







    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]







        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 
                                   or 
          Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov 
      

                                   _______
                                   
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
                 
54-200 PDF                   WASHINGTON : 2024 

















                     COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

                     BRUCE WESTERMAN, AR, Chairman
                    DOUG LAMBORN, CO, Vice Chairman
                  RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Member

Doug Lamborn, CO                       Grace F. Napolitano, CA 
Robert J. Wittman, VA                  Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI 
Tom McClintock, CA                     Jared Huffman, CA
Paul Gosar, AZ                         Ruben Gallego, AZ
Garret Graves, LA                      Joe Neguse, CO 
Aumua Amata C. Radewagen, AS           Mike Levin, CA              
Doug LaMalfa, CA                       Katie Porter, CA
Daniel Webster, FL                     Teresa Leger Fernandez, NM
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, PR           Melanie A. Stansbury, NM       
Russ Fulcher, ID                       Mary Sattler Peltola, AK
Pete Stauber, MN                       Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NY                               
John R. Curtis, UT                     Kevin Mullin, CA   
Tom Tiffany, WI                        Val T. Hoyle, OR                 
Jerry Carl, AL                         Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA
Matt Rosendale, MT                     Seth Magaziner, RI
Lauren Boebert, CO                     Nydia M. Velazquez, NY
Cliff Bentz, OR                        Ed Case, HI
Jen Kiggans, VA                        Debbie Dingell, MI
Jim Moylan, GU                         Susie Lee, NV
Wesley P. Hunt, TX           
Mike Collins, GA                        
Anna Paulina Luna, FL                  
John Duarte, CA                             
Harriet M. Hageman, WY                    



                    Vivian Moeglein, Staff Director
                      Tom Connally, Chief Counsel
                 Lora Snyder, Democratic Staff Director
                   http://naturalresources.house.gov
                                 ------                                

                     SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL LANDS

                       TOM TIFFANY, WI, Chairman
                     JOHN R. CURTIS, UT, Vice Chair
                     JOE NEGUSE, CO, Ranking Member

Doug Lamborn, CO                     Katie Porter, CA
Tom McClintock, CA                   Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA
Russ Fulcher, ID                     Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI
Pete Stauber, MN                     Mike Levin, CA    
John R. Curtis, UT                   Teresa Leger Fernandez, NM
Cliff Bentz, OR                      Mary Sattler Peltola, AK
Jen Kiggans, VA                      Raul M. Grijalva, AZ, ex officio
Jim Moylan, GU                       
Bruce Westerman, AR, ex officio



























                                CONTENTS

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on Thursday, November 30, 2023......................     1

Statement of Members:

    Tiffany, Hon. Tom, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Wisconsin.........................................     1
    Neguse, Hon. Joe, a Representative in Congress from the State 
      of Colorado................................................     3
    Westerman, Hon. Bruce, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Arkansas..........................................     4
    Grijalva, Hon. Raul M., a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Arizona...........................................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................    70

Statement of Witnesses:

    French, Chris, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S. 
      Forest Service, Washington, DC.............................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................     8
    Reynolds, Michael T., Deputy Director for Congressional and 
      External Relations, National Park Service, Washington, DC..    11
        Prepared statement of....................................    12
    Turner, Jessica Wahl, President, Outdoor Recreation 
      Roundtable, Washington, DC.................................    14
        Prepared statement of....................................    16
    Benitez, Luis, Chief Impact Officer, Trust for Public Land, 
      Denver, Colorado...........................................    18
        Prepared statement of....................................    19

    DiGiulian, Sasha, Professional Rock Climber, Boulder, 
      Colorado...................................................    23
        Prepared statement of....................................    25
    Andrews, Katherine, Director, Office of Outdoor Recreation, 
      Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, Little 
      Rock, Arkansas.............................................    29
        Prepared statement of....................................    30

Additional Materials Submitted for the Record:

    Submissions for the Record by Representative Westerman

        American Sportfishing Association, Letter to the 
          Committee dated November 29, 2023......................    53
        International Mountain Bicycling Association, Letter to 
          the Committee..........................................    54
        Motorcycle Industry Council, Specialty Vehicle Institute 
          of America, and Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle 
          Association, Letter to the Committee dated November 29, 
          2023...................................................    56
        Outdoor Industry Association, Letter to the Committee 
          dated December 1, 2023.................................    58
        People for Bikes, Letter to the Committee dated November 
          29, 2023...............................................    59
        Specialty Equipment Market Association, Letter to the 
          Committee dated November 29, 2023......................    60
        The Wilderness Society, Letter to the Committee dated 
          November 30, 2023......................................    61

    Submissions for the Record by Representative Tiffany

        American Mountain Guides Association, Letter to the 
          Committee dated December 6, 2023.......................    66
    Submissions for the Record by Representative Grijalva

        National Parks Conservation Association, Letter to the 
          Committee dated November 29, 2023......................    71
        Outdoor Alliance, Letter to the Committee dated November 
          29, 2023...............................................    73
                                     


 
 LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. ____, TO IMPROVE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES 
  ON, AND FACILITATE GREATER ACCESS TO, FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND, AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES, ``EXPANDING PUBLIC LANDS OUTDOOR RECREATION EXPERIENCES 
                        ACT'' OR ``EXPLORE ACT''

                              ----------                              


                      Thursday, November 30, 2023

                     U.S. House of Representatives

                     Subcommittee on Federal Lands

                     Committee on Natural Resources

                             Washington, DC

                              ----------                              

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m. in 
Room 1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Tom Tiffany 
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Tiffany, Lamborn, Fulcher, 
Stauber, Bentz, Kiggans, Moylan, Westerman; Neguse, Levin, 
Leger Fernandez, Peltola, and Grijalva.
    Also present: Representative Duarte.

    Mr. Tiffany. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands will come to 
order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a 
recess of the Subcommittee at any time.
    The Subcommittee is meeting today to consider Chairman 
Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva's bipartisan bill, the 
``Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act.'' 
I am going to call it the EXPLORE Act.
    Under Committee Rule 4(f), any oral opening statements at 
hearings are limited to the Chairman and the Ranking Minority 
Member. I therefore ask unanimous consent that all other 
Members' opening statements be made part of the hearing record 
if they are submitted in accordance in accordance with 
Committee Rule 3(o).
    Without objection, so ordered.
    I would also like to ask unanimous consent that the 
gentleman from California, Mr. Duarte, be allowed to 
participate from the dais.
    So ordered.
    I will now recognize myself for an opening statement.

STATEMENT OF THE HON. TOM TIFFANY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                  FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

    Mr. Tiffany. Today, the Committee on Federal Lands will 
consider historic, first-of-its-kind legislation to improve 
access to our public lands and transform recreational 
experiences for Americans across the country.
    Throughout the year, this Subcommittee has considered 
numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation that would help 
bolster the $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation economy. The 
legislation before us today, the EXPLORE Act, is the 
culmination of these efforts.
    Whether you are a hunter, fisher, rock climber, target 
shooter, paddler, or adventurer, there is something in this 
legislation for you. That is because the central theme of the 
EXPLORE Act is improving access for the hundreds of millions of 
people who recreate on our public lands annually across the 
country. The EXPLORE Act expands access not by spending 
millions of dollars or creating complex new programs, but by 
reducing red tape and cutting bureaucracy.
    Title III of the bill, which is based on the Simplifying 
Outdoor Access for Recreation Act, or SOAR, would make it less 
cumbersome and expensive for guides and outfitters to get 
special recreation permits to use our Federal lands.
    This issue is personal to me. For 20 years, I owned and 
operated a dinner and excursion business called Wilderness 
Cruises in Wisconsin. I know what it is like to lead a small 
business that depends on reliable access to public lands. 
Guides and outfitters across the country are experienced, 
knowledgeable professionals who provide safe and affordable 
excursions for millions of visitors. Whether it is white water 
rafting or horseback riding, our nation's guides and outfitters 
will all benefit from a streamlined, simplified permitting 
process.
    This legislation also addresses specific access barriers 
that certain groups face that make it difficult to fully enjoy 
or experience our public lands. In particular, this bill 
contains targeted provisions to tackle many of the barriers 
that prevent members of our military, veterans, people with 
disabilities, and young people from fully accessing our public 
lands. The legislation does this by building new accessible 
trails, directing land managers to prioritize recreational 
visits among our military service members, and reauthorizing 
the successful Every Kid Outdoors program. By creating this new 
access, we will help not only the overall outdoor recreation 
economy, but rural and local economies, as well.
    Last year, visitors to national parks generated a record 
high $50 billion in economic benefits and supported over 
378,000 jobs in and around gateway communities. The EXPLORE Act 
would help address some of the most pressing issues facing our 
gateway communities, including lack of affordable housing, 
dilapidated infrastructure, and antiquated technologies. This 
will not only help the residents of these communities, but also 
improve visitor experiences broadly.
    I look forward to seeing the benefits this legislation will 
bring to communities near the Apostle Islands National 
Lakeshore in my district, as well as communities across the 
country. I would like to thank Chairman Westerman and Ranking 
Member Grijalva for their work on this bipartisan and bicameral 
legislation.

    I look forward to hearing the testimony from our panel of 
witnesses, and thank them each for joining us today.

    With that, I will now recognize Ranking Member Neguse for 
his opening statement.

STATEMENT OF THE HON. JOE NEGUSE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                   FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO

    Mr. Neguse. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany. I am equally 
excited to join you this morning for this hearing on a highly 
anticipated legislative package on outdoor recreation, as you 
aptly noted, the EXPLORE Act.
    Amidst the political disagreements here in Washington, 
which can often dominate the airwaves, it is important to 
recognize that there are many areas where we do agree. 
Expanding access to outdoor recreation is one of those areas, 
and certainly critically important to the people of Colorado 
that I am privileged to represent here in the Congress, and to 
Americans throughout the country, as is conserving our 
country's national resources.
    Outdoor recreation is incredibly important economically. A 
recently-released a report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
found that the outdoor recreation economy is now a $1 trillion 
industry, accounting for 2.2 percent of our nation's GDP in 
2022. Outdoor recreation employment, just by way of example in 
my state, increased 9.2 percent in 2022, above the national 
average of 7.4 percent, and Colorado ranks sixth in the nation 
for fastest-growing outdoor recreation economies. This comes as 
no surprise to me and I am sure to many of my constituents and 
my colleague from Colorado, Mr. Lamborn here on the dais, who 
regularly enjoy the wonderful outdoor recreational 
opportunities that our great state has to offer.
    The EXPLORE Act is the product of years of hard work. It 
includes many pieces of legislation from both my Democratic and 
Republican colleagues, and I want to thank Chairman Westerman 
and Ranking Member Grijalva, in particular, for their 
leadership and their partnership and the stakeholding work that 
they have engaged in in putting together this legislative 
product.
    I, of course, am thrilled that many of my office's 
priorities are included in the package, including the bill we 
introduced earlier this year, the BOLT Act, Biking on Long 
Distance Trails, which is a bipartisan piece of legislation to 
identify additional potential long distance biking trails; the 
Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act, which would 
permanently codify the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor 
Recreation, which works to improve outdoor recreation 
management across the Federal Government; and the Forest 
Service Flexible Housing Partnerships Act, which would extend 
Forest Service authorities to lease under-utilized 
administrative sites to address local needs such as affordable 
housing.
    The EXPLORE Act also includes a number of other bills that 
we have been proud to work on, including, just by way of 
example, and I am not going to go through the whole litany 
here, because it is a big package, but the Simplifying Access 
to Outdoor Recreation Act, the SOAR Act, which I have been 
proud to partner with my colleague, John Curtis from Utah, on, 
and which I led in the prior Congress, which would essentially 
reform special use permits to expand recreational opportunities 
and promote access to our nation's public lands.
    I also am very excited to see many of my Democratic 
colleagues' priorities included in this legislation. There are 
provisions from Representative Barragan's Outdoors for All Act; 
Representative Stansbury's Promoting Accessibility on Federal 
Lands Act; and of course, my good friend, Representative Levin 
from California, who has worked for years to get the GROW Act 
across the finish line, and I am excited that his legislation 
is included in this package. It includes incredibly important 
provisions, in connection to the Every Kid's Outdoors program, 
as well. And suffice to say, this is a monumental piece of 
legislation that I think is going to protect our public lands 
and expand outdoor recreation for years to come.
    And again, I want to thank the Chairman, the Ranking 
Member, and, of course, the Chairman of the Subcommittee, 
Chairman Tiffany, for their partnership.
    I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. I know this 
will be an iterative process here in the coming weeks and 
months as we work to improve and enhance the legislation, and I 
am certainly looking forward to hearing from the two Coloradans 
on today's panel, as well. We are punching above our weight 
class in terms of the population size of our state, so to have 
two of the six witnesses here from the great state of Colorado 
certainly gives me great pride.
    I thank the Chairman, and I thank the witnesses.
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Mr. Neguse, and we will certainly 
be keeping score in that regard.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. I will now recognize the Chairman of the Full 
Committee, Mr. Westerman.

  STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRUCE WESTERMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
              CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARKANSAS

    Mr. Westerman. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany, and thank you 
to all the witnesses for being here today. It is an honor to be 
here to talk about some important legislation that will 
transform recreational experiences on our public lands across 
the nation and in my home state of Arkansas, as well.
    Our public lands are treasures that are owned by the 
American people, and we want to ensure that American people are 
always able to have access to these lands, to enjoy these 
lands. We want to be good stewards of these lands and take care 
of them so that people who will come after us long after we are 
gone will be able to have the same experiences, just like 
people who were here generations before us were able to 
experience the great outdoors of America.
    I will brag about my home state a little bit. It is 
actually called the Natural State. That is our state motto, and 
it is for a reason. The Ouachita and Ozark National Forest are 
there, and Hot Springs National Park, where I am from. It was 
the first land set aside by the Federal Government in reserve, 
predating Yellowstone by decades. We also have the Buffalo 
National River, which was the first National Wild and Scenic 
River ever established in the United States. They are not only 
in my home state, but all of those are in my district.
    We also have many fish and wildlife areas. We have, I would 
say, the world's best duck hunting in the state of Arkansas in 
the White River, which is not in my district, but the White 
River National Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful place, as well. 
These are world class destinations. They are there for people 
who like to mountain bike, who like to hike, camp, rock climb, 
float, hunt, fish, and much, much more.
    These recreational activities are not just a part of our 
outdoor economy, they are a part of our heritage. And I believe 
that is a shared heritage of enjoying and recreating on our 
public lands, a heritage that has brought us together to form 
the EXPLORE Act.
    This legislation, as has been said, is bipartisan, it is 
bicameral, and it didn't come from the top down. There are more 
than 15 individual bills in here from Members on both sides of 
the aisle that have been worked on for years.
    One piece of legislation that I am particularly excited 
about in this package is my Ouachita National Forest Overnight 
Camping Act, which would reopen a beloved camping area that has 
been closed for over a decade. I would like to thank Katherine 
Andrews, the Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor 
Recreation, for joining us today and for highlighting the 
importance of restoring this camping area for my constituents 
and for many people who live outside of my district, as well.
    I am also pleased that the Protecting America's Rock 
Climbing Act is included in this legislation, as Arkansas, 
which is surprising to many, is a world-class rock-climbing 
destination. I am pleased that we are joined here today by 
Sasha DiGiulian. Did I get that right? She participated in our 
press conference yesterday. She is a professional rock climber 
who has worked on a provision in the EXPLORE Act that would 
allow for the continued use of fixed anchors in wilderness 
areas for rock climbers. I have not done a lot of rock 
climbing, but I know when you hook onto one of those anchors, 
you want to know that it is a good anchor.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Westerman. There is a lot hanging on that.
    And like Chairman Tiffany said in his opening statement, 
whether you like scaling 1,000-foot limestone cliffs or 
floating down a river, you need reliable and easy access. I 
believe our public lands should be accessible to all, and I am 
proud that the EXPLORE Act includes provisions targeted at 
making these lands accessible to our military service members, 
veterans, Gold Star families, individuals with disabilities, 
and kids.
    I especially want to thank Ranking Member Grijalva for his 
work on this legislation, as well as Ranking Member Neguse, and 
also Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso on the Senate 
side for their hard work on the bill.
    Of course, this legislation would not be possible without 
the support of outside groups such as the Outdoor Recreation 
Roundtable, who have long advocated for comprehensive outdoor 
recreation policy. I want to thank ORR's President, Jess 
Turner, for being here today to talk about the impact this bill 
will have, as has been mentioned, on the over $1 trillion 
outdoor recreation economy.
    I hope that this hearing is the first step that we can take 
to get this bipartisan legislation signed into law quickly so 
that every man, woman, and child in this country can get out 
and explore the vast greatness of our public lands and all that 
they have to offer.
    Again, I want to thank our panel of witnesses and the 
experts that are here today. I look forward to hearing each of 
your testimonies.
    With that, I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Chairman Westerman. Now I would 
like to recognize the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Mr. 
Grijalva.

  STATEMENT OF THE HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
               CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA

    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and the comments 
that I have, I will submit them for the record. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman, Mr. Neguse, Chairman Westerman for their partnership 
in bringing the elements and the package of the EXPLORE Act 
before us today, and the witnesses, welcome them, as well. It 
is an important step. It is common ground for all of us, 
politically speaking and policy speaking. And I am appreciative 
of the work that has gone into this, and also to acknowledge 
our respective staffs for the time and effort that they put in.
    With that, I will submit the formal statement for the 
record. And I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you very much, Mr. Neguse. Now we will 
move on to our witness panel--my apologies, Mr. Grijalva.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Grijalva. I don't know which one of us is offended.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. I think either way I lose here.
    Let me remind the witnesses--I have to rewrite my script 
here, don't I?
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. Let me remind the witnesses that under the 
Committee Rules, you must limit your oral statements to 5 
minutes, but your entire statement will appear in the hearing 
record.
    To begin your testimony, please press the ``on'' button on 
the microphone.
    We use timing lights. When you begin, the light will turn 
green. At the end of 5 minutes, the light will turn red, and I 
will ask you to please complete your statement.
    First, I would like to introduce Mr. Chris French, Deputy 
Chief of the National Forest System at the U.S. Forest Service.
    Deputy Chief French, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 
Welcome back to the Committee.

   STATEMENT OF CHRIS FRENCH, DEPUTY CHIEF, NATIONAL FOREST 
          SYSTEM, U.S. FOREST SERVICE, WASHINGTON, DC

    Mr. French. Thank you, and what a pleasure it is to be here 
on this day to talk about this bill. Good afternoon, Chairman 
Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, Chairman Westerman, Ranking 
Member Grijalva. I am Chris French, Deputy Chief for the 
National Forest System, and I am glad to be here on behalf of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to talk about the EXPLORE 
Act, and to focus on one of the most critical pieces of public 
land management of our National Forest System, the focus on 
where most Americans first engage public lands, which is 
through recreational activities.
    The Forest Service provides countless opportunities for the 
public to connect with the outdoors. Providing equitable access 
is important for us for many reasons, for community well-being, 
and economic opportunity, and we are currently focusing on 
building a new contemporary vision for how we deliver 
recreation access across our National Forest System through our 
reimagined recreation initiative focused on engaging diverse, 
existing new audiences to develop a National Recreation Action 
Plan that sets clear priorities for the Agency and identifies 
what sort of conditions and pathways we need to get there.
    Outdoor recreation attracts people to visit, live, and work 
in communities, especially rural communities associated with 
our public lands, and supports the health, well-being, and 
economic vitality of those communities. In Fiscal Year 2021, 
recreation on National Forest System lands contributed more 
than $13.7 billion to America's gross domestic product, and 
supported more than 161,000 full and part-time jobs, the vast 
majority of which are in gateway and rural communities.
    Recreation on national forests is most people's first 
experience with the Agency, and it is where their memories are 
made, it is where they bring their families, and the people can 
choose their own adventure however they wish on our national 
forests.
    Visitation to America's national forests has increased 
steadily since 2021. Our initial analysis of the past year 
indicated that, again, we have had an increase and have over 
158 million national forest visits; 85 percent of those are 
based on recreation. These include nearly 25 million ski 
visits, 17 million wildlife visits, and over 114 million 
recreation visits, generating an estimated $11 billion in 
direct spending at the local or community level. This is the 
largest economic driver of the National Forest System. 
Recreation represents the largest economic output of the 
National Forest System.
    The Forest Service administers over 30,000 commercial 
recreation special use authorizations for activities that 
generate nearly $2 billion in revenue for special use 
authorization holders. In particular, the Forest Service 
administers 127 ski area permits and approximately 8,000 
outfitting and guiding permits. According to the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, as of November of the past year the outdoor 
recreation economy accounted for $1.1 trillion in total 
economic output.
    We value the support of this Committee and the bill 
sponsors to address the issues of streamlining of our 
authorities to make them more efficient and equitable for 
everyone. This important work happens concurrently with our 
facilities work made possible by the tremendous support of 
Congress when they provided the funding for the Forest Service 
and other public land management agencies through the Great 
American Outdoors Act. Supporting our facilities is vital to 
any and every outfitter guide who utilizes public lands to 
bring outdoor recreation's many benefits to everyone.
    Since the passage of GAOA, major infrastructure investments 
to improve public land access and recreational opportunities 
have occurred on over 615 recreation sites and over 8,000 miles 
of trails. With certain exceptions, the United States 
Department of Agriculture has previously testified before this 
Subcommittee and its counterpart in the Senate in support of 
the goals and intent of the provisions of the draft EXPLORE 
Act.
    The USDA would like to note some high-profile issues from 
our prior testimony.
    The Agency recently released proposed guidance on rock 
climbing, which is an important topic in this legislation. We 
are committed to our public comment periods and creating a 
workable solution for all users.
    Commercial filming is also a noteworthy inclusion, and the 
Agency would like to discuss this proposal, as it does create a 
regulatory environment and fee structure that we would like to 
engage the Committee on.
    Finally, the methodology for calculating fees and allowing 
permit holders and concessionaires to choose from multiple 
options is another area that we would like to talk about 
consistent approaches with the Committee.
    However, the Department appreciates the interest from the 
Committee in all of these bills and the Forest Service to work 
through some of the guidance that we have provided, and we are 
committed to work with the Committee to ensure that this goes 
forward.
    Thank you for this focus on recreation and the time to be 
in front of the Committee today.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. French follows:]
   Prepared Statement of Chris French, Deputy Chief, National Forest 
         System, U.S. Department of Agriculture--Forest Service
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

    Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and Members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for inviting the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA), Forest Service, to discuss the ``Expanding Public 
Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act'' or the ``EXPLORE Act.''
    The Forest Service provides countless opportunities for the public 
to connect with the outdoors by recreating on National Forests and 
Grasslands. Equitable access is important for so many reasons including 
community well-being and economic opportunity. USDA appreciates the 
recognition by this Subcommittee of the importance of recreation on 
Federal lands to our national economy, as well as the sustained 
interest in finding solutions to recreation management challenges. We 
understand these challenges, and we know we can further enhance 
recreation opportunities on Federal lands. We are building our vision, 
called Reimagine Recreation, by engaging with new and diverse audiences 
to develop a national recreation action plan that sets clear priorities 
for the agency and identifies the conditions and pathways to get us 
there. The Reimagine Recreation effort is built on a Forest Service-, 
community-, and partner-driven collaborative planning effort aimed at 
coalescing shared interests and maximizing the greatest good. USDA is 
building on the momentum created through the Great American Outdoors 
Act as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Under the BIL, 
the Forest Service received $35 million to improve infrastructure at 
developed recreation sites where visitation demands are affecting 
public safety, the environment, and the visitor experience, as well as 
$20 million to support Forest Service regions in implementing a 
comprehensive recreation cabin strategy, including renovating existing 
cabins and historic buildings and constructing new cabins. We look 
forward to keeping you apprised of all these efforts and believe they 
can address many of the issues targeted by the proposed legislation we 
are discussing today.
BACKGROUND

    The USDA Forest Service manages 155 national forests and 20 
national grasslands, comprising 193 million acres in 41 states and 
Puerto Rico. National forest and grassland outdoor recreation offers 
the widest possible array of opportunities to experience Federal lands, 
and are home to three million acres of lakes, 400,000 miles of streams, 
130 Wild and Scenic Rivers for rafting, kayaking and other watersports, 
and 163,706 miles of trails for horseback riding, hiking, snowmobiling, 
mountain biking, hunting, and more.
    The Forest Service is deeply committed to connecting all Americans 
to the outdoors, and the agency values the important role played by 
outfitters and guides, resorts, non-profit organizations, and other 
concessioners in connecting people to recreation opportunities in the 
national forests and grasslands. Outdoor recreation attracts people to 
visit, live, and work in gateway and rural communities and supports the 
health, well-being, and economic vitality of those communities. In 
Fiscal Year 2021, recreation on National Forest System (NFS) lands 
contributed more than $13.7 billion to America's gross domestic product 
and supported more than 161,500 full- and part-time jobs, the vast 
majority of which are in gateway and rural communities.
    In Fiscal Year 2021, there were 156 million recreation visits to 
national forests and grasslands. When we include the number of people 
who pass through these beautiful forests and grasslands to enjoy the 
scenery and travel on scenic roads and byways, that number increases to 
456 million visits. Recreation pressure has been particularly 
significant in national forests close to urban areas. Moreover, the 
recreation program on NFS lands sustains more private sector jobs per 
program dollar than any other Forest Service program. Outdoor 
recreation opportunities and amenities are consistently ranked as one 
of the primary reasons people move to rural towns and can be a leading 
contributor to small town economies. The Forest Service administers 
over 30,000 commercial recreation special use authorizations for 
activities that generate nearly $2 billion in revenue for special use 
authorization holders. In particular, the Forest Service administers 
127 ski area permits and approximately 8,000 outfitting and guiding 
permits. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as of November 
2023, the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent ($563.7 
billion dollars) of America's gross domestic product.
    USDA recognizes the important role and needs of gateway communities 
in sustaining the recreation economy. We are helping to invest in 
community well-being, expand the outdoor recreation economy, and 
enhance accessibility on NFS trails and at developed recreation sites. 
The Forest Service partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency and the Northern Border Regional Commission to launch the 
Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program, which provides 
planning assistance to help rural communities leverage outdoor 
recreation as an economic development strategy. USDA's Forest Service, 
Rural Development, and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture 
are also collaborating to target the recreation economies of rural 
forest gateway communities for technical expertise and funding to 
develop recreation infrastructure and capacity beyond the boundaries of 
NFS lands. We have identified a strong need to engage across 
jurisdictions in more comprehensive recreation planning to identify 
sustainable solutions to the growing demand for outdoor recreation on 
Federal lands.
EXPLORE ACT

    The discussion draft of the EXPLORE Act sets out to ``improve 
recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal 
public land.'' The draft bill compiles several separate recreation-
related bills that relate to public recreation on Federal lands, 
gateway communities, access, permitting, and other provisions included 
in the following titles.
Title I: Outdoor Recreation and Infrastructure

    The first title of the draft bill would include a declaration of 
policy that states the Federal Government's interest in fostering and 
encouraging recreation, would direct Federal land management agencies 
to identify recreation opportunities, would formally establish the 
Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation, and would require 
the Office of Management and Budget to produce a budgetary report about 
outdoor recreation.
    This title would also address many important recreation issues on 
Federal lands and waters, including biking on long-distance trails, 
rock climbing, camping, commercial filming, invasive species 
prevention, and other important recreation management issues. The bill 
would address overcrowding and gateway community issues, as well as 
broadband connectivity on Federal recreation lands and waters. In 
addition, this title would address public-private partnerships on 
Federal Lands and waters, including such issues as Federal employee 
housing, campground modernization, and parking opportunities at 
federally owned developed recreation sites.

Title II: Access America

    The second title of the draft bill would require the Federal land 
management agencies to conduct a comprehensive assessment of outdoor 
recreation facilities under their jurisdiction with the goal of 
enhancing access for individuals with disabilities. This title would 
also direct the Federal land management agencies to work with the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense to promote 
outdoor recreation to veterans and military servicemembers and to 
coordinate with the Department of Veterans Affairs on that effort. This 
title would also direct the Federal land management agencies to develop 
a joint strategy for increasing the number of young people visiting 
Federal recreational lands and waters and would extend the Every Kid 
Outdoors authority for seven years.

Title III: Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation

    The third title of the draft bill would change authorization of 
outfitting and guiding on Federal lands. The draft bill would also 
amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and reauthorize that 
Act until 2031. This title would revise issuance of special recreation 
permits for new and existing uses and replace and amend the existing 
Service First authority used by Federal land management agencies to 
streamline their operations and enhance customer service. This title 
would further makes changes to concessioner liability and insurance 
requirements as well as cost recovery authorities. Additionally, this 
title would make changes to Federal land management agencies' volunteer 
programs. Finally, this title would establish good neighbor authority 
for recreation services and make other amendments to authorities 
governing commercial recreation permits issued by Federal land 
management agencies.
    With certain exceptions, USDA has previously testified before this 
subcommittee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in 
support of the goals and intent of several provisions of the draft 
EXPLORE Act. USDA would like to note some high-profile issues and 
concerns from its prior testimony. For instance, Forest Service 
recently published for public comment proposed guidance on climbing 
opportunities on NFS lands, including in wilderness, consistent with 
requirements described Section 122 of this Act, and the Joint 
Explanatory Statement that accompanied the 2021 Consolidated 
Appropriations Act. Additionally, the draft EXPLORE Act extends the 
Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act through 2031. Should that 
authority expire, implementation of many elements of this Act would be 
impacted. The EXPLORE Act also includes the Federal Interior Land Media 
Act, which USDA continues to believe would create confusion for permit 
administrators and the public, would impose unnecessary paperwork 
burdens on the public, and could result in resource damage. The 
provision in Section 311 allowing concessioners to choose their land 
use fee calculation method would be inconsistent with existing Federal 
law requiring land use fees based on fair market value, would be 
extremely challenging to implement, and would cause wide variation in 
permit administration.
    The Forest Service also strives to ensure developed recreation 
sites on all NFS lands, including the Ouachita National Forest, are 
located outside the 100-year floodplain for visitor safety reasons and 
litigation risk. USDA would like to work with the committee and bill 
sponsors to explore how best to maximize the visitor experience and 
address public safety at developed recreation sites operated and 
maintained by the Forest Service while minimizing the potential 
liability of the United States.
    USDA appreciates the interest from the committee in working with 
the Forest Service to address concerns previously identified in 
testimony and concerns identified in new provisions of the draft bill. 
USDA looks forward to further reviewing the draft bill to better 
understand how these issues have been addressed as well as to analyze 
the implications of new provisions for recreation opportunities on 
National Forest System lands. After this review, we would like to 
provide additional recommendations and comments, including technical 
amendments, before the committee moves forward with this legislation.
CONCLUSION

    Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the draft bill. USDA 
looks forward to continued work with the Committee and bill sponsors as 
they further develop the legislation.

                                 ______
                                 
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you very much, Deputy Chief French. I 
would now like to introduce Mr. Michael Reynolds, Director for 
Congressional and External Relations at the National Park 
Service.
    Director Reynolds, welcome back to the Committee, and you 
have 5 minutes.

     STATEMENT OF MICHAEL T. REYNOLDS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR 
 CONGRESSIONAL AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, 
                         WASHINGTON, DC

    Mr. Reynolds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Tiffany, 
Ranking Member Neguse, Mr. Westerman, Mr. Grijalva, and members 
of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide 
the views of the Department of the Interior on the newly-
introduced EXPLORE Act. I would like to submit the Department's 
full written statement for the record, and summarize our views.
    I would note that our written statement refers to the bill 
as a discussion draft, because that is what it was until just 
yesterday. when it was introduced.
    The Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of 
Reclamation all contribute to the Department's overall 
recreation mission and the Secretary's recreation and equitable 
access priorities. The places managed by these bureaus, as well 
as those managed by the U.S. Forest Service Army Corps of 
Engineers, provide a diversity of outdoor recreation 
experiences for tens of millions of Americans each day, and 
improve the social well-being of urban and rural communities 
across the United States.
    Outdoor recreation also contributes significantly to the 
national economy and the economies of local communities, as we 
have all just been talking about.
    The EXPLORE Act includes multiple individual measures 
related to outdoor rec and resource management on these Federal 
lands, many of which were first introduced as separate bills. 
Our written statement summarizes the bill, title by title.
    The individual provisions of the EXPLORE Act are 
representative of the wide range of issues and interests that 
Federal land management agencies are responsible for managing 
on behalf of the American people. The Department appreciates 
the willingness of Congress to engage with these complex issues 
thoughtfully, and is broadly supportive of congressional 
efforts to provide the Federal land management agencies with 
greater authorities and flexibility to respond to the changing 
needs and evolving challenges in a time of increased 
visitation.
    The Department has previously testified on many of the 
provisions in the EXPLORE Act in the 117th and 118th 
Congresses. Although we have been supportive of the goals of 
many of these provisions, we have opposed or expressed 
significant concern on some others. We have appreciated the 
interest from the Committee in working with us to address these 
concerns, and the Department previously identified through its 
testimony proposed amendments and technical assistance.
    However, it is important that we further review the bill to 
better understand how these concerns and recommendations have 
been addressed. We need to analyze the implication that the 
bill's provisions, both those that we have seen before and 
those that are new, might have for the management of our 
Bureau's resources and services. After this review, we would 
like to provide additional recommendations and comments, 
including technical amendments before the Committee moves 
forward with this legislation.
    Through its land management bureaus, the Department is 
continually striving to improve its ability to provide 
outstanding recreational opportunities balanced with the need 
to preserve and protect the incredible resources the land 
management bureaus were established to steward. The EXPLORE Act 
represents an important opportunity to support these goals.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement, and I would be 
pleased to answer any questions ahead that you may have.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Reynolds follows:]
    Prepared Statement of Michael T. Reynolds, Deputy Director for 
                 Congressional and External Relations,
         National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

    Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide the views of the 
U.S. Department of the Interior (Department) on the discussion draft of 
H.R. ____, the EXPLORE Act. This discussion draft includes multiple 
individual measures related to outdoor recreation and resource 
management on Federal lands, many of which have been first introduced 
as separate bills in this Congress.
    Federal land management agencies oversee approximately 640 million 
surface acres. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for 
approximately 245 million acres, while the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) 
manages another 193 million acres. Most other Federal land is managed 
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with over 95 million 
acres, and the National Park Service (NPS), with approximately 80 
million acres. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers also manage Federal lands used for recreation.
    The Department's bureaus, including the BLM, FWS, NPS, and 
Reclamation, contribute to its overall recreation mission and the 
Secretary's recreation and equitable access priorities. The National 
Park System, which preserves some of our nation's most important 
national treasures, hosts over 300 million visitors annually. The 
public lands managed by the BLM host a remarkable variety of 
recreational activities and received more than 73 million recreational 
visits in 2022--an increase of three million visits from 2019. The 
National Wildlife Refuge System welcomes more than 67 million visitors 
annually and provides world-renowned places for visitors to engage in 
wildlife-dependent recreational activities, such as birding, fishing, 
and hunting. The water projects of Reclamation, which is the largest 
wholesale water supplier in the nation, are among America's most 
popular sites for water-based outdoor recreation.
    Our Nation's federal lands, waters, and the fish, wildlife and 
plants they support are an important resource for the American public. 
These places provide a diversity of outdoor recreation experiences for 
tens of millions of Americans each day and improve the social well-
being of urban and rural communities across the United States. These 
recreational opportunities are supported by agency work both on and off 
Federal lands. Outdoor recreation also contributes significantly to the 
national economy and the economies of local communities.
    Significant investments from the Great American Outdoors Act, the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and recent 
emergency disaster supplemental appropriations have supported the NPS, 
BLM, and FWS in addressing critical needs and enhancing or recovering 
the visitor experience. Yet, these Federal land management bureaus face 
many of the same challenges and constraints that other Federal 
agencies, cities, towns, organizations, and businesses face across the 
country.
    The individual provisions of the discussion draft are 
representative of the wide range of issues and interests that Federal 
land management agencies are responsible for managing on behalf of the 
American people. The Department appreciates the willingness of Congress 
to engage with these complex issues thoughtfully and is broadly 
supportive of congressional efforts to provide the various Federal land 
management agencies under its jurisdiction with greater authorities and 
flexibility to respond, based on the best available data and evidence, 
to changing needs and evolving challenges in a time of increased 
visitation to our Federal lands.
    The Department has previously testified on many of the provisions 
of the discussion draft of H.R. ____, the EXPLORE Act, in prior 
hearings in the 117th and 118th Congresses. Although we have been 
supportive of the goals of many of these provisions in testimony, we 
have opposed or expressed significant concerns on other provisions. We 
have appreciated the interest from the Committee in working with the 
Department to address the concerns the Department previously identified 
through testimony, proposed amendments, and technical assistance. 
However, it is important that we continue to further review the 
discussion draft to better understand how these concerns and 
recommendations have been addressed, as well as to analyze the 
implications that these and several new provisions might have for the 
management of resources and services by the Department's bureaus. After 
this review, we would like to provide additional recommendations and 
comments, including technical amendments, before the committee moves 
forward with this legislation.
    We defer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding 
provisions affecting the management of lands administered by the USFS.
Title I: Outdoor Recreation and Infrastructure

    The first title of the discussion draft includes a declaration of 
policy that states the Federal Government's interest in fostering and 
encouraging recreation, directs Federal land management agencies to 
identify recreation opportunities, and requires the Office of 
Management and Budget to produce a crosscut budget report related to 
the funding of outdoor recreation. It statutorily establishes the 
Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation, a multi-agency 
council including representatives from the BLM, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, FWS, NPS, Reclamation, USFS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    This title of the discussion draft also addresses many important 
recreation issues on Federal lands and waters. Topics include biking on 
long distance trails, rock climbing and filming on Federal lands, 
motorized and nonmotorized access maps on certain public lands, and 
invasive species prevention on Federal lands and waters, among other 
provisions. The discussion draft also considers the impacts of 
increased visitation on Federal lands and waters and on the communities 
that are adjacent to them, as well as broadband connectivity at 
developed recreation sites.
    This title of the discussion draft also focuses on partnerships to 
address issues including housing options for Federal employees, 
cooperative management of Federal lands and waters, campground 
modernization on certain public lands, and parking opportunities at 
certain Federal developed recreation sites.
    Finally, this title of the discussion draft would codify the 
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership grant program.
Title II: Access America

    The second title of the discussion draft focuses on access to 
Federal lands and waters. This title would require the Federal land 
management agencies to carry out a comprehensive assessment of outdoor 
recreation facilities under their jurisdiction with the goal of 
enhancing access for individuals with disabilities. This title also 
directs the Federal land management agencies to work in partnership 
with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense to 
promote outdoor recreation to veterans and military servicemembers and 
to liaise with the Department of Veterans Affairs toward that effort. 
This title also directs the Federal land management agencies to jointly 
develop a strategy for increasing the number of young people visiting 
Federal recreation lands and waters and reauthorizes the popular Every 
Kid Outdoors program for several years.
Title III: Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation

    The third title of the discussion draft makes changes to the 
authorizations that Federal land management agencies use to authorize 
and permit certain providers of recreation services on Federal lands 
and waters. The discussion draft would amend the Federal Lands 
Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) and make changes to the process for 
administration and issuance of special recreation permits and 
requirements related to concessioner liability. The discussion draft 
would also extend the sunset date of FLREA through fiscal year 2031 and 
directs the agencies to consider extending recreation seasons. This 
title would also replace and amend the Service First authority and 
would modify volunteer programs conducted by the Federal land 
management agencies. Finally, this title provides a good neighbor 
authority for recreation services and makes other changes to the 
authorities that govern permits issued by Federal land management 
agencies.
    The Department appreciates the efforts of the Committee to engage 
on these complex and important issues and looks forward to closely 
reviewing this discussion draft and working with the Committee and 
providing additional recommendations and comments, including technical 
amendments, on this draft legislation. Through its land management 
bureaus, the Department is continually striving to improve its ability 
to provide outstanding recreational opportunities while preserving and 
protecting the incredible resources the land management bureaus were 
established to steward. The discussion draft of H.R. ____, the EXPLORE 
Act, represents an important opportunity to support those goals.
    Chairman Tiffany, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased 
to answer any questions you or other members of the Subcommittee may 
have.

                                 ______
                                 

    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you very much, Director Reynolds. I will 
now recognize Ms. Jessica Turner, President of the Outdoor 
Recreation Roundtable.
    Ms. Turner, good to have you here. You have 5 minutes.

STATEMENT OF JESSICA WAHL TURNER, PRESIDENT, OUTDOOR RECREATION 
                   ROUNDTABLE, WASHINGTON, DC

    Ms. Turner. Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and 
members of the Committee, on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation 
Roundtable, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony 
in support of the EXPLORE Act, truly historic legislation that 
will increase access to and equity in the outdoors, strengthen 
the outdoor recreation economy, and provide better 
opportunities for everyone to enjoy our shared public lands and 
waters.
    ORR is the nation's leading coalition of outdoor recreation 
associations, collectively representing more than 110,000 
American outdoor businesses and the full spectrum of outdoor-
related activities. As we have heard today, data released 
earlier this month by the Department of Commerce shows that in 
2022 outdoor recreation generated $1.1 trillion in gross output 
and 5 million American jobs, comprising 2.2 percent of the U.S. 
GDP and 3.2 percent of all U.S. employees, and doubling the 
growth of the national economy in all indicators.
    The EXPLORE Act is the culmination of years of hard work by 
Members of Congress and their staffs, as well as partners from 
across the outdoor industry, states, and the conservation 
community. It is the first-ever recreation package that 
combines many bipartisan and bicameral bills into a single 
piece of legislation, lifting all boats in the recreation 
economy's rising tide. The landmark package contains bills that 
have existed for years, as well as newer concepts that would 
create more transparency and certainty for businesses operating 
on or near public lands, and better experiences for the 165 
million Americans who recreate outside every year.
    With increased visitation and participation, as more people 
flock to the outdoors and value how important time outside is 
to physical, mental, and societal health, there are many 
opportunities before us, but also growing challenges to 
consider. How do we accommodate more visitors while ensuring 
quality outdoor recreation experiences and the continued health 
of our shared national treasures? How do we support businesses 
impacted by canceled trips from closures of fires, floods, 
droughts, and other natural disasters? And how can we advance 
equitable access to front and backcountry recreation 
experiences?
    Thankfully, you all came together to develop a 
comprehensive legislation that addresses these challenges and 
more, and the Federal Government now has the necessary tools, 
if we pass this bill, to manage recreation for our businesses, 
our visitors, tribes, states, and the communities who rely on 
recreation assets.
    Whether it is a manufacturer in Wisconsin, a guide and 
outfitter in Arkansas or Arizona, or a family-owned diner 
outside a popular national park in Colorado, the EXPLORE Act 
provides much-needed certainty through good government. Now is 
the time to update these antiquated systems and manage for 21st 
century recreation demands that will provide opportunities for 
Americans in every corner of the country to benefit from time 
spent outside.
    And these common-sense provisions do not cost taxpayers any 
additional money. On the contrary, if this bill passes, it is 
likely to bring in new revenue as we manage lands with better 
tools and data.
    Long-standing components like the SOAR Act will streamline 
permitting to provide significant improvements not just for 
guides and outfitters, but also non-profits and education 
institutions that have been burdened by a complicated process 
that too often places undue stress on business owners and 
employees whose livelihoods depend on their ability to obtain 
these permits.
    The bill contains other important aspects like establishing 
online payment processing for certain Federal fees and passes, 
enabling Americans to plan their visits from the comfort of 
their home. It also engages the private sector in volunteer 
opportunities to efficiently steward our public lands and 
enhance recreation opportunities in shoulder seasons.
    New provisions will help break down government silos so we 
can see a better return on investment from taxpayer dollars and 
come up with the best policies for our industry's biggest 
opportunities and challenges. As outdoor recreation continues 
to grow in importance from rural economic development to 
transportation, health, and equity, this level of coordination 
across agencies is critical.
    Additionally, the bill will help communities plan for 
authentic and sustainable recreation economies as more people 
choose to live where they can work and play, and businesses are 
now using recreation access and the outdoors as a recruitment 
and retention strategy. Addressing housing and overcrowding and 
workforce development is critical to supporting not only the 
conservation of our natural resources, but also the small to 
mid-sized Main Street businesses who are really the backbone of 
so many communities.
    As Congress has many areas of disagreement, this 
legislation has become a beacon of bipartisan cooperation and 
consensus building that highlights the importance of 
policymakers working together, developing innovative solutions, 
and partnering with a diverse group of stakeholders.
    Everyone wins when our industry is able to do what we do 
best: create jobs, healthy communities, people, and economies. 
There is no bigger and better legislative priority for the 
entire recreation industry than passing the EXPLORE Act. We 
hope this transformative bill will be signed into law this year 
as a win for Republicans and Democrats, American businesses, 
and the American people not just of today, but the future 
generations of outdoor enthusiasts. The time is now to get this 
done, and the entire industry stands with you. Thank you again.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Turner follows:]
     Prepared Statement of Jessica Wahl Turner, President, Outdoor 
                         Recreation Roundtable
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

    Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and members of the 
committee, on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, thank you 
for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of the EXPLORE 
Act--historic legislation that will increase access to and equity in 
the outdoors, strengthen the outdoor recreation economy, and provide 
better opportunities for everyone to enjoy our shared public lands and 
waters.
    ORR is the nation's leading coalition of outdoor recreation 
associations collectively representing more than 110,000 outdoor 
businesses and the full spectrum of outdoor-related activities. Data 
released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau 
of Economic Analysis shows that in 2022 outdoor recreation generated 
$1.1 trillion in gross output and 5 million American jobs, comprising 
2.2% of the nation's economy and 3.2% of all U.S. employees. The data 
also shows that from 2021-2022 the recreation economy grew 2.5 times 
faster than the U.S. economy as a whole and our job growth doubled that 
of the national economy as we continued to see more people flocking to 
the outdoors and valuing how important time outside is to our mental, 
physical, and societal health.
    The EXPLORE Act is the culmination of years of hard work by Members 
of Congress and their staffs--including many on this committee--as well 
as non-government partners from across the outdoor industry, states and 
conservation community. It is the first-ever recreation package that 
combines many bipartisan and bicameral bills into a single piece of 
legislation, lifting all boats in the recreation economy's rising tide.
    This landmark package is truly transformative; it contains many 
bills that have existed for years, including the Simplifying Outdoor 
Access for Recreation Act, Recreation Not Red Tape Act, and Outdoors 
for All Act, as well as newer concepts like the Biking on Long-Distance 
Trails Act, Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act, Federal 
Interior Land Media Act, and more. If passed, EXPLORE would create more 
transparency and certainty for businesses operating on or near public 
lands and better experiences for the nearly 165 million Americans who 
benefit from outdoor recreation activities each year.
    With the increased visitation and participation numbers our 
industry has seen since the beginning of the pandemic, there are many 
opportunities before us but also growing challenges to consider. How do 
we accommodate more visitors while ensuring quality outdoor recreation 
experiences and the continued health of our shared natural treasures? 
How do we support businesses impacted by canceled trips or closures 
from fires, floods, droughts, and other natural disasters? How do we 
make sure communities have the assistance they need to support 
sustainable recreation? How can we advance equitable access to front 
and backcountry experiences? How do we modernize infrastructure to 
better serve visitors' changing needs and enjoyment of the outdoors? 
How do we coordinate across all the agencies implementing policies 
related to outdoor recreation?
    Thankfully, recreation champions came together, working across the 
aisle and all forms of outdoor activities, to develop this 
comprehensive legislation that address these issues and more, ensuring 
the federal government has the necessary tools to manage recreation for 
our businesses, visitors, Tribes, states, and the communities who rely 
on recreation assets. Whether it is a manufacturer in Wisconsin, a 
guide and outfitter in Arkansas, or a family-owned diner outside a 
popular national park in Colorado, businesses in our industry are like 
others in that they need certainty to continue to make investments in 
their employees and serve their customers. The EXPLORE Act provides 
this much-needed certainty through good government collaboration at the 
highest levels and on-the-ground tools to connect main street 
businesses with the benefits of recreation.
    The outdoor recreation community has been working with Congress to 
advance these policies for years. Now is the time to update antiquated 
systems and manage for 21st century recreation demands that will 
provide opportunities for Americans in every corner of the country to 
benefit from time spent outside. And, these commonsense bipartisan and 
bicameral provisions do not cost taxpayers any additional money. On the 
contrary, if passed this bill is likely to bring in new dollars for 
land and water management agencies as it includes more tools in the 
toolbox to manage lands with better data, which in turn will have an 
enormous impact on preserving natural resources and securing recreation 
opportunities for future outdoor enthusiasts.
    Long-standing components like the Simplifying Outdoor Access for 
Recreation Act (SOAR) will help streamline the permitting process on 
public lands to provide significant improvements for guides and 
outfitters, nonprofits, and education institutions that have been 
burdened by a process that too often does not authorize new permits. 
These businesses and organizations are often small and local and have 
limited staff and bandwidth. Despite these constraints, they spend 
months navigating complicated permit processes without any certainty 
they will receive agency approval to run the trips that will keep them 
in business next year. This extreme uncertainty places undue stress on 
business owners and employees whose livelihoods depend on their ability 
to obtain these permits. The EXPLORE Act would change that for the 
better.
    The Recreation Not Red Tape Act adds onto SOAR's benefits with 
important provisions like establishing online payment processing for 
certain federal passes and fees, enabling Americans to plan their 
visits from the comfort of home. It also engages the private sector in 
volunteer opportunities to efficiently address stewardship, which 
eliminates unnecessary duplication of efforts through interagency 
coordination, encourages land managers to account for outdoor 
recreation in planning efforts, and enhances outdoor recreation 
opportunities in shoulder seasons, among other necessary proposals.
    New provisions like the Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination 
Act--which would codify the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor 
Recreation (FICOR)--will help break down government silos so we can see 
a better return on investment for taxpayer dollars and come up with the 
best policies for our industries' biggest opportunities and challenges. 
As outdoor recreation continues to grow in importance--from rural 
economic development, conservation, and transportation to health and 
equity--this level of coordination is critical because it ensures that 
agencies are aligned internally and provides a single point of contact 
externally for outdoor recreation stakeholders--including our members 
and the adjacent conservation community.
    Additionally, the Gateway Communities and Recreation Enhancement 
Act will help communities plan for recreation in ways that support key 
areas like housing, over-crowding, and workforce development. More 
people are choosing to live where they can work and play and businesses 
are utilizing access to outdoor assets as a recruitment and retention 
strategy. Attention to the authentic and sustainable development of 
recreation economies in places near parks, forests, and Bureau of Land 
Management lands is critical to supporting not only conservation of 
those natural resources that are often the driving forces behind this 
growth, but also the small to mid-sized Main Street businesses who are 
the backbone of these communities.
    As Congress has many areas of disagreement between the two parties, 
it is also important to note how the EXPLORE Act is bringing both sides 
of the aisle together around shared priorities. This legislation is a 
beacon of bipartisan cooperation and consensus building that highlights 
the power of policymakers working together, developing innovative 
solutions, and partnering with a diverse group of stakeholders. 
Everyone wins when this collaboration occurs, and our industry is able 
to do what we do best: create healthy communities, jobs, people, and 
economies.
    There is no bigger legislative priority for the entire outdoor 
recreation industry than passing the EXPLORE Act. We hope this 
transformative bill will pass and be signed into law this year and we 
look forward to working with you and your Senate counterparts to ensure 
that happens. Thank you for your continued commitment to the outdoors 
and for advancing this important bill. The legislation discussed here 
today is a win for Republicans and Democrats, American businesses, and 
the American people--not just today but also future generations of 
outdoor lovers who will gain the same benefits we do from time spent in 
nature. The time is now to get this done and the entire industry stands 
with you. Thank you again.

                                 ______
                                 
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Ms. Turner. I would now like to 
recognize Mr. Luis Benitez, the Chief Impact Officer for the 
Trust for Public Land.
    Welcome, Mr. Benitez, and you have 5 minutes.

  STATEMENT OF LUIS BENITEZ, CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER, TRUST FOR 
                 PUBLIC LAND, DENVER, COLORADO

    Mr. Benitez. Good morning, Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member 
Neguse, and other members of the Subcommittee, and thank you 
for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Trust for 
Public Land to express our support for the EXPLORE Act, with an 
enthusiastic focus on the bipartisan Outdoors for All Act you, 
Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva, have included 
in this important legislation. Your leadership on this bill is 
an inspiring demonstration of your commitment to ensuring that 
everyone has access to a quality park, not just those who can 
afford to live near one. By codifying and enhancing one 
critical programmatic expression of that commitment, the 
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, or ORLP, that is exactly 
what the Outdoors for All Act will do.
    Mr. Chairman, my name is Luis Benitez, and it has been my 
great honor to have served in a wide spectrum of roles in 
support of outdoor recreation as an Outward Bound instructor in 
my younger days, then as a mountaineering guide who has led 
expeditions around the world, including six summits of Mount 
Everest, and was then appointed by then Governor, now Senator 
John Hickenlooper as the first Director of Colorado's Outdoor 
Recreation Industry Office, and now as the Chief Impact Officer 
for the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit 
organization working to connect everyone to the outdoors.
    From that diverse perspective, I could not agree more with 
my colleagues at the witness table on the vital importance of 
the outdoor recreation economy. I appreciate my good friend Ms. 
Turner's on-target reflections on the value of Federal 
leadership in guiding this continued juggernaut of outdoor 
recreation participation, and the rural and urban economic 
development opportunities in communities across the country 
that this massive participation creates.
    I can tell you that, without the kind of comprehensive 
attention to outdoor recreation that this bill represents, I 
fear the momentum of this trillion-dollar economy will begin to 
falter, and our outdoor recreation obligations to all Americans 
will fall woefully short.
    Outdoors for All will finally establish in law and make 
some important improvements to the ORLP that Congress has been 
funding for a decade and the Park Service has been 
administering. With recognizing that 100 million Americans, 
including 28 million kids, lack access to a park within a 10-
minute walk of their homes, ORLP provides vital support for our 
nation's more populous communities, where parks and open spaces 
are lacking, which deprives kids of the connection with nature 
that is part of their American inheritance.
    Reflect for a moment, if you can, to your first experience 
in a local park. Perhaps it was a school playground, perhaps a 
neighborhood gathering spot. Maybe it was filled with 
adventure, perhaps a little intimidating, depending on your age 
or the community you were in. Was it where you first noticed 
the seasons changing, collected leaves, played in the snow, 
climbed a tree, or simply reveled in unstructured play?
    Outdoors for All helps to codify equitable access to all of 
these things and more by expanding its reach and heightening 
its focus. By lowering ORLP's population threshold, it will 
bring the program's benefits for the first time to hundreds 
more cities and towns, including Superior, Wisconsin; 
Texarkana, Arkansas; and Florence, Arizona. And yes, I know 
those examples may have a particular resonance for a few 
members of this Committee.
    For the first time, ORLP would be open to direct 
participation by Indian tribes, Alaskan Natives, and Native 
Hawaiians, a particular priority for TPL that I know is shared 
by many of you.
    Prioritization language will help ensure that ORLP 
effectively works to close the outdoor access gap, and concise 
reporting language will ensure transparency and help facilitate 
your oversight.
    ORLP grants are creating new parks where recreational 
opportunities did not exist for Midway Peace Park in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota to North Deering Park in Portland, 
Maine, and to Disciple Park in Jonesboro, Arkansas. All of this 
emerging natural infrastructure, which contributes to our 
physical and mental health and helps us all to reconnect in a 
post-pandemic world, has never been more important.
    Mr. Chairman, this trillion-dollar outdoor economy just 
doesn't depend on designing and marketing awesome puffy vests 
and hiking boots. It relies on the protection of and the access 
to our parks and public lands. We need Outdoors for All, along 
with the broader coordinated approach to outdoor recreation 
that the EXPLORE Act represents. That is why today's hearing is 
so vital, and why enactment of this bill will be so 
consequential. TPL and I stand ready to help, and we are 
grateful to the sponsors for their remarkable leadership in 
this continued effort to provide equitable access to the great 
outdoors.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Benitez follows:]
  Prepared Statement of Luis Benitez, Chief Impact Officer, Trust for 
                              Public Land
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

Introduction

    Good morning, Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse and other 
members of the subcommittee, and thank you for the opportunity to 
appear today on behalf of Trust for Public Land to express our support 
for the EXPLORE Act, with an enthusiastic focus on the bipartisan 
Outdoors for All Act that you, Chairman Westerman, and Ranking Member 
Grijalva have included in this important legislation. Your leadership 
on this bill is a demonstration of your commitment to ensuring everyone 
has access to a quality park, not just those who can afford to live 
near one. By codifying and enhancing one critical programmatic 
expression of that commitment--the Outdoor Recreation Legacy 
Partnership, or ORLP--that is exactly what the Outdoors for All 
language will do. This and other critical provisions of your bill will 
be a huge boost to the outdoor access and experiences Americans need 
and deserve.
My Background

    Mr. Chairman, my name is Luis Benitez, and I serve as Chief Impact 
Officer for Trust for Public Land (TPL), whose staff I recently joined 
after a three-year term on TPL's national board of directors. My 
perspective, though, comes not just from my current day job, but from a 
connection to outdoor recreation that has been the through-line of my 
entire career. That experience includes my early days as an Outward 
Bound instructor, working with young people and adults to help them 
develop the confidence, critical thinking, and sense of self that only 
immersive encounters with nature can provide; my time as a climber and 
guide, having summitted the ``Seven Summits'' a total of 32 times, 
including six summits of Everest; my gratifying experience as an Eagle, 
CO City Councilman, and my subsequent appointment by then-Governor, 
now-Senator John Hickenlooper as the first director of our state's 
Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; my time in private industry as Vice 
President of Global Impact and Government Affairs for VF Corporation, 
the parent company of North Face and other outstanding outdoor brands; 
and my continuing role as an educator, serving on the faculty of the 
University of Colorado's Masters of the Environment program.
    That history has shown me just how powerful outdoor recreation is 
as a force in American life. I have seen the economic juggernaut it 
represents, as affirmed by statistics just released by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis showing the outdoor recreation economy now accounts 
for some $1.1 trillion annually in economic activity, over 2% of total 
domestic GDP, and over 3% of all employment--more than 5 million jobs. 
I have witnessed, up close and personal, the life-changing impacts it 
has each time we test ourselves in nature or just pause to take in its 
magic and majesty. And I have appreciated the surpassing impact it has 
across the nation at the community level, where economic vitality, 
public health, and quality of life in our neighborhoods, towns, and 
cities are all deeply affected by the presence or absence of 
opportunities for outdoor experiences.
    In that light, I am grateful for the broad approach the EXPLORE Act 
takes to enhancing public access to and experiences on America's public 
lands. Having overseen outdoor recreation for a state renowned for its 
natural wonders, I know firsthand the rewards we will reap nationally 
from the coordinated emphasis the Act would place on a full spectrum of 
outdoor recreation issues by codifying the Federal Interagency Council 
on Outdoor Recreation. I am similarly appreciative of a wide array of 
provisions in EXPLORE that would lower barriers to outdoor 
participation and enhance the outdoor experience for countless 
Americans. And I want to provide some particular focus today on one 
particular provision of EXPLORE that will address a particular need for 
community conservation and park access--the Outdoor Recreation Legacy 
Partnership language adapted, as section 113 of EXPLORE, from the 
Outdoors for All Act authored by Representatives Nanette Barragan and 
Mike Turner--and that lies at the heart of Trust for Public Land's 
support for this legislative package.
About Trust for Public Land, and the ``Park Access Gap''

    TPL is the leading national nonprofit organization working to 
connect everyone with the benefits and joys of the outdoors. We create 
parks collaboratively with communities and local governments so that 
Americans can have healthy, livable communities for generations to 
come.
    Since 1972, TPL has protected 4 million acres of public land and 
created 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places. 
We've raised $94 billion in state and local public funding for parks 
and public lands; and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the 
outdoors.
    Our mission has become even more critical over the last several 
years as the entire nation felt the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
When so many indoor places were closed, our nation's public parks and 
outdoor spaces served as a critical respite for Americans to engage 
safely with family and friends while also enjoying the outdoors.
    That national stress test affirmed what most of us intuitively have 
long understood, and what key data described below reinforce: outdoor 
public spaces are an essential part of American life, and that all 
children and families, regardless of their zip code, should have a 
quality park or outdoor space close to home, a place to play, exercise, 
unplug, and connect with others in our communities, with all the 
benefits that follow. Parks are critical infrastructure that improves 
quality of life and supports a healthy future, with particularly acute 
and demonstrated impacts on the physical and emotional well-being of 
kids, veterans, and others. They are instrumental in promoting well-
being, providing crucial nourishment in the form of better physical and 
mental health, increased social cohesion, relief from heat island 
effects, and natural defenses from flooding and other extreme weather 
events. While parks aren't the solution to every problem, they do 
provide multiple benefits to thriving communities.
    At TPL, we believe access to the outdoors is a fundamental human 
need and an inalienable right, and that all communities are stronger, 
healthier, and more connected when everyone can get outside and engage 
with nature. Across the nation, however, over 100 million people, 
including 28 million children, do not have access to a quality park 
within a 10-minute walk from home.
    Unfortunately, large disparities in park access persist, and they 
break down along familiar lines especially in low-income communities 
both in our big cities and our smaller towns. Over the course of TPL's 
50-year history, we have seen firsthand the park access gap faced by 
far too many in this great country: one in three Americans do not live 
with a park near their home, and those without access 
disproportionately reside in lower-income areas. In low-income 
communities, parks are smaller, more crowded, and less well-maintained 
than parks in higher-income communities. Parks serving primarily low-
income households are, on average, four times smaller than parks 
serving a majority of high-income households.
    TPL and our many partners--local community leaders and governments, 
private foundations and nonprofits, committed members of the House and 
Senate--are working to change this. We are engaged in these communities 
and work hand in hand with municipalities and local leaders with the 
goal of generating investments and funding for more parks. Communities 
need support from Congress to continue this important work; that is why 
we are grateful to so many House and Senate members, including many on 
this Committee, who support Outdoors for All, and to the EXPLORE Act 
sponsors for recognizing the urgency in including the Barragan-Turner 
Outdoors for All language in this bill.
More on the Benefits of Parks, Particularly in Low-Income Areas
Economic Benefits

    According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, the value added of the outdoor recreation economy accounted 
for 2.2 percent ($563.7 billion) of current-dollar gross domestic 
product (GDP) for the nation in 2022. At the state level, value added 
for outdoor recreation as a share of state GDP ranged from 5.6 percent 
in Hawaii to 1.4 percent in Connecticut. An investment in local parks 
is an investment in our nation's economy. Local parks in the US 
generate more than $150 billion in economic activity annually, and 
support over 1.1 million jobs. $1 million spent on parks creates, on 
average, between 16 and 23 jobs--on par with job creation rates from 
highway building.

    These cold hard statistics are themselves compelling, but they pale 
in comparison to the real-world impacts in communities where park 
investments truly light the way to a better future. Take for example 
these ORLP success stories:

        The Lincoln Park neighborhood is one of the most vulnerable in 
        Duluth, MN with higher unemployment and older housing stock. 
        However, that is changing with the revitalization of Lincoln 
        Park, which celebrated its reopening just over a month ago with 
        help from a $750,000 ORLP grant to update and rehabilitate this 
        site of one of Minnesota's oldest playgrounds. This 37-acre 
        park was originally constructed in 1908 and was the site of the 
        City's first playground. Today, the park features 1.5 miles of 
        hiking trails, a pavilion, outdoor grills, a playground, and 
        disc golf. ORLP funds were used to design Lincoln Park with 
        accessibility and community needs in mind. The plan included 
        efforts to highlight the historic and cultural significance of 
        the Indigenous community. The city worked with the Fond du Lac 
        tribe on including native history and Ojibwe language into the 
        interpretive signage. The revitalization of the park has not 
        only created much needed outdoor cultural and recreation space, 
        the Lincoln Park Craft Business District, is quickly 
        establishing itself as an incubator for entrepreneurs and a 
        shopping and entertainment destination for locals and tourists 
        (http://www.lisc.org/duluth/what-we-do/economic-development/).

        In the heart of San Francisco, CA a five-block stretch of 
        revitalized urban greenspace will soon welcome nearly 30,000 
        nearby residents at the Buchanan Mall Park, giving the Fillmore 
        community a place to celebrate the rich history of their 
        neighborhood and a place to inspire hope for a healthier, safer 
        future. The renovated park will provide equitable access to the 
        outdoors and cater to every generation, with a new fitness 
        area, playgrounds, and multi-purpose sport courts in addition 
        to much-needed green space to relax and connect with nature and 
        others within the community.

        In Cleveland, OH, Clark Avenue Park will connect two of 
        Cleveland's most densely populated neighborhoods providing 
        direct access to green space for underserved communities where 
        few residents have access to quality open space. The new park 
        will offer much-needed space for the community to enjoy the 
        outdoors with playgrounds, sports facilities, seating, and 
        spaces for future farmers' markets and social gatherings. And 
        the park is expected to generate at least $2.08 million in 
        economic benefits over the next 10 years.

    An additional positive side-effect of this sort of investment is 
the rise in home values associated with proximate parks. For example, 
Mississippi State University estimates Three Mile Creek Greenway, in 
Mobile, AL will raise local property values by 2%. Nationally, a study 
by John Crompton for NRPA found houses near parks are 8-10% more 
valuable than houses farther from parks.
Health Benefits

    Studies both compiled and conducted by TPL have shown clear health 
benefits from spending time in parks and open spaces. Those health 
benefits include both mental and physical. In terms of mental health, 
exposure to green settings has been shown to decrease stress and 
improve concentration. Moreover, in children these types of mental 
health improvements may subsequently result in improved academic 
achievement and more positive social interactions. Physical health is 
influenced by a myriad of factors including physical activity. 
Proximity to parks and open space increases physical activity levels 
during childhood and adolescence which may have sustained long-term 
impacts on physical health as an adult. This could lead to a long-term 
decrease in health problems like Type II diabetes, cardiovascular 
disease, and physical strength.
    Additionally, parks bring environmental benefits to surrounding 
neighborhoods, including cooling and flood prevention. A TPL study 
found that neighborhoods within a 10-minute walk of a wooded park were 
up to 6 degrees cooler than park-poor areas. A well-designed park can 
absorb tens of thousands of gallons of storm water and help reduce 
flooding.
Outdoors for All and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program

    The Outdoors for All provision would codify and improve the Outdoor 
Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP), ensuring a secure pathway 
for competitive funding to communities without adequate access to local 
parks, and that this important program will continue to have lasting 
impact, and in more communities, nationwide. Giving the program a 
statutory foundation will give the National Park Service and community 
leaders a reliable footing from which to make longer-term ORLP plans, 
and to work together in a sustained fashion. And providing broader 
benefits to a broader pool of applicant communities will give the 
program even more reach to the places where it is most needed.

    TPL has more experience with the ORLP program than virtually any 
other organization in the country. TPL worked with Congress to create 
the program 9 years ago and we have worked with the National Park 
Service and communities across America since then to leverage ORLP 
resources on the ground. In that context, I can share that the ORLP 
improvements that would be authorized under the Outdoors for All 
language will make a big difference. I would like to highlight three of 
those crucial improvements:

        The Outdoors for All provision will, for the first time, allow 
        for direct ORLP participation by Indian tribes and Indigenous 
        communities. Over the years, TPL has worked with more than 70 
        tribes and Native groups to protect homelands and culturally 
        significant places such as ancestral burial grounds, fishing 
        sites, and lands that supply traditional foods and medicines. 
        Through these efforts we have protected or helped return more 
        than 200,000 acres of land to Native Americans and Native 
        Hawaiians. Our efforts range from restoring ancestral lands to 
        the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians in Northern California, the Nez 
        Perce Tribe in eastern Oregon, and Native Hawaiians. Tribal 
        management and conservation of these lands has delivered the 
        benefits of parks easily as much here as in non-tribal 
        communities, and TPL believes freeing up ORLP to meet these 
        needs is not only appropriate but also necessary.

        Adjusting ORLP's population floor for eligible applicants to 
        communities of at 25,000 residents--and allowing two or more 
        adjacent areas to join in ``clusters'' to apply for ORLP 
        grants--may seem like a technical tweak, but if enacted will 
        expand the program's reach to hundreds more cities and towns. 
        This change will significantly increase the applicant pool and 
        raise the competitive bar, ensuring an even better complement 
        of annual projects. At the same time, by allowing community 
        clusters to apply together in partnership on outdoor recreation 
        lands of shared importance to them, it will facilitate 
        participation by smaller and more rural municipalities that may 
        not have the capacity to apply on their own.

        Codifying the program and including explicit reporting 
        requirements will bring an added measure of transparency and 
        accountability to ORLP. TPL firmly believes in striking while 
        the iron is hot through the establishment of pilot programs 
        that do not necessarily entail regular-order authorization; 
        once these programs have proven their worth, as the ORLP 
        program certainly has, they ought to be enshrined in federal 
        law to provide lasting value for the American people.
Conclusion

    Parks are not `nice-to-have' amenities; they are `must-have' public 
infrastructure. They provide multiple benefits to the communities that 
rely upon them. And now is the time to work together to ensure these 
benefits are available to more of the neighborhoods that need them 
most.
    That is why we are pleased to see the Outdoors for All language 
included in the EXPLORE Act. With that language, we fully support the 
Committee's work to advance this legislation, and we look forward to 
working with you to enact comprehensive recreation legislation that 
expands ORLP's reach as we have discussed. Thank you again for the 
opportunity to appear before you today, and I look forward to answering 
any questions you may have.

                                 ______
                                 

    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Mr. Benitez, and flattery never 
hurts.
    I would now like to introduce Ms. Sasha DiGiulian, a 
professional rock climber and the CEO of Send Bars from 
Boulder, Colorado.
    Ms. DiGiulian, you have 5 minutes.

   STATEMENT OF SASHA DiGIULIAN, PROFESSIONAL ROCK CLIMBER, 
                       BOULDER, COLORADO

    Ms. DiGiulian. Thank you so much for having me today. My 
name is Sasha DiGiulian, and I am here today on behalf of the 
Access Fund, which represents and advocates for more than 8 
million climbers across the United States. Thank you to Chair 
Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and the rest of the Committee 
members for considering this testimony.
    As a professional climber and environmental advocate, I am 
honored to be here today to support the EXPLORE Act, and I 
would like to thank Congressmen Westerman and Grijalva for 
leading bipartisan support for this important initiative.
    Access Fund is the national advocacy organization for 
climbers in the United States. Access Fund has worked for more 
than 30 years to ensure that climbers can enjoy safe and 
sustainable access to climbing, while leading the climbing 
community's efforts to protect and care for the land.
    I strongly support the EXPLORE Act because it will improve 
America's recreation economy, promote healthy lifestyles, and 
protect public lands.
    I started climbing when I was 6 years old at a climbing gym 
in the Washington, DC area. Some of my greatest memories 
include trips that I took to go camping and climbing in 
wilderness areas, including Joshua Tree, the High Sierra, and 
the majestic Rocky Mountain National Park, which is close to 
where I currently reside. My life was transformed by these 
experiences, and I started to think about my testimony while I 
was climbing on El Capitan in the wilderness area, arguably the 
world's greatest climbing venue. As I climbed one of the most 
iconic routes in the world, I thought about how privileged I am 
to be able to experience wilderness. My experiences climbing in 
wilderness areas have taught me self-confidence, transformative 
leadership skills, humility, and the deep appreciation for the 
conservation of American wilderness and public lands.
    The Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act, or PARC Act, 
passed out of this Committee with unanimous consent because it 
specifically protects America's climbing legacy and supports 
the health and wellness of the American public. For me, the 
PARC Act is one of the most important bills included in the 
EXPLORE Act, and it is especially important right now. However, 
2 weeks ago the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park 
Service proposed a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act, 
going against nearly 60 years of precedent to prohibit fixed 
anchors in wilderness.
    For over 100 years, our Federal land agencies have allowed 
climbing and the use of standard climbing equipment to explore 
public lands in wilderness areas. John Muir, David Brower, and 
many of the early proponents of the National Park Service and 
the Wilderness Act were climbers. Climbers have a long history 
of stewarding our exceptional public lands, and I am proud to 
continue this tradition so that the next generation of climbers 
can benefit from these experiences as I have for more than two 
decades.
    It is through the use of fixed anchors, I brought one, 
super small, that the majority of climbs are relatively safe. 
If we prohibit these fundamental climbing tools, we could 
potentially erase America's historic climbing achievements 
while at the same time preventing climbers from mitigating risk 
and safely enjoying these majestic landscapes. I want future 
generations to have the same privileges as I did to climb, and 
to climb safely. Although climbers have been allowed to use 
fixed anchors in wilderness areas for almost 60 years, we are 
now facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty due to the 
land agency proposals.
    If we cannot support the safe practice of our sport, then 
we are not encouraging people to participate in the outdoors in 
a responsible way. Everyone wins when we can all enjoy the 
outdoors, the economy and our climbing included. The EXPLORE 
Act, on the other hand, will bring consistency to climb 
management by providing Federal land managers with clear 
direction from Congress. It is a simple and elegant solution 
that will clarify that climbing and the use of fixed anchors 
are allowable and not prohibited uses within wilderness areas, 
and preserve the existing authority of land management agencies 
to regulate climbing to ensure it protects wilderness 
characteristics, natural resources, and cultural values.
    Climbers have long supported wilderness designations. The 
EXPLORE Act protects historic climbing areas, modernizes 
recreation policy, stimulates rural economies, gets kids 
outdoors, simplifies permitting processes, helps Federal land 
managers, improves recreation infrastructure, and benefits our 
veterans.
    The EXPLORE Act represents potential, and that is why I am 
honored to provide my testimony today. Thank you.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. DiGiulian follows:]
    Prepared Statement of Sasha DiGiulian, on behalf of Access Fund
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

    My name is Sasha DiGiulian, and I am here today on behalf of Access 
Fund, which represents and advocates for the more than 8 million 
climbers across the United States. Thank you to Chair Tiffany, Ranking 
Member Neguse, and the rest of the committee members for considering 
this testimony.
    As a professional climber, world champion, and environmental 
advocate, I am honored to be here today to support the ``Expanding 
Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act'', or EXPLORE Act. I 
thank Congressman Westerman for leading bipartisan support for this 
important initiative. Access Fund is the national advocacy organization 
for climbers in the United States. Access Fund has worked for more than 
30 years to ensure that climbers can enjoy safe and sustainable access 
to climbing, while leading the climbing community's efforts to protect 
and care for the land. Our experiences in wild places inspire us to 
become champions for conservation and protection of public lands.

    I strongly support the EXPLORE Act because it will:

  1.  Update recreation policy to meet the increasing demand for high-
            quality recreation experiences;

  2.  Protect America's climbing history, as well as safe and 
            sustainable access for climbers on federal public lands;

  3.  Promote economic development and job opportunities in rural and 
            gateway communities;

  4.  Simplify access to recreation on federal lands;

  5.  Inspire new recreation opportunities for kids, veterans, and 
            people with disabilities;

  6.  Improve public-private partnerships and to help address land 
            agency workforce housing shortages; and

  7.  Reform long-outdated and inefficient policies that permit guides 
            and outfitters to provide services on federal public lands.

    The EXPLORE Act has also been endorsed by the Outdoor Industry 
Association, Outdoor Alliance, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, American 
Mountain Guides Association, and American Alpine Club as well as dozens 
of businesses and conservation groups around the country. We are united 
in support of this bill.
Background

    I started to think about my testimony for this hearing while I was 
in Yosemite National Park climbing in the designated Wilderness on El 
Capitan--arguably the world's greatest climbing venue. As I climbed one 
of the most difficult routes in the world, I thought about how 
privileged I am to be able to experience wilderness in the way it was 
intended when the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964. I am humbled by 
the lessons I continue to learn while navigating complex vertical 
terrain. My experiences climbing in Wilderness areas have taught me 
self reliance, humility, and a deep appreciation for the conservation 
of American Wilderness and public lands. I cannot think of a better way 
to experience wilderness than accepting what the natural landscape 
offers, and adapting my mind and body to the lessons that climbing in 
wilderness provides. Climbing has been my primary focus since I was six 
years old, and my life's mission is to inspire other people to 
challenge their preconceived notions of what is possible as well as to 
introduce people to the profound benefits of America's Wilderness 
areas.
    The Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act, or PARC Act, passed out 
of this committee with unanimous consent because it specifically 
protects America's climbing legacy and supports the health and wellness 
of the American public. The PARC Act is one of the important bills 
included in the EXPLORE Act and it is especially important right now.
Harmful new federal agency proposals

    Two weeks ago, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park 
Service proposed a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act, going 
against nearly sixty years of precedent, to prohibit fixed anchors in 
Wilderness. For over one hundred years, our beloved federal land 
agencies have allowed climbing and the use of standard climbing 
equipment to explore public lands and wilderness areas. John Muir, 
David Brower, and many of the early proponents of the National Park 
Service and the Wilderness Act were climbers. The mountains opened 
their minds to the importance of adventure, recreation, and 
conservation. Climbers have a long history of stewarding our 
exceptional public lands, and I am proud to continue this tradition so 
that the next generation of climbers can benefit from these experiences 
as I have for more than two decades.
    First, the federal land agency proposal would create significant 
safety issues by forcing local rangers to consider fixed anchors 
prohibited and implement a costly administrative exception process, 
called a ``Minimum Requirements Analysis,'' to determine whether to 
allow the standard maintenance of gear that allows climbers, 
mountaineers, backcountry skiers, hunters, canyoneers, and other 
backcountry travelers to safely ascend and descend dangerous terrain. 
For over a century, climbers have taken responsibility for making sure 
that wilderness adventurers can get off of mountains safely. The new 
proposal places unnecessary obstacles on the routine and standard 
practice of replacing fixed anchors, which are slings, bolts, and other 
gear that become weathered in unforgiving environments.
    Fixed anchors are essential pieces of the climber's safety system 
that allow people to safely and sustainably access vertical terrain. 
Without fixed anchors, many of the most inspiring places in America--
like many of the walls on El Capitan--would become inaccessible to the 
American public.
    Second, the federal agency proposal threatens appropriate historic 
climbing routes that have already been authorized and managed by our 
federal land agencies. For example, the route I was climbing just last 
week was legally established through Yosemite National Park's 
programmatic approval process. The fixed anchors on the climbing route 
protect blank sections of rock where removable climbing gear is not 
available. While climbing in Wilderness, climbers always prefer 
removable protection, such as spring loaded camming devices, to fixed 
anchors. We subscribe to a low-impact ethic, but the judicious 
placement of fixed anchors is required to provide a modicum of safety. 
In fact, every single climbing route on Yosemite's El Capitan, 
including routes established prior to the passage of the Wilderness 
Act, include fixed anchors. I live in the Front Range of Colorado, and 
look up at Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park where The 
Diamond, America's highest elevation wilderness big wall, is located. 
Climbers first ascended the thousand foot tall Diamond in 1960, and 
since then, climbers have tested their skills and experienced wild 
conditions on The Diamond. Every single route on The Diamond includes 
at least one fixed anchor to protect especially dangerous, blank 
sections of rock. Every established climbing route in Wilderness that 
includes a fixed anchor, over approximately 90% of the established 
climbing routes in America's Wilderness areas, are now threatened by 
the agency proposal. America's climbing history and mountain culture is 
at risk. At the minimum, the federal land agency proposals need to 
exempt existing climbing routes that have already been authorized and 
have always been managed as appropriate wilderness recreation 
opportunities.
    Third, the proposal does not align with current National Park 
Service policies and management practices. In 2013, the National Park 
Service issued Director's Order 41, which provided specific guidance 
for managing climbing in wilderness. The guidance clearly allows for 
the occasional use of fixed anchors in Wilderness and requires 
programmatic or site-specific authorization for placing new fixed 
anchors. The policy made it clear that fixed anchors were allowed, yet 
regulated, and the climbing community accepted it.
    Now, federal solicitors assert that their new proposal aligns with 
existing policy. But if fixed anchors were actually considered 
prohibited installations, wouldn't the 2013 National Park Service 
policy mention that important detail?
    The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service currently--and 
successfully--implement numerous Wilderness Management Plans at park 
units and national forests that specifically allow the conditional 
placement and replacement of fixed anchors in wilderness. Reversing 
these existing plans with impractical and costly proposals would create 
safety concerns, erase historic climbing achievements, and block future 
generations from safely experiencing the world's greatest climbing 
venues.
Wilderness climbing

    Climbing in the United States has a long and distinguished history 
that includes many of the leading conservationists of our time. What 
started out as a fringe activity enjoyed by a few privileged 
adventurers has grown into a national pastime, with over 500 climbing 
gyms sprouting up in communities all across the country. At last count 
there are over 8 million climbers in the country, and climbing as a 
whole contributes at least $12.5 billion to the economy each year (2019 
State of Climbing Report). And every day, we are learning more and more 
about the many benefits of spending time outside.
    There are about 40,000 crags--individual climbing areas--in the 
United States. Nearly 60% of those are on federal public lands. 
Climbers feel a special connection to federal Wilderness areas across 
the country because they offer some of the most iconic and historic 
climbing opportunities in the world. The Wilderness offers unmatched 
opportunities for adventure, recreation, and solitude.

    Despite this long history, the management of climbing has been 
inconsistent over the years and across land management agencies, which 
has resulted in waste of taxpayer resources, serious threats to climber 
safety, confusion among land managers, and unpredictability for rural 
gateway communities attempting to build their outdoor recreation 
economies. This confusion often relates to the use of fixed anchors in 
Wilderness areas. Although climbers have been allowed to use fixed 
anchors in Wilderness areas for almost 60 years, we are now facing an 
unprecedented level of uncertainty and inconsistency due to the agency 
proposals I described earlier. The EXPLORE Act, on the other hand, will 
bring consistency and predictability to climbing management by 
providing the land management community with clear direction from 
Congress, especially regarding climbing management within Wilderness 
areas. It is a simple and elegant solution that will:

  1.  Require the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to issue 
            national guidance on management of climbing within 
            Wilderness areas;

  2.  Clarify that climbing and the use of fixed anchors are allowable, 
            and not prohibited, uses within Wilderness areas;

  3.  Preserve the existing authority of land management agencies to 
            regulate climbing to ensure it protects Wilderness 
            characteristics, natural resources, and cultural values; 
            and,

  4.  Provide for public participation in decisions affecting climbing 
            in Wilderness areas.

Climbers as conservationists

    Climbers have been exploring the mountains and cliffs of the United 
States for more than 100 years. Those adventures have inspired many 
people to become advocates for public lands and conservation. I'm one 
of them. Throughout that history, climbers have depended on fixed 
anchors to safely ascend and descend technical, vertical terrain. 
Climbers have supported the Wilderness designations that post-date many 
of America's most inspiring climbing achievements.
    In 1920, Albert Ellingwood and Barton Hoag climbed Lizard Head Peak 
in Southwest Colorado using pitons along with their hemp rope and 
hobnailed boots. Congress designated this area as the Lizard Head 
Wilderness in 1980, 60 years after this historic climb.
    In 1931, Norman Clyde led an ascent of the East Face of Mt. Whitney 
in the Sierra Nevada range using pitons. Congress designated this area 
as the John Muir Wilderness in 1964, more than 30 years after this 
historic climb.

    In 1960, Bob Kamps and David Rearick made the first ascent of the 
Diamond on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park using pitons as 
fixed anchors. Congress designated this area as the Rocky Mountain 
National Park Wilderness in 2009, 49 years after this historic first 
ascent. Recently, the congressional members who introduced the Senate 
and House versions of the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness bill 
issued powerful statements that articulate their intent to not prohibit 
fixed anchors when they introduced the Wilderness legislation. I am 
proud to be a resident of Colorado's 2nd district, so I was glad to see 
Governor Polis, our former district representative and current 
governor, send a letter to the Department of Interior and the 
Department of Agriculture which stated:

        We should be doing everything we can right now to grow the 
        coalition of champions for public lands and to support our land 
        management agencies in responding to climate change and taking 
        care of the places entrusted to our care. A new prohibition on 
        fixed anchors in Wilderness would jeopardize the safety of 
        climbers, harm our recreation economy here in Colorado, 
        establish unnecessary bureaucracy, and restrict access to some 
        of the wildest places in America.

Similarly, former Colorado Senator Mark Udall recently wrote that:

        As the primary sponsor of the Rocky Mountain National Park 
        Wilderness and Indian Peaks Wilderness Expansion Act, I want to 
        be absolutely clear: Nothing in those bills was intended to 
        restrict sustainable and appropriate Wilderness climbing 
        practices or prohibit the judicious and conditional placement 
        of fixed anchors--many of which existed before the bills' 
        passage. I used fixed anchors to climb in these areas, and I 
        want future climbers to safely experience profound adventures 
        and thereby become Wilderness advocates themselves.

    These examples begin to paint the picture of the rich history of 
climbing and mountaineering in this country, and they also show how 
climbing and the use of fixed anchors long predate the Wilderness Act 
and the designation of Wilderness areas across the country. These are 
truly historic recreational uses that have contributed to outdoor 
legacy and mountain culture that Americans enjoy today.
    In 2015, President Obama called Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgenson 
to congratulate the climbers after their improbable first ascent of 
Yosemite's Dawn Wall--a Wilderness climb that inspired a generation of 
conservationists, including myself. That climb would have been 
impossible without the occasional fixed anchor.
    The climbing community advocated strongly in support of the 2019 
John D. Dingell Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. In that 
landmark piece of legislation, Congress designated approximately 
600,000 acres of new Wilderness in Emery County, Utah, a place that has 
been explored by climbers for decades. The Dingell Act states 
explicitly that the Wilderness designation does not prohibit the 
placement, use or maintenance of fixed anchors. The EXPLORE Act will 
build on the important climbing management guidance that Congress 
provided for Emery County.
    Finally, it is worth mentioning that President Biden recently 
designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument to honor 
the contributions of the 10th Mountain Division. The 10th Mountain 
Division trained at Camp Hale prior to fighting fascism in World War II 
and developed many of the techniques used today for climbing, skiing, 
and moving through risky, vertical terrain. The proclamation 
designating Camp Hale calls out the ``original pitons used to train 
technical climbing'' and then declares them to be ``an object of 
scientific or historic interest in need of protection.''
    In short, the history of climbing and exploration of areas that are 
now designated as Wilderness contributes to America's rich legacy and 
culture of outdoor adventure. The EXPLORE Act will help to protect and 
celebrate this history so that it may inspire future generations of 
outdoor enthusiasts who will continue to visit and explore and fall in 
love with these special places.
Bipartisan support for EXPLORE Act

    Our country is divided on so many issues, but recreation is not one 
of them. I am so grateful that the Senate has unanimously supported the 
recreation package known as--America's Outdoor Recreation Act--and I 
hope that this committee will unanimously support the EXPLORE Act.
    I think most Americans agree that protecting our public lands and 
supporting sustainable recreation are nonpartisan issues. I am so proud 
to be a professional climber because exploration and adventure is part 
of our American DNA.
    The EXPLORE Act modernizes recreation policy, stimulates rural 
economies, gets kids outdoors, simplifies permitting processes, helps 
federal land managers, improves recreation infrastructure, and benefits 
our veterans. The EXPLORE Act represents America's potential, and that 
is why I am honored to provide my testimony today. The EXPLORE Act will 
ultimately lead to better results for the land and for the American 
public, and I strongly urge this Committee to pass this important 
legislation.

                                 ______
                                 

    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Ms. DiGiulian. I would now like to 
recognize Ms. Katherine Andrews, the Director of the Office of 
Outdoor Recreation at the Arkansas Department of Parks, 
Heritage and Tourism.
    Director Andrews, you have 5 minutes.

  STATEMENT OF KATHERINE ANDREWS, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF OUTDOOR 
RECREATION, ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE AND TOURISM, 
                     LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Ms. Andrews. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Tiffany and 
Ranking Member Neguse, and thank you for inviting me to be here 
with you today. My name is Katherine Andrews, and I am Director 
of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor Recreation at the Arkansas 
Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, and incoming Chair 
of the Confluence of States, a bipartisan organization of my 
outdoor recreation counterparts across the United States. I am 
pleased to testify in support of this important legislation, 
and I am especially proud to appear before the Natural 
Resources Committee, chaired by the Honorable Bruce Westerman, 
my fellow Arkansan. I thank him for the tireless work he does 
on behalf of all Arkansans.
    Arkansas is known as the Natural State for a reason. From 
our clean running streams and pristine wilderness to our 
diversity of outdoor recreation options that range from hiking 
and biking to floating and climbing, Arkansas is home to the 
mountain bike capital of the world, the duck hunting capital of 
the world, the trout capital of the USA, and we are quickly 
becoming the climbing capital of the South. We have the world's 
longest bayou, the highest waterfall between the Rockies and 
the Appalachians, and the nation's first national river.
    Arkansas is also the only state where you can hunt both an 
elk and an alligator in the same state.
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Andrews. At the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage 
and Tourism, our mission is to protect and promote our state's 
natural, cultural, and historical resources, ultimately 
contributing to a thriving economy and higher quality of life. 
The BEA has cited benefits for areas with high outdoor 
recreation assets like business attraction, workforce 
retention, public health and wellness, getting kids outside and 
off screens, and the conservation of our natural assets.
    A robust outdoor recreation industry isn't just nice to 
have; it is necessary and deeply impactful. In 2022, 4.3 
million visitors spent $278 million in local gateway regions 
while visiting National Park Service lands in Arkansas. These 
expenditures supported 3,900 jobs, $107 million in labor 
income, and $362 million in economic output in the Arkansas 
economy.
    My goal as Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor 
Recreation is to leverage our state's unmatched natural beauty 
to promote tourism and grow our outdoor economy. We want to 
ensure that Arkansas does not just compete in the space, but 
rather we envision Arkansas as a true national leader in 
outdoor recreation and the outdoor economy. We market the 
beauty and potential of the Natural State to the world for 
recreation tourism and outdoor business opportunities. To 
achieve this, access to the outdoors is critical.
    Access provides our residents and visitors from across the 
world the ability to engage with our greatest natural 
resources. These gifts are to be enjoyed, respected, and 
revered by us today, and we must conserve and preserve them for 
future generations to also enjoy. The issue of access to these 
natural places leads me to the reason I am here today.
    I am here to offer my support for Congressman Westerman's 
legislation, which will allow thorough but pragmatic movement 
toward reopening the Albert Pike campgrounds, a unique area 
that has long been a draw for tourism and outdoor recreation in 
Arkansas. By doing so we will open countless opportunities for 
young families and new residents while providing our seasoned 
residents with joy and adventure in a beloved location.
    In addition, it will provide access to the rugged Ouachita 
mountains and clear streams, providing hiking, fishing, and 
other recreational opportunities for all.
    I fully support the new legislation, and ask for your 
support.
    Part of my role as Director of the Arkansas' Office of 
Outdoor Recreation is to help craft outdoor recreation 
opportunities for future generations so that they can enjoy and 
care for nature, just as we do today. Access to outdoor 
recreation inspires generations of Arkansans to care for and 
champion the future of our natural places, ensuring that we 
remain the Natural State.
    There are two parts of the state that our office serves: 
first, our industry partners, bike shops, boat manufacturers, 
river guides, outfitters, duck lodges, any company in the 
outdoors that you can think of, we help them access resources 
to grow and help understand their barriers to growth; second, 
we work with our community partners, towns, counties, and 
advocacy groups, hoping to support the growth in access to 
outdoor recreation. We help them understand the great benefits 
of outdoor recreation on the local economy, and we help them 
access grants, resources, and other funding so that they have 
more ability to leverage their natural resources and assets, 
and build infrastructure to attract visitors.
    The legislation proposed today will solve some of our most 
pressing issues facing our Federal land managers, cut red tape 
for providers and small businesses, allow states and outdoor 
recreation leaders to further our missions of conservation and 
preservation of our natural assets, strengthen the outdoor 
economy, and increase access to outdoor recreation 
opportunities across the country on our Federal lands.
    Thank you so much for having me here today.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Andrews follows:]
Prepared Statement of Katherine Andrews, Arkansas Department of Parks, 
                          Heritage and Tourism
                     on H.R. ____, ``EXPLORE Act''

    Good morning Chairman Tiffany and Ranking Member Neguse and thank 
you for inviting me to be here with you today. My name is Katherine 
Andrews, and I am the Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor 
Recreation at the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, 
and incoming chair of the Confluence of States, a bipartisan 
organization of my outdoor recreation counterparts across the United 
States.
    I am so pleased to testify in support of this important 
legislation, and I'm particularly proud to appear before the Natural 
Resources Committee, which is chaired by the Honorable Bruce Westerman, 
my fellow Arkansan. I thank him for the tireless work he does on behalf 
of all Arkansans.
    Arkansas is known as The Natural State for a reason--from our clean 
running streams and pristine wilderness to our diversity of outdoor 
recreation options that range from hiking and biking to floating and 
climbing. Arkansas is home to the mountain bike capital of the world, 
the duck hunting capital of the world, the trout capital of the world, 
and we are quickly becoming the climbing capital of the South. We have 
the world's longest bayou, the highest waterfall between the Rockies 
and the Appalachians, and the nation's first national river. Arkansas 
is also the only state where you can hunt both an elk and an alligator. 
At the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, our mission 
is to protect and promote our state's natural, cultural and historical 
resources, ultimately contributing to a thriving economy and higher 
quality of life.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis has cited benefits for areas with 
high outdoor recreation--like business attraction, workforce retention, 
public health and wellness, getting kids outside and off screens, and 
the conservation of our natural assets. A robust outdoor recreation 
industry isn't just nice to have; it is necessary and deeply impactful. 
In 2022, 4.3 million visitors spent an estimated $278 million in local 
gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands in Arkansas. 
These expenditures supported a total of 3,900 jobs, $107 million in 
labor income, $191 million in value added, and $362 million in economic 
output in the Arkansas economy.
    My goal as Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor Recreation is to 
leverage our state's unmatched natural beauty to promote tourism and 
grow our outdoor economy. We want to ensure that Arkansas does not just 
compete in this space, but rather, we envision Arkansas as a true 
national leader in outdoor recreation and the outdoor economy. We 
market the beauty and potential of The Natural State to the world for 
recreation tourism and outdoor business opportunities.
    To achieve this, access to the outdoors is critical. Access 
provides our residents and visitors from across the world the ability 
to engage with our greatest natural resources. These gifts are to be 
enjoyed, respected and revered by us today, and we must conserve and 
preserve them for future generations to also enjoy.
    The issue of access to these natural places leads me to the reason 
I am here today. I am here to offer my support for Congressman 
Westerman's legislation, which will allow thorough but pragmatic 
movement toward reopening the Albert Pike campgrounds, a unique area 
that has long been a draw for tourism and outdoor recreation in 
Arkansas. By doing so, we will open countless opportunities for young 
families and new residents while providing our seasoned residents with 
joy and adventure in a beloved location. In addition, it will provide 
access to the rugged Ouachita Mountains and clear streams, providing 
hiking, fishing and other recreational opportunities for all. I fully 
support the new legislation and ask for your support.
    Part of my role as Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor 
Recreation is to help craft outdoor recreation opportunities for future 
generations so that they can enjoy and care for nature just as we do 
today. In our state, we've taken a bold approach involving multiagency 
and private partners working together. Access to outdoor recreation 
inspires generations of Arkansans to care for and champion the future 
of our natural places, ensuring that we remain The Natural State.
    There are two parts of the state that our office serves. First, our 
industry partners: bike shops, boat manufacturers, river guides, duck 
lodges, outfitters, technology companies in the outdoors, any kind of 
outdoor recreation company you can think of. We help them access 
resources to grow, help them understand their barriers to growth, and 
help them overcome those barriers.
    Second, we work with our community partners: towns, counties, and 
advocacy groups that are hoping to support the growth and access to 
outdoor recreation. We help them understand the great benefits of 
outdoor recreation on a local economy, and we help them access grants, 
resources, and other funding so they have more ability to leverage 
their natural assets and build infrastructure to attract visitors and 
outdoor recreationists.
    The legislation proposed today will solve some of our most pressing 
issues facing our federal land managers, cut red tape for providers and 
small businesses, allow states and outdoor recreation leaders to 
further our missions of conservation and preservation of our natural 
assets, strengthen the outdoor economy, and increase access to outdoor 
recreation opportunities across the country on our federal lands.
    Thank you so much for having me here today.

                                 ______
                                 

    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Director Andrews, and I suspect the 
Chairman from Arkansas has partaken in those activities that 
you mentioned, from alligator to elk.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. I would now like to recognize Members for 5 
minutes for questions.
    Mr. Lamborn, you have 5 minutes.
    Mr. Lamborn. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany, for holding this 
hearing, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here 
today. I am pleased to be a co-sponsor of the EXPLORE Act. 
Representing Colorado, along with Ranking Member Neguse, is a 
pleasure with all of our public lands.
    I am an avid visitor to national parks, having been to 300 
units of the National Park Service. I have seen that many are 
well maintained, but I have also seen parks in major need of 
revitalization. Mr. Reynolds, in many national parks employee 
housing, guest lodging, inventory, and related facilities are 
outdated and need attention, despite compliant efforts by the 
various concession companies operating the properties. Has NPS 
considered looking to the concession industry to support any of 
these immediate capital investment needs?
    And if so, please describe how NPS can allow for increased 
capital investment from the concession industry under existing 
contracts to improve the park guest experience.
    Mr. Reynolds. Yes, Mr. Lamborn. Thank you so much for those 
comments. I am really glad that you have also visited 300-plus. 
That is probably a record, right?
    We can use our concessions contracts, and do utilize them 
for shared housing. The LODGE Act, which I should say the 
provision of the LODGE Act inside the EXPLORE Act now, is 
something that we would really appreciate moving forward 
because it gives us a lot of flexibility with perhaps 
partnerships that we have not been able to achieve, and it 
would probably expand our ability under concessions.
    The way concessions contracts usually work is we let the 
concessionaire supply the housing for their folks, and under 
provisions like this we could look at how to work together to 
house employees and to improve the conditions, as you describe.
    Mr. Lamborn. As a follow-up, I understand that NPS is 
submitting new concession contracts for bid with some 
regularity. Mr. Reynolds, considering the immediate capital 
needs that we are discussing, is NPS evaluating how best to 
encourage increased capital investment in new concession 
contracts that have not yet been issued?
    And if so, please describe those efforts, particularly any 
efforts relating to evaluating the need for concessionaire 
investment and NPS calculation of the minimum franchise fees 
set forth in the new concession opportunities.
    Mr. Reynolds. I think I would answer that as 
straightforward as I could to say, yes, we would be looking at 
any ways that we can improve investment in the parks through 
the concessionaires. And we have a pretty extensive business 
management group. We would be happy to also meet with your 
staff to answer specific questions perhaps about a certain 
contract that we are working on.
    But otherwise, yes, we would love to move forward with any 
ideas that increase investment possibilities.
    Mr. Lamborn. Yes, and I am thinking industry-wide, but I 
know that there is concern that sometimes it is hard to recoup 
investments under the terms of contracts. And companies would 
be willing to make investments to improve some of these iconic 
properties, but the contracts don't make that viable.
    Mr. Reynolds. Right. The one area that gets a little 
complicated is the lease holder surrender interest, which is a 
way that we, I guess you could say, pay back the concessionaire 
for their investments.
    There is a kind of a public trust segment of LSI, as we 
call it, to not let it grow too big. But there are ways that we 
can negotiate that with the private sector.
    Mr. Lamborn. OK. Well, that is something I would certainly 
like to discuss more. And lastly, I am going to switch gears to 
the Great American Outdoors Act. How does NPS intend to fund 
critical efforts to maintain park assets, given that some 
things are not subject to GAOA funds for some kinds of the 
infrastructure, where the needs are?
    Mr. Reynolds. Right. So, if I understand the question, 
Congressman Lamborn, it is how we keep up on the maintenance, 
right, once we have invested through the GAOA LRF funding.
    Without the time of great detail, the fee programs that we 
use under FLREA, which also has some provisions in the EXPLORE 
Act, with our fee programs we require our parks to utilize up 
to 55 percent of the funds they keep to be back into deferred 
maintenance. So, that is going to be a very big part of the 
investment strategy.
    The other thing we could do is prioritize, as much as we 
can, maintenance and continued investment programs through LRF, 
the Inflation Reduction Act positions that were also provided.
    So, those are the kind of things that we are focused on 
right now.
    Mr. Lamborn. OK, thank you very much.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields. I would now like to 
recognize Mr. Levin for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany, and I really thank 
the witnesses for speaking on the EXPLORE Act. It is an 
important bipartisan bill, and it recognizes the need for 
accessible recreation opportunities, and responds to many of 
the pressing needs to improve experiences for Americans and 
ensure continued conservation of vital ecosystems, and I just 
thank everybody across the aisle for working together on this.
    Some of America's most important national treasures lie 
within our public lands. These lands support healthy ecosystems 
with diverse wildlife and plants, and offer an array of outdoor 
recreation opportunities for millions of visitors from all 
across the country and the world. Outdoor recreation also 
supports millions of jobs and is a significant driver of 
economic output. It also offers opportunities for individuals 
to appreciate and learn about our natural environment.
    It is no secret that the great state of California, 
including my district, is home to some of the most beautiful 
parks, lands, and beaches, and offers truly extraordinary 
outdoor recreation opportunities. I know that my constituents, 
and I think all of our constituents cherish the opportunities 
to get outside, enjoy the mental, physical, and social benefits 
of outdoor recreation.
    I appreciated the comments about keeping kids off screens. 
I have an 11-year-old and a 9-year-old at home, and if my wife 
and I can get them outside as opposed to them being on YouTube 
or whatever it is that they are doing, that is much more 
preferable. I am proud to co-sponsor the bipartisan EXPLORE Act 
to support the outdoor recreation economy and ensure equitable 
access to those opportunities for all.
    I would also like to remind my colleagues that our 
constituents' ability to enjoy our public lands relies upon 
proper conservation, restoration, and management of our natural 
resources. That starts with providing adequate funding to our 
Federal land management agencies. So, as Congress works towards 
the final appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024, I hope 
that we avoid detrimental budget cuts that would hinder our 
response to the climate crisis, threaten endangered species, 
and undercut key conservation efforts.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues and our great 
land management agencies to invest in America's great natural 
treasures and to further refine the EXPLORE Act to ensure that 
we promote access while also protecting our natural resources.
    And I also want to thank Chairman Westerman for including 
provisions from my legislation, the Get Rewarding Outdoor Work 
for Veterans, or GROW Act, in this package. I was proud to 
introduce this bipartisan bill in March with Representative 
Wittman to employ more veterans in outdoor jobs at the 
Department of the Interior. The Federal Government has a duty 
to ensure veterans returning to civilian life can obtain 
meaningful jobs that align with their values. The Department of 
the Interior, in particular, is well-positioned to provide 
rewarding career opportunities that allow veterans to get 
outside and reap the benefits of being in nature for their 
mental and physical health.
    The GROW Act establishes a pilot program at DOI aimed at 
employing veterans in conservation and resource management 
activities directly on our public lands. I place a great 
importance on conserving our Federal lands and waters, and I 
can think of no better group of individuals to continue their 
service by protecting our natural treasures than our veterans. 
By engaging the expertise and passion of veterans in 
safeguarding these lands for all Americans to enjoy, we honor 
their dedication to our nation and provide them with meaningful 
career development opportunities.
    In addition, I believe it will create a veteran hiring 
model for all Federal agencies in the future. It is a win for 
the Federal workforce, it is a win for the environment, it is a 
win for veterans. Most importantly, it is a win for our 
country.
    Let me just ask briefly, Mr. Reynolds, I want to thank DOI 
for supporting the GROW Act when it received a legislative 
hearing in July. I also appreciate that DOI has already made 
efforts to hire veterans through its special hiring authorities 
and programs like SkillBridge. Can you discuss how DOI has 
already benefited from employing veterans, and perhaps what are 
some of the unique skills and strengths that veterans bring to 
the table?
    Mr. Reynolds. Thank you, Mr. Levin. We really appreciate 
our veterans in the National Park Service and in all our 
bureaus in the Department.
    We have a recruitment team that we have put together that 
is a first-time effort that, I think, spawns a lot off of your 
efforts and others around the GROW concept, and we are hoping 
to increase our levels very much by that. We have used veterans 
not only in different programs where we can hire them more 
easily than other categories of folks, but there are also 
extremely strong volunteer teams. I can think of a number of 
them that have gone out, and they bring a certain level of 
training, of esprit de corps, if you will, that really benefits 
public lands.
    Mr. Levin. Do you have any sense of what portion of your 
existing veteran workforce is in hands-on conservation and 
resource management?
    Mr. Reynolds. I don't, sir, but we could get you those 
numbers. I think that we do try to track them as best we can, 
working also with our partners at the VA.
    Mr. Levin. I am out of time, but extremely grateful to 
Chairman Westerman, Ranking Member Grijalva, everybody for 
working together on this.
    I will yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields. I would now like to 
recognize the gentleman from Oregon, Mr. Bentz, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank all of all the 
witnesses for being here. This is a bill I support. But from 
Oregon, my district actually takes up three-quarters of that 
state, it has millions of acres of forest, millions of acres of 
rangeland, and millions of opportunities for people to be 
locked out of these spaces. So, I am happy for this bill.
    But I have also been involved in situations where change is 
occurring, particularly around Central Oregon, the Bend, 
Redmond area, and that brings me to Lemon Gulch, which was a 
situation where about 50 or 70 miles of bike paths were 
suggested in an area that was not accustomed, shall we say, to 
this new use. And I want to call out and thank the Forest 
Service for eventually doing the right thing, it took a while, 
and basically withdrawing that opportunity for expansion 
because the local community did not support it.
    So, I am just anxious for you folks to weigh in on this 
bill and say, what can we do to make it work better in 
situations where this access is going to be new to the folks 
that are not accustomed to people pedaling bicycles through the 
middle of what used to be a grazing permit or, more to the 
point, is immediately adjacent to places who now have housing 
opportunities that weren't there before. So, I am just saying 
this is a really good bill, but the rubber meets the road where 
you folks in charge of these lands try to figure out how you 
are going to allow this new type of use, given the already 
existing uses.
    But I want to thank the Forest Service for eventually doing 
the right thing. It required a rising up of the community, 
gathering together and backing up on the NEPA process, and that 
was very awkward. Eventually, the right result was reached, and 
there has been an indefinite hold put on the bike paths. That 
is good. And then somehow, if those uses are going to change, 
it has to be handled more cleverly than was the case at Lemon 
Gulch.
    And I just want to say how happy the community is that it 
is not happening, which is contrary to the focus of this bill. 
But we know this bill is well-meaning, and you guys need to 
weigh in and say what we need to do to try to avoid those kinds 
of occurrences.
    Mr. Benitez, I have worked with TPL on any number of 
situations, and actually to positive results most of the time. 
So, I appreciate your organization's efforts to try to protect 
land. But in many cases that flies in the face of access. And I 
am now talking about wilderness areas. And actually, there was 
a suggestion for a monument in my home county, 2.5 million 
acres that would have been locked up.
    I am curious. My area, much high desert, very fragile 
environment, and a national conservation area was put in place 
on a mountain called the Steens Mountain, and no money was put 
into place to try to address the thousands of people that are 
now swarming down into that space. No public bathroom 
facilities, no places to pick up the trash, and folks all over 
the place accessing this land but leaving it a mess.
    So, to go back to the points that were made earlier about 
funding this access, I am extremely interested in what you 
might suggest. I have been involved as a lawyer in drafting 
concessionary contracts. I know that in low-volume spaces, you 
are not going to make enough money to do any good. So, you are 
going to have to come up with ideas that you can suggest to us 
that, if you are going to attract all kinds of people that this 
bill does, and I am happy for it, we had better be figuring out 
how to take care of the land. And if you have good ideas, share 
them, for goodness sakes, because it is really sad, in an area 
I grew up in, to go out and see trash and human waste. Not 
good. That is bad. We want to have the access, but we want to 
have the land protected while we are at it.
    And finally, going back to the forest for a moment, I drive 
through literally tens of thousands, if not hundreds of 
thousands of land that has been burned. And the Forest Service, 
many times not its fault, does not allow logging to occur 
following those fires. And as a result, there are thousands of 
acres of land that are far too dangerous for anyone to go into 
because there are trees standing up everywhere that are rotting 
out and ready to fall over at any instant.
    And what needs to happen, of course, is if we are going to 
have public access, where people aren't worried about being 
crushed by a falling tree, burned-out tree, of course, in these 
tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not 
millions of acres of burned-over land, we need to be getting in 
more quickly and cleaning up the forest.
    So, 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. I am very anxious to see the Forest 
Service step in and, in anticipation of the impact of this 
bill, make our forests a safer place to go.
    With that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields. I would like to 
recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Grijalva.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let 
me, as the impetus of more visitation is happening to our 
public lands, and the discussion today on a piece of 
legislation that tries to deal with issues that are not 
necessarily in contradiction, but sometimes turn out that way, 
the issue of conservation, the issue of restoration, and the 
very important issue of inclusion, equity, and access to these 
special places.
    For Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Benitez, and for Mr. French, let me 
ask you, how do you see this initial step with the package of 
bills under the EXPLORE Act that we have today moving in that 
direction and dealing with that fundamental question of how do 
you deal with these missions?
    Mr. Reynolds. I will start and hand it off.
    Mr. Grijalva. OK.
    Mr. Reynolds. I think it is the comprehensive nature that 
is exciting for us. We have testified on a lot of sections of 
the bill. And the good news, sir, is that we have a lot of work 
together between us. Already there are some things that we 
still need to work on this bill. We need to catch up to you, 
and look at some of the nuances.
    But other than some fixes that might make things 
technically work better, we are excited about the equity 
questions with Every Kid in the Park being one example where I 
think the figure is 73 percent of these kids that use the 4th 
grade pass, their families would not have visited public lands 
right then and there.
    There are provisions in here that talk about dealing with 
transportation access, and we are very excited about that. 
Transportation is actually one of our larger, the data shows 
the larger blockages with getting especially kids in urban or 
underserved areas out to public lands.
    Mr. Grijalva. Chris?
    Mr. French. I will keep it short. I agree, and we have a 
very similar mindset.
    I really appreciate the comprehensiveness of the bill and 
the multiple provisions that are really focused on how do you 
create easier conditions for people to access their public 
lands, whether it is through the streamlining of the outfitter 
guide permitting processes, or the Every Kid in the Park 
approach. Or, as was talked about earlier, the way that we can 
connect and honor the service of our veterans to connect.
    I think for us right now, anything that creates an 
authority or an approach that allows us to better connect with 
communities that haven't had access to their public lands is 
one that we wholly support and get behind.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Mr. Benitez?
    Mr. Benitez. Thank you for the question, Congressman. And I 
am going to take it back into our inner cities.
    I think when we talk about outdoor recreation access and 
that gap right now, especially in urban corridors, candidly, at 
TPL we think this is an under-reported crisis in America, and 
it is really acute in low-income communities. In these 
neighborhoods, parks, which are essential for physical and 
mental health, for protection from summer heat, for our 
connection to nature, are on average four times smaller than 
parks in more well-off neighborhoods, and each acre receives 
four times as much use. So, again, 100 million Americans and 28 
million kids don't have access to parks within a 10-minute walk 
from home. We have to fix that.
    And in our estimation, this bill, specifically ORLP, will 
help.
    Mr. Grijalva. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields. I would like to now 
recognize the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Stauber, for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Stauber. Thank you very much, Chairman Tiffany and 
Ranking Member Neguse, for holding this.
    I do want to first begin by also thanking Chairman 
Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva for their work on this 
bipartisan piece of legislation. This is a great bill that will 
expand access and ensure all Americans can enjoy our public 
lands. I am proud to join Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member 
Grijalva as a co-sponsor on this bill.
    Our public lands should be open and accessible for the 
American people. The bill before us today takes important steps 
to ensure we are doing just that.
    The district I represent includes vast amounts of public 
lands. Minnesota's 8th Congressional District is home to the 
Chippewa and Superior National Forests, Voyageurs National 
Park, and the Grand Portage National Monument. Recreating and 
enjoying our vast public lands is part of our way of life in 
northern Minnesota. There are several provisions of this bill 
that will directly benefit the constituents I represent.
    For example, I believe the provisions directing the Forest 
Service and the Bureau of Land Management to update vehicular 
use maps are incredibly important. Unfortunately, on some of 
the public lands in my district, many of these maps are 
completely out of date. Certain trails intended for vehicle use 
have been completely mismanaged to the point that you can 
barely hike the trails on foot, let alone drive them in a 
vehicle. By requiring our Federal land managers to conduct an 
inventory of these trails and update vehicle use maps, we will 
get a better understanding of the conditions of these trails, 
and thus manage them more effectively.
    I appreciate the inclusion of the Range Access Act, 
originally introduced by Representatives Moore and Panetta, 
ensuring that we have safe, quality shooting range access in 
our National Forests and on BML lands. It will benefit not only 
our sportsmen, but all Americans who wish to recreate on our 
public lands.
    And one of the most important provisions that I am happy to 
see included focuses on expanding and enabling access for our 
nation's active duty service members, veterans, and their 
families. These individuals and their families have sacrificed 
so much for our country. The least we can do to thank them for 
their service and sacrifice is to ensure that they have the 
opportunity to enjoy our vast public lands.
    Again, I want to thank Chairman Westerman and Ranking 
Member Grijalva for this work on this piece of legislation, and 
I look forward to supporting this bill as it continues through 
the Committee process.
    And, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields, and I would now like to 
recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Neguse.
    Mr. Neguse. I thank the Chairman and want to thank the 
witnesses again for their testimony, and in particular to our 
Coloradans and my constituent, Ms. DiGiulian.
    Thank you for your testimony, which I thought was very 
compelling.
    I just want to make one note, or perhaps one observation, 
and then I have a question for Mr. Benitez. And it is in 
response to a comment from Mr. Bentz, who I know is one of our 
distinguished Subcommittee Chairmen, and I have great respect 
for him, and understand the argument that he is making with 
respect to the collateral consequences of overuse on our 
Federal public lands, and that is certainly something that we 
encounter in Colorado, and I spend a great deal of my time 
interacting with local officials in Grand County, Routt County, 
Larimer County, Boulder County, Gilpin County, and Summit 
County, talking about the collateral impacts of folks using the 
trails and enjoying these incredible public lands that we are 
so treasured and blessed to have.
    I would simply say, and it underscores a point that Mr. 
Levin from California made previously, to the extent that is a 
concern that is shared on both sides of the aisle, there is a 
solution, and the solution is to adequately fund the agencies 
that protect and manage these public lands. And it is striking 
to me, of course, I am very supportive, as I said from the 
outset, of this legislation, and grateful to the Chairman and 
the Ranking Member for their leadership on it. Insofar as we 
follow the typical schedule for consideration of this 
particular bill, it is likely that this will be hitting the 
Floor early next year, and we will simultaneously be facing yet 
another potential government shutdown in mid-January, and again 
in mid-February, around the same time that this bill perhaps 
might be considered by the House for final passage.
    So, I just offer as an observation that I hope that my 
colleagues will work with us on this side of the aisle to 
ensure that the Forest Service, the BLM, the Department of the 
Interior, and the Department of Agriculture are adequately 
funded so that they can do the important work that I believe we 
all agree they must be engaged in. And a good place to start 
would be adhering to the Fiscal Responsibility Act levels that 
we had all agreed to back in May of last year, because I think 
that clearly would enable the agencies to be able to address 
some of these collateral consequences that are, of course, 
important for us to consider.
    With that being said, as I said, I am grateful to all of 
the witnesses for their testimony, and I think they have all 
made a very compelling case about why this legislation is not 
just prudent, but necessary.
    Mr. Benitez, I thought your testimony in particular about 
the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program improvements 
that are included in the EXPLORE Act was powerful. And I guess 
I just wonder if you could talk a bit about the benefits of 
promoting urbanized outdoor recreation, which I think is a part 
of the conversation that is often lost. And it is important, I 
think, for us not to neglect it.
    Mr. Benitez. Thank you, Congressman. And I have to say, in 
appreciation of your hard work on behalf of the state of 
Colorado, you truly do come across as the hardest working 
gentleman in show business, seeing you all across the state, 
visiting with all the counties. So, thank you for your service 
and your time.
    With respect to ORLP and some of those components that you 
are talking about, respectfully, we believe that parks and 
access to nature are not just nice-to-haves. This is essential 
to our lives and experience as Americans. So, when we talk 
about how this is important to urban corridors and what this 
looks like, I will share this from TPL's grassroots level 
perspective.
    In poll after poll and in local ballot measures that we 
run, where citizens actually tax themselves to pay for parks, 
and given the overwhelming support of your colleagues when 
Congress recently passed the Great American Outdoors Act by 3-
to-1 margins in both chambers, it seems that that is the 
prevailing bipartisan view here, too.
    So, when we talk about a 10-minute access to green space 
within the United States, and that statistic of 28 million 
children not having that kind of access, and diving down deeper 
into that conversation about really what does that access look 
like, is it safe, is it equitable, are we providing that for 
communities of various sizes? These are some of the questions 
that I think are in front of us moving into considering this 
legislation, and we find it incredibly important. Thank you for 
the question.
    Mr. Neguse. I say thank you, Mr. Benitez, for your 
testimony. And I certainly couldn't agree with you more. As I 
said, my wife and I consider ourselves the luckiest people in 
the world to live in our community in Boulder County. Our 5-
year-old daughter has access to trails within 5 minutes of our 
home, perhaps less. And I think ensuring that 28 million other 
children across the country have that same level of access is 
incredibly important to me.
    So, really, again, I am grateful to all of the witnesses 
for your testimony, and look forward to working with you all on 
this bill in the months ahead.
    I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman yields. I would like to 
recognize the gentlewoman from Virginia, Mrs. Kiggans.
    Mrs. Kiggans. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I have the 
privilege of representing the Hampton Roads area in Virginia, 
which is home to one of our nation's largest veteran 
populations. Today, I am excited that my bill, the Military and 
Veterans in Parks Act, or MVP Act, has been included in the 
Committee's expansive recreation package and the EXPLORE Act.
    The MVP Act aims to improve veterans' physical and mental 
health by increasing disabled veteran access to outdoor 
recreational activities in national parks and on certain 
Federal lands. National parks often play an important role in 
the rehabilitation of those who have served in our military, 
helping heal both the visible and invisible wounds of war. 
Unfortunately, the lack of accessible trails, activities, and 
lodging often prevents disabled Americans, particularly 
veterans, from enjoying all that our treasured parks have to 
offer.
    As a Navy veteran and primary care nurse practitioner, I 
understand the positive impact of outdoor activity, and I am 
hoping to provide our veterans with every resource they need to 
build healthy, happy lives. I am proud to support the MVP Act 
and EXPLORE Act, and I am confident this legislation will allow 
our heroes to enjoy all that our beautiful national parks have 
to offer.
    Between the beach and the bay in my district, southeast 
Virginia is home to some of the most beautiful natural 
resources in the country. Although we don't have alligators or 
elks, or at least many of them, residents and visitors alike 
enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, camping, and 
countless other forms of outdoor recreation. Often in one of 
our many national wildlife refuges.
    Mr. French and Mr. Reynolds, your agencies manage some of 
the most beautiful lands in the country. What efforts, if any, 
has the Forest Service and National Park Service taken over the 
last decade to improve access to our Federal lands for people 
with disabilities, and what gaps might remain?
    How can the EXPLORE Act help your agencies fulfill their 
mission to the American people?
    Mr. French. I really appreciate the question, and I agree 
with you. I think we do have the honor of stewarding some of 
the most beautiful lands in the entire country.
    There are two things I will focus on. One of the great 
opportunities that happened with the Great American Outdoors 
Act, which really allowed us to start getting at our deferred 
maintenance, it also gave us the space to re-envision and look 
at many of the opportunities we were providing, and to try to 
expand that, to look at were there opportunities that we should 
be providing to create greater access, especially in places 
where we weren't. And that has helped a lot. We have had more 
than 850 projects, and that is one of the key things that we 
look at is, do we need to change the way that we are providing 
access?
    We have also initiated our Reimagine Recreation initiative 
across the Forest Service. And one of the key focuses of it is 
to identify groups that we haven't really been talking with 
before, or providing a level of service in the past that meets 
contemporary needs. And this is one of those.
    As you have heard here before, probably the greatest factor 
we deal with is not just the deferred maintenance side of 
things, but as we change things, that takes capital 
improvements. So, it really comes down to either finding the 
right partnerships or funding sources in order to make those 
changes to really provide that access.
    Mr. Reynolds. I would just add that we really appreciate 
your comments on this and your support of it, and we want to 
meet and exceed your expectations. This Act would really help 
us to continue to prioritize accessibility.
    We have a couple of things that come to mind, one of which 
might be visible, one not. We have some teams working on 
accessibility. We have an accessibility coordinator in the 
National Park Service now who is focusing much more on working 
with our tourism group and our recreation groups to reach out 
to folks, as Mr. French described, new audiences, if you will, 
that we haven't reached out to as much.
    We also actually, while this might sound minor, it is not 
because it empowers employees at all levels of the Service. We 
have an employee resource group now for empowering people with 
accessibility needs in the Service. So, by them also being 
advocates for themselves in the workplace, they also, we are 
finding, are thinking a lot about accessibility in our parks 
for the public.
    Mrs. Kiggans. Thank you very much for that.
    And then Ms. DiGiulian, as a professional rock climber, 
could you just speak briefly to some of the mental health 
benefits of outdoor recreation?
    Ms. DiGiulian. Sure. As I have been climbing for 25 years, 
I have found an incredible amount of mental health benefits 
through climbing. Climbing has helped me set goals, find 
confidence in myself, understand what failure feels like. I can 
recall more accounts of times when I have learned from failure 
than my competition and world champion victories.
    And I would say that, from the friends that I have who are 
veterans who are climbers, they have found incredible mental 
health benefits, as well. Climbing connects you with nature. It 
brings you to these wild places and enables you to kindle this 
really intense appreciation for the planet, for our climate, 
and for the places that we get to recreate. So, I have found an 
immense amount of mental health benefits from climbing.
    Mrs. Kiggans. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentlelady yields. I would now like to 
recognize Ms. Leger Fernandez for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you so much, Chair. And thank 
you to Chair Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva, for putting 
together this incredible bipartisan EXPLORE Act. Every time I 
read through it, it is like, oh yes, that is great, that is 
great. Oh, I love that bill that is in there.
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. The Good Neighbor Recreation Act 
inclusion I think is wonderful, as is everything else in there. 
I am a proud co-sponsor of it. I love the fact that up here we 
are all talking about, well, in my district we have the most 
beautiful, and in my district we have the most beautiful 
outdoor opportunities, from skiing the slopes in Taos, hiking 
through our otherworldly landscapes of the Bisti Badlands. The 
Continental Divide Trail goes through almost the entire state.
    The outdoor economy in New Mexico is growing exponentially. 
Last year, we saw a 7 percent growth, employing about 28,000 
New Mexicans. Mr. French, what is the contribution to the U.S. 
economy from outdoor recreation on Forest Service lands?
    Mr. French. Thanks for the question. Huge. I mean, like I 
said before, it is the No. 1 economic driver from National 
Forest System lands. We have more than 158 million visits that 
come into the National Forest System, and it represents about 
$13.7 billion in gross domestic product that is coming directly 
from national forest recreation, and more than 160,000 jobs 
that are directly related to that.
    And beyond that, like I said in my earlier statement, often 
the first connection that people make with their public lands 
is through recreation, and that is something that we want to 
foster and carry as we go forward.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. And what is the dollar amount that the 
Agency allocates to recreation?
    Mr. French. I will get back to you on the exact amount, but 
here is what I will tell you. It is probably one of the, not 
smallest, but it is one of the smallest-funded programs we have 
in comparison to the amount of GDP and visitors that are there. 
And we will get back to you with the specifics.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Exactly, and I think that that is it, 
that we need to recognize that this is an investment that has 
an incredible return on investment, and that in order to 
address the issues of making sure those public lands are well 
kept, that this is indeed something that it makes sense to fund 
so that they, the visitors, can feel great about that, and it 
can have that return on investment that just keeps circulating. 
And so much of this money stays in the local economy, which I 
think is very important.
    I think that the discussion about expanding access to 
everybody, we want to make sure that all of our communities are 
involved. I once pulled together a convening when I was on the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation about the fact that 
Latinos don't utilize outdoor recreation enough. And one of the 
members who was a poet said, ``Yes, you know, Latinos, we look 
at those pictures, and there is the guy on the top of the 
mountain, and we say where is his family, doesn't he have any 
family or friends?''
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Because we believe in recreating 
together, right, we all go out together. And we also know that, 
like in places like New Mexico and across the Southwest, many 
of the public lands were formerly actually owned by land 
grants, were owned by people who were here before this was the 
United States. So, I think that that is an important piece of 
how we include them.
    And I don't know if, Mr. Benitez, you are the right place, 
or Mr. Reynolds and Mr. French, how you can describe how you 
are going to look at the Good Neighbor Authority and these 
other things to make sure those Native Americans, this was 
their land, right? Later land grants, other people. How do we 
make sure they feel welcome in a place that they have such long 
connections to these lands?
    Mr. French. Well, I will take a quick stab. I think you 
just named one of the early lessons that I had in my 30-plus-
year career. We often designed and provided opportunities that 
didn't reflect what groups were asking us to do, like bringing 
an entire family out, and we are providing very small sites.
    Our focus right now, as we deal with, we have to steward 
these lands, we have been entrusted with these lands to manage 
them through our trust responsibilities to tribes. And as you 
pointed out, especially in northern New Mexico, our land 
grants, our approach right now is to take a step back, listen, 
and invite in. Ask, we talk about providing opportunities for 
co-stewardship, opportunities for decision-making to be made in 
a much more collaborative way to reflect the needs that, 
honestly, we are learning from either the tribes, Indigenous 
people, or in the case of New Mexico, land grant communities 
that can tell us things that we are just now learning from.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. And I have run out of time. So, Mr. 
Benitez and others on there, we would love to have a written 
response to that, and we will consider it.
    With that, I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentlelady yields. I would now like to 
recognize Mr. Moylan for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Moylan. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany, and I do 
appreciate the hard work, bipartisan effort, and bicameral 
effort championed by our Chairman Westerman and also our 
Ranking Member Grijalva for coming with this outstanding 
measure, the EXPLORE Act, especially because for my district in 
Guam, outdoor recreation and tourism is very critical to Guam's 
economy. And helping make our public lands more accessible, 
both for Americans and tourists, will go a long way towards 
helping tourist-dependent economies recover since the pandemic, 
especially.
    Ms. Andrews, your statements were very interesting. I 
appreciate that. As Director of Arkansas' Office of Outdoor 
Recreation, you put a lot of effort into your statements, and 
especially when you are talking about promoting tourism. And 
one thing I would like to ask you to expand upon a little is, 
could you speak out more about the importance in supporting 
economies based heavily on tourism since this post-pandemic and 
how this bill does that?
    Ms. Andrews. Thank you for the question.
    In Arkansas, tourism is our second driver of our Arkansas 
economy. Tourism numbers and visitation to Arkansas is 
incredibly important. One thing that we try to do well in the 
state is collaboration together. We work with our community 
partners, advocacy groups to work on bringing tourists to 
Arkansas.
    One of the best things that outdoor recreation does is 
draws in visitors, and when visitors come to an area to 
recreate outside, they are also spending time on Main Street, 
they are eating in restaurants, they are visiting antique 
shops, they are spending their money in local gateway towns, 
and that contributes to a local economy. And this bill helps to 
support local gateway regions and access resources to further 
tourism in those areas.
    Mr. Moylan. I appreciate that. Thanks for the further 
explanation.
    And Mr. Chairman, I also would like to say I am 
particularly excited to see the passage of Title II of this 
bill, which expands opportunities for veterans to access public 
lands. With over 13,000 veterans served by Guam's CBOC, giving 
these veterans easy access to recreational opportunities will 
boon not just for our constituents, but for local parks across 
Guam. With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, and I yield 
back.
    Mr. Tiffany. Thank you. The gentleman yields.
    And Chairman, you have 5 minutes.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And again, thank 
you to the witnesses.
    Ms. DiGiulian, I am glad that Mrs. Kiggans asked you about 
the mental health aspect of outdoor recreation. Just last week, 
I was home, and I think it was the first week we had been home 
in 10 or 11 weeks, and I got to go out and sit on a deer stand. 
I was only 12 feet in the air, attached to a tree. I wasn't 
hanging 1,000 feet off the ground on a cliff, like you do, but 
I also had the great fortune of forgetting to put my cell phone 
in my pocket when I rushed out of the house that morning. So, I 
had about 6 hours outdoors with no cell phone, no 
interruptions. It is a great way to clear your mind.
    And I was intrigued by your testimony when you talked about 
the time to reflect, and how thankful you are for the 
privileges that we have here in our country to recreate. And 
from your testimony you said, ``My experiences climbing in 
wilderness areas have taught me self-reliance, humility, and a 
deep appreciation for the conservation of American wilderness 
and public lands.'' We, the Committee, actually did a field 
hearing in the shadows of El Capitan and Half Dome this past 
summer. What an awesome place.
    But I know further in your testimony you talk about some 
proposed rules from the Forest Service and the Park Service to 
disallow anchors in wilderness areas, which we have a 
correction for that in the bill. This is a practice that has 
been going on for 60 years since the Wilderness Act was passed. 
How would it have affected your life, not just for outdoor 
recreation, but as a person, unless you are like Alex Honnold 
as a beginner, and can climb without anchors on El Capitan, how 
would it have negatively impacted your life, had anchors never 
been allowed in wilderness areas?
    Ms. DiGiulian. Thank you, Congressman. A big part of my 
journey as a climber is mitigating risk and climbing as safe as 
I can. I don't free solo, and free soloing is climbing without 
a rope. What I do is free climbing, and that is climbing with 
gear and with fixed anchors, which are crucial to the 
fundamental safety of every single route on El Capitan and the 
vast majority of climbing lines across the country. So, it 
would drastically affect the future generations of climbers.
    And I started climbing as a kid from a city who had no idea 
what climbing was, and climbing created the conduit into the 
outdoors for me. And if this access was made not safe, I 
wouldn't have been allowed to climb as a kid because my parents 
wanted me to survive. So, it is really concerning for future 
generations of climbers to not have the same access to historic 
climbs that have been around for longer than 60 years. It would 
really drastically affect the safety of climbing.
    Mr. Westerman. I appreciate you being here and being the 
voice of thousands of climbers like yourself, maybe not as 
accomplished as you, but people who enjoy getting out and 
climbing.
    Ms. Andrews, it is always good to have another person from 
the Natural State at a Natural Resources Committee hearing. You 
talked about some of the things that are happening in Arkansas, 
and the state park system in Arkansas is really a great state 
park system. And I know some of those parks are actually on 
Federal land. Can you talk about how better access to Federal 
land, and you talked about collaboration with different groups. 
As you look forward for Arkansas' outdoor recreation, how 
important is it to be able to collaborate with Federal partners 
and to be able to do more things like is being done at Mount 
Magazine and Queen Wilhelmina State Parks that are on Federal 
land?
    Ms. Andrews. Thank you. We have seen unprecedented growth 
in Arkansas and momentum. The last few years, we saw record 
visitation to our state park system, which is arguably the best 
state park system in the country. Record visitation also to our 
National Park System. Hot Springs National Park is now the 38th 
most visited park in a system of over 400 parks. During COVID, 
those numbers skyrocketed to the highest we have seen in our 
history, and the momentum continues to build.
    So, it is imperative that we collaborate with our Federal 
partners at the state to open up access, and it is critical 
also to understand that access equals growth, growth of the 
outdoor recreation economy, growth of a conservation mindset, 
and growth of public health and wellness. And in our state 
parks and in collaboration with our Federal partners in the 
National Forest Service, we have a few major projects that are 
happening, most notably Queen Wilhelmina State Park in the 
Ouachita National Forest. We are working on some major mountain 
biking infrastructure, and kicking off this project later this 
year, and this project could not be possible without the 
collaboration and work that is happening with our Federal 
partners. It is imperative.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you. I have many more questions for 
all of you that I will have to submit for the record, because I 
am already over time.
    But again, thank you for your work with us, Ms. Turner, 
especially with the groups that you have pulled together and 
the work that you have done.
    And with that, I will yield back, reluctantly.
    Mr. Tiffany. The Chairman reluctantly yields.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. I would like to take 5 minutes for questions.
    Ms. Turner, can you talk about the difference in the 
permitting process currently? If the EXPLORE Act passes, first 
of all, will it, and how will it make it less cumbersome and 
time consuming?
    Ms. Turner. Thank you for the question, and it will make it 
less cumbersome and time consuming.
    I think we focus a lot on the businesses and non-profits, 
the education institutions on our time. A lot of these 
organizations are small. They lack the resources to spend as 
much time as they are spending on it. But it is also the time 
that the agencies need to spend on it. We are really attuned to 
how many hours are spent processing permits because of the 
antiquated system.
    And the updates that can be made that are simple, that sit 
within the existing laws, I would like to focus on three things 
that are really important. And you know this, as a former small 
business operator.
    But cross-jurisdictional permits, the SOAR Act fixes that. 
Right now, if you are running a river trip as a river guide and 
you are crossing over BLM Forest Service park land, which most 
rivers do, they don't know the boundaries of our Federal 
agencies, you need three different permits for that same trip. 
So, you might hear back from the Forest Service or BLM, but you 
may not, and I am not picking on Park Service, but you might 
not hear back from the Park Service. That means you can't 
operate your trip. You can't market it. People can't plan their 
trips. How is a business able to survive with that level of 
uncertainty?
    I think the second thing that the SOAR Act does is public 
data. Let's have information on where permits are available, 
where they are not, and let's get responses from the Federal 
Government. Even if it is a no, it is really important for 
these operators to know that they can't get a permit at that 
place, and they could go to someplace adjacent or nearby.
    And I think the last thing that is really important is the 
similar uses. Right now, it is practically impossible to get a 
permit if you are switching from maybe kayaking to paddle 
boarding on the same water with the same amount of people, and 
that has the exact same impact on the resource.
    So, we just need to update that system to get more people 
outside in a safe way. And I think often guides and outfitters 
present those first-time experiences for people to the 
outdoors, and we want to make sure that they are as enjoyable 
and as easy as possible.
    Mr. Tiffany. Yes, thank you for that.
    Ms. DiGiulian, I want to piggy-back on the questions that 
Chairman Westerman was asking. What is the understanding 
amongst those of you that are rock climbers that came out from 
the Federal Government that they are not going to allow these 
fixed anchors anymore? What is your understanding of how this 
decision was made?
    Ms. DiGiulian. First of all, the reception of understanding 
that there would be a new consideration of fixed anchors within 
the EXPLORE Act, the Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act 
would protect what historically has existed in climbing for 
years prior.
    And my understanding of the reason of questioning fixed 
anchors is an impact on wilderness areas, and that is just not 
the case, historically. Within climbing there have been climbs 
that have been established and climbed at long before those 
areas were even wilderness areas. And also the visibility of 
fixed anchors, you could be standing in the meadow of El 
Capitan looking up, and have no idea that the wall has fixed 
anchors. They are completely unobtrusive to anyone. All they do 
is enable safety.
    Mr. Tiffany. If I could follow up, this is going to 
increase risk for some, correct, if this goes in place, because 
some may try to climb without the fixed anchors. Would that be 
an accurate statement?
    Ms. DiGiulian. If people try to climb without the fixed 
anchors, they would be really risking their lives.
    Mr. Tiffany. And those people that are climbing with fixed 
anchors now, they may say, ``I can't do this because the risk 
is too high,'' right?
    Ms. DiGiulian. Absolutely.
    Mr. Tiffany. So, gentlemen, why are you guys doing this? 
You are going to discourage people from climbing. Some people 
may take risks that they shouldn't. Why is the Federal 
Government doing this?
    Mr. French. Just to be really clear here, and I want to say 
I greatly appreciate the views and the testimony that has been 
provided here, our proposal we put out was required that we do 
that by Congress. They said that we had to promulgate direction 
on how to regulate climbing on national forests.
    Mr. Tiffany. Which legislation authorized that, Mr. French?
    Mr. French. I will follow up with you, I actually was told 
it beforehand, but it was through one of the appropriation acts 
that we were given direction that we had to promulgate 
direction for climbing.
    Mr. Tiffany. Would you get me that specific bill language?
    Mr. French. I will probably get handed it here as we are 
speaking.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Tiffany. Yes, that would be really appreciated.
    Mr. French. So, that is the first thing.
    The second thing that I want to be really clear----
    Mr. Tiffany. Here it comes.
    Mr. French. It is the 2021 omnibus that contains the 
language.
    The second thing is on National Forest System lands there 
is no restriction on the placement of fixed anchors for 
climbing on 72 percent of the non-wilderness lands. In 
wilderness the issue is, and we were specifically told to 
address fixed anchors in wilderness, is that the Wilderness Act 
defines that you have to prohibit what are called 
installations. Installations are defined as anything made by 
man left behind in wilderness for future use. This created a 
real dilemma for us.
    So, our regulations don't prohibit anchors. What they say 
is climbing is an important part authorized by the Wilderness 
Act for unconfined recreation, which is part of the Wilderness 
Act. It is appropriate, and the use of anchors is an important 
part of allowing that. What we have said is that, in order to 
comply with the installations prohibition from the Wilderness 
Act, is that we can do what is called a minimum requirements 
analysis that allows for the placement of fixed anchors and new 
routes. It allows for existing anchors to remain until such 
analysis can be done, and it allows for any use of placing new 
anchors for safety purposes in wilderness areas now.
    And I recognize the confusion by some of that, and we want 
to work with our climbing groups and others as we go forward in 
this comment period.
    Mr. Tiffany. So, what I am hearing is you are trying to fix 
a screw-up by Congress.
    I want to emphasize to our audience that is here today, 
including the panelists, when you hear sometimes from some of 
us, including myself, when we oppose designations of land going 
into wilderness, this is the kind of stuff that happens, where 
we actually end up harming people who want to, in this case it 
isn't the oil industry or people logging, or anything like 
that. It is people that want to recreate that end up being 
harmed by some of the things that get done with these pieces of 
legislation.
    So, when you hear us be critical sometimes of land going 
into the Wilderness Act, it is not that we don't want to see 
protection, preservation, and all the rest, but I view climbing 
and things like that as a management activity. I mean, it is 
something where people can participate. So, when we are 
skeptical sometimes of these designations, that is part of 
where it comes from.
    I will go back to Mr. French. So, we are talking about 
having more opportunity, all the rest. Yet, we see in northern 
Wisconsin, where I come from, that the Forest Service is 
closing off access to more Federal forest lands. Isn't that 
kind of, what is the word that I want, inconsistent with what 
we are attempting to do here?
    Mr. French. I would love to sit down and talk about those 
specific instances that you see.
    I know our biggest challenge with access is two things. We 
have about 370,000 miles of roads. It represents the biggest 
amount of our deferred maintenance. It is also the key thing 
that people need for access. We have about $7.7 billion in 
deferred maintenance on our roads, and that represents the 
largest amount.
    The second is often having the right-of-ways that we need 
through private lands.
    But Mr. Chairman, if there are specific instances I would 
make myself and my staff available to understand. Because for 
us it is a core value of our agency to ensure access, and I 
would like to follow up with you on that.
    Mr. Tiffany. Yes, we would like to hold you to that because 
many of these roads really don't need maintenance. The 
maintenance of building the berm has been the most money that 
has been spent oftentimes that restricts that access.
    I am going to close really quickly here. It was mentioned 
earlier that we need to fund this in regards to the activities 
that we are hoping to have happen, and I would say a bit of a 
criticism by the Ranking Member of us on this side. I would 
just say that we have passed the Interior appropriation in the 
House of Representatives. It sits before the Senate right now. 
The Senate can pass it any time and send it on to the 
President.
    With that, I have went far over my time, and I am going to 
offer to those that are here an additional second round of 
questions, if you would like that, if anyone has a second round 
that they would like to do.
    The Chairman is going to take me up on that offer, and just 
let me know, any of the other Members, if you want to do that.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you, Chairman Tiffany. And instead of 
submitting these questions for the record, I will just go ahead 
and ask them while you are here and in person.
    Ms. Turner, I mentioned earlier how much work ORR has done, 
and how you have been a champion in the effort to bring 
together the EXPLORE Act. Can you talk about the work that has 
gone into this bill, and why it has so much support from so 
many diverse facets from the outdoor recreation community?
    Ms. Turner. Yes. Thank you for the question. Thank you for 
your work, especially staff, Anelia and Brandon, who just get 
so much credit for this, and I think some Senate staff that 
might be here, as well.
    This has been a labor of love for a really long time. And I 
think the development came maybe a decade ago, when some of the 
groups were coming together and saying here are some issues 
that we think, you know, more tools in the toolbox for the 
agencies, not fitting a round peg in a square hole, what if we 
did this, started building momentum.
    And what is so amazing about this package is the, I would 
say, hundreds of organizations that have contributed to this in 
a bipartisan, bicameral fashion, many who are here today, 
others, like Outdoor Alliance, who spoke yesterday, the 
companies and businesses who can see the real business growth 
behind this package.
    And there is really something in here for everyone. If you 
are a long distance biker, there is the BOLT Act. If you camp, 
there is shoulder season expansion so that we can camp now that 
the weather isn't as predictable, we can camp farther into the 
seasons. There are modernized campgrounds if you RV. RVers are 
a huge part of the recreation economy growth, and a lot of 
campgrounds just don't fit RVs, or there are not charging 
opportunities for new RVs going electric. Safe places to 
practice if you hunt, and the contribution that that has to the 
excise tax in the North American conservation model. Better 
water quality if you fish or boat.
    I mean, truly, you pick your recreation activity. 
Obviously, we have talked about climbing here today and 
paddling, and I think that we have been living by the motto 
that the groups that have come to the table can see the forest 
through the trees here, and they can see that maybe not every 
provision is for everyone, but the sum of the parts of this 
create one of the most important recreation pieces of 
legislation in a generation. So, thank you for your work.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you.
    Chief Deputy French, last Congress, we passed the Veterans 
in Parks Act. And again, it was a very bipartisan bill, 
actually the Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks Act, named 
after a former staffer of the Ranking Member, and it 
permanently codified free recreation passes for military 
service members, veterans, and Gold Star families. Title II of 
the EXPLORE Act follows up that successful effort to address 
barriers to access among our veterans.
    Can you talk about the importance of making our lands 
accessible for military service members and veterans, and how 
the EXPLORE Act will make this a priority among Federal land 
managers?
    Mr. French. Yes. First of all, I think that was directed at 
me, correct?
    Mr. Westerman. Yes, it was.
    Mr. French. We very much appreciate and support the goals 
and intents of the way the EXPLORE Act is providing for not 
just the access, but also, I think, providing a pathway for us 
honoring veterans to be a part of careers that are a part of 
conservation and recreation across our public lands.
    For us, I think that it is incredibly important. Our view 
is that we need to honor the experience and the service of our 
veterans. And if there are ways within our public lands that we 
can provide greater accessibility, whether it is through 
barriers of fees or in terms of how we can create jobs that are 
part of that, we are in support of that. And this bill does 
that.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you.
    Deputy Director Reynolds, as you know, outfitters and 
guides are an important piece of the outdoor recreation 
economy, and that is why the EXPLORE Act contains a title that 
streamlines the permitting process for these small businesses.
    I have recently learned that, despite the positive work we 
are doing on this bill, that the Park Service has released a 
prospectus for outfitters and guides on the Buffalo National 
River that would phase out and ultimately ban them from driving 
the private vehicles of visitors who float the river. This 
would exacerbate overcrowding. It would raise the cost for the 
businesses and decrease access, which is opposite of everything 
we are trying to accomplish in this bill.
    Can you give me a status update on this prospectus, and 
some reassurances that the Park Service will consult with 
current outfitters and guides on the Buffalo before issuing any 
final decision?
    Mr. Reynolds. Yes, we would love to sit down and make sure 
that we are thinking things through straight with these good 
partners on the river, Mr. Westerman. I will commit to 
contacting the Regional Director here right away for that part 
of the world to see where we are on that.
    Mr. Westerman. Thank you very much.
    I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The Chairman yields, and I would now like to 
recognize Ms. Leger Fernandez for a second round of 
questioning.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you so very much. And once 
again, every time I hear the questioning and the answers about 
these bills, I get pretty darn excited, very pleased looking at 
how do we coordinate to make it easier for all the different 
pieces of recreation activity to happen seamlessly, especially 
as you are heading down the river, right? Because sometimes you 
are on tribal land if you are on this side of the river, 
sometimes you are not, you are traveling through state land.
    So, Ms. Turner, thank you for that. Full disclosure, my son 
paid his way through college by guiding in the summer, so I 
really like hearing those things.
    I will point out with regards to the Chair's comment about 
the appropriations bill that what we saw was a $721 million 
decrease. And the things that we are trying to do here, 
everything, all the marvelous things that we have heard about 
today, it is hard to do when you have a cut. The appropriations 
bill total was a 35 percent cut. No agency, no business, no 
family can easily manage when you have a 35 percent cut from 
one year to the other, $721 million in terms of the cut, I 
believe, for the Forest Service itself. I think we really need 
to look at making sure we fund this.
    But I wanted to go back to the question. I didn't get to 
Mr. Benitez and perhaps Ms. Turner on their thoughts about the 
response to my earlier question about how do we make sure that 
we are more inclusive in terms of inviting people in to utilize 
the natural beauty that surrounds them, especially because we 
have a lot of communities, minority communities, rural 
communities who might not easily access those sites.
    Ms. Turner. Thank you. I think this is really important. We 
have a program, Together Outdoors, and Breen is here, who runs 
that program. And really, creating a welcoming and inclusive 
environment, especially for first-time users of the outdoors, 
is so important. That can be at the park, it can be where they 
rent their RV, it can be where they get their fishing license. 
So, I think there is a lot of education and training component 
that goes to that.
    Also telling the stories of the places, the good, the bad, 
what happened here, why is this place here, how has it been 
traditionally been used, how can we further sustainable use?
    I think this bill, in particular, and all of the pieces, 
the EJ, permitting, we have talked about ORLP. But even in 
access not just to places, but information, a lot of equality, 
equity is about access to information. I love what this bill 
does about, where are people using our public lands and what 
are they doing there?
    I have heard stories of people who have gone to the park 
for the first time. I will pick on one in Utah because there is 
no one here, but Arches. And they have waited in a 2-hour line, 
and they have gotten to Delicate Arch, and there are thousands 
of people. And that wasn't the experience they were expecting.
    Conversely, people who have gone outside and there has been 
no one there, and that is a whole other, maybe unexpected 
experience. So, if we can have better public data across the 
Federal agencies of what type of experience you are going to 
have there--``There is going to be a lot of people,'' ``You 
should get there early,'' ``Buy your Park Pass online''--that 
is access to information.
    And especially in the veterans and accessibility 
provisions, let's talk about where outdoor recreation areas are 
accessible to people with disabilities, and how we can better 
that accessibility. We need that information to be public for 
everyone, and I would love to see just as much of a focus on 
access to information as access to physical locations, and I 
think this bill does that.
    Mr. Benitez. I just want to thank you for your question, 
and reflect, somewhat tongue in cheek, when you were asking 
about the Latino family looking at that lone climber on top and 
asking frantically, ``Why are they so alone,'' that was indeed 
my Abuelita, that was my grandmother when I first started 
climbing, worried sick if I was wandering off on my own.
    So, indeed, it is a cultural question. With respect to 
that, TPL's view is that specifically tribes and Indian Nations 
have been shut out of Federal land conservation programs for 
far too long. I think tribal communities deserve the same ready 
access to parks and outdoor experiences, and they often also 
have additional needs to secure ceremonial and sacred outdoor 
spaces.
    Under the provisions within ORLP, tribes would indeed be 
eligible for grants under this legislation. So, while you may 
say that that seems like an easy thing, it has taken us this 
far and this long to get that provision in.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you.
    And Ms. DiGiulian, I know that we cannot get all of the 
Abuelitas, all of the grandmothers on those climbing ropes, so 
that was not in any way intended, I should have said the hiker, 
not the climber.
    But thank you very much, everybody, for the work you have 
done working collaboratively, and including such a range of 
bills. And this is the kind of legislation we just love seeing, 
so it has been a delightful hearing.
    Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. Tiffany. The gentlelady yields. I want to thank all of 
the witnesses for your testimony today, and the Members for 
their questions. Thank you very much for being here.
    Members of the Subcommittee may have some additional 
questions for you today, and we will ask that they respond to 
those in writing. Under Committee Rule 3, members of the 
Subcommittee must submit questions to the Subcommittee Clerk by 
5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. The hearing record will be 
held open for 10 business days for these responses.
    If there is no further business, without objection, the 
Subcommittee on Federal Lands stands adjourned.

    [Whereupon, at 11:58 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

            [ADDITIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD]

Submissions for the Record by Rep. Westerman

                   AMERICAN SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION

                          Alexandria, Virginia

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: The EXPLORE Act

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    On behalf of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), thank you 
for introducing and holding a hearing on the Expanding Public Lands 
Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act, or EXPLORE Act. As the trade 
association for the recreational fishing industry, ASA provides the 
industry a unified voice when emerging laws and policies could 
significantly affect business or sportfishing itself. Our members 
include manufacturers, retailers and allied organizations that comprise 
the $148 billion recreational fishing economy. We urge the Committee to 
pass the EXPLORE Act because it would help modernize and enhance 
management of, and access to, our nation's public lands, benefiting 
recreational fishing and other outdoor recreation activities.
    The introduction of the EXPLORE Act is timely and comes on the 
heels of the latest U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, which 
showed that in 2022, the outdoor recreation economy generated $1.1 
trillion in economic output, comprised 2.2% of U.S. GDP, and supported 
5 million jobs--3.2% of all employees in the country. Outdoor 
recreation has been proven to boost the health of the economy and 
Americans, and access to public lands is crucial for millions of 
anglers to enjoy the outdoors.
    There is much to support in this broad-based legislation that seeks 
to improve recreational opportunities across all federal land 
management agencies. ASA particularly supports provisions to modernize 
and improve accessible trails and campgrounds, improve visitation data 
collection and reporting, slow the spread of aquatic invasive species, 
and increase youth participation in outdoor recreation. Passage of the 
EXPLORE Act will help ensure that the sportfishing industry, and the 
recreation economy in general, continues to grow.
    We are grateful for the ongoing work of the Committee to advance 
legislation that will strengthen the management and conservation of the 
nation's public lands and waters. We look forward to working with the 
Committee on this and other important measures that benefit the 
recreational fishing industry and America's anglers.

            Sincerely,

                                              Mike Leonard,
                               Vice President of Government Affairs

                                 ______
                                 

              INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN BICYCLING ASSOCIATION

Hon. Tom Tiffany, Chairman
Hon. Joe Neguse, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Federal Lands
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

    Dear Chairman Tiffany and Ranking Member Neguse:

    On behalf of the International Mountain Bicycling Association 
(IMBA), which partners with over 200 local organizations and nearly 
200,000 individual supporters, we appreciate the Subcommittee's 
meaningful work with regards to the importance of outdoor recreation 
and conservation. IMBA strongly supports the Expanding Public Lands 
Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. Specifically, Title I, 
Subtitle B, Section 121, the Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act, 
which will improve access to quality outdoor recreation trail 
opportunities on public lands across America. In addition to the BOLT 
Act, we support the organization of the Federal Interagency Council on 
Outdoor Recreation; the focus on access to public lands with people 
with disabilities including trail inventories, accessibility, and 
assistive technology; the spotlight on veterans and the outdoors; the 
extension of Every Kid Outdoors Act; and finally the Simplifying 
Outdoor Access for Recreation specifically leveraging volunteer 
engagement on public lands; as well as elements from Recreation Not Red 
Tape.
    The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) creates, 
enhances, and protects great places to ride mountain bikes. IMBA is 
focused on creating more trails close to where people live; improving 
the quality of and equitable access to sustainable, purpose-built 
mountain bike trails across the U.S.; and supporting trail communities 
so everyone has access to high-quality, close-to-home rides as well as 
iconic backcountry experiences. Since 1988, IMBA has been the worldwide 
leader in mountain bike advocacy and the only organization focused 
entirely on trails and access for all types of mountain bikers in all 
parts of the U.S. and abroad. IMBA teaches and encourages low-impact 
riding, grassroots advocacy, sustainable trail design, innovative land 
management practices, and cooperation among trail user groups. IMBA 
Local is a national network of local groups, individual riders, and 
passionate volunteers working together for the benefit of the mountain 
bike and multi-use trail communities nationwide.

    The Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act is a top legislative 
priority for our community as it continues the investment in outdoor 
recreation by recognizing the importance of long distance trails to 
create iconic backcountry discovery while supporting small rural 
communities. The legislation will require the Secretary of Agriculture 
and the Secretary of the Interior to:

     Identify no less than 10 existing long-distance bike 
            trails on Federal lands in excess of 80 miles in distance;

     Identify 10 areas where opportunity exists to develop or 
            complete long-distance bike trails on federal lands in 
            excess of 80 miles in distance;

     Coordinate with stakeholders on feasibility of completing 
            long distance trails and the resources necessary for such 
            projects;

     Publish maps, signage, and promotional materials 
            highlighting the positive aspects of the long-distance 
            trail network;

     Issue a report, with input from stakeholders, outlining 
            the details of existing and proposed long-distance trails 
            and their promotion.

    There are a number of trails that could benefit from this long-
distance trails recognition, such as the Ouachita National Recreation 
Trail in Arkansas, the High Country Pathway in Michigan, Maah Daah Hey 
trail in North Dakota, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Trail running 
from the Canada to Mexico border, and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in 
Utah. The report will help highlight and reveal other worthy candidates 
as well. Long-distance bike trails have brought incredible economic 
benefits to rural and urban gateway communities across the country, 
while also helping communities transition to a more sustainable and 
reliable recreation economy, and the BOLT Act will help further bolster 
that economy and health of these communities nationwide.

    In addition to the BOLT Act, we believe the following components of 
the bill are critical to the future of America's outdoor recreation 
infrastructure.

     The organization of the Federal Interagency Council on 
            Outdoor Recreation (FICOR). This is a critical aspect to 
            the success of access, economic impact, and resources for 
            the outdoors in America as it will bring together all the 
            agencies to coordinate and evolve towards a more efficient 
            system. We look forward to future partnerships with FICOR.

     Supporting Gateway Communities and Addressing Park 
            Overcrowding. It is inherently important to work with 
            communities adjacent to our public lands and to find 
            solutions that benefit everyone. The goal is for people to 
            have a fantastic experience on our public lands and these 
            communities are an integral part of that enjoyment.

     Broadband Connectivity on Federal Recreational Lands and 
            Waters. As our society becomes increasingly connected, as 
            should our public lands. Critical safety situations, 
            accessibility to camp sites, more simple bookings, lead to 
            a safer, more enjoyable experiences.

     Access for People with Disabilities. Perhaps one of the 
            most critical components of this legislation is ensuring 
            accessibility to our public lands for all people. IMBA has 
            been working with the land agencies designing and building 
            trails for adaptive riders for years. We are thrilled to 
            see this issue become a priority.

     Military and Veterans in Parks. It is critical that the 
            people who have served our country are welcome on our 
            public lands with programs designed to further expand 
            opportunities for recreation.

     Modernizing Recreation Permitting. As users continue to 
            look for deeper, more equitable experiences on our public 
            lands, the permitting process can be a barrier to access. 
            We are pleased the committee has addressed this issue to 
            make permitting more streamlined.

     Maintenance of Public Land. Volunteerism is the foundation 
            of our public lands system and the International Mountain 
            Bicycling Association, from its inception, has been at the 
            forefront of building and maintaining trails by partnering 
            with federal land management agencies. We are thrilled to 
            see this updated to better leverage volunteer engagement, 
            to streamline the process for volunteers, to promote 
            volunteer opportunities, and finally to allow volunteers to 
            participate without liability insurance.

     Recreation Not Red Tape. As supporters of this policy we 
            understand how important these provisions are, including 
            the Good Neighbor Authority allowing Tribes, counties, and 
            states to maintain infrastructure on public land. We would 
            like to see the same type of policy for non-profit 
            organizations as well.

     Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership. We strongly support 
            this program that will improve access to outdoor recreation 
            for underserved communities. We would ask the committee to 
            add language from America's Outdoor Recreation Act that 
            would allow the Secretary to waive any matching funds 
            requirement if an entity has no reasonable means for 
            matching said funds. This allows these funds to be 
            available to smaller organizations and marginalized 
            communities that often have an outsized impact in their 
            communities.

    According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the outdoor 
recreation economy crested over $1 trillion and accounted for $563.17 
billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is an increase of $238 
billion over 2021. Headwater Economics projects that these numbers 
present a significantly higher value than some of the traditional 
economic drivers such as motor vehicle manufacturing; oil, gas, and 
coal; air transportation; and the performing arts.
    The recent pandemic makes clear that access to public lands is 
essential for the health and well-being of all Americans. This 
legislation is an important step forward in utilizing existing natural 
recreation resources for a greater purpose and value to the public. The 
EXPLORE Act is a commonsense, bipartisan way to enable and promote the 
benefits of physical health, mental health, and wellness through 
concerted access on public lands.
    IMBA appreciates the Committee's role in advancing outdoor 
recreation across the United States and its important work on the 
EXPLORE Act. We stand ready to assist the Committee to ensure passage 
of this important bill into law and find any additional opportunities 
to increase outdoor recreation to benefit our members and Americans 
nationwide.

            Sincerely,

                                               Todd Keller,
                                     Director of Government Affairs
                                 ______
                                 

                   Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC)

             Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA)

          Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA)

                          Arlington, Virginia

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: The EXPLORE Act

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    On behalf of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC),\1\ the 
Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA),\2\ and the Recreational 
Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) \3\--collectively known as the 
Associations--we applaud your leadership for introducing the EXPLORE 
Act. This comprehensive legislation will help create additional 
opportunities for motorized access to federal recreational lands, 
improve recreation infrastructure, support local communities, and 
bolster our nation's economy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) is a not-for-profit, 
national trade association representing several hundred manufacturers, 
distributors, dealers and retailers of motorcycles, scooters, 
motorcycle parts, accessories and related goods, and allied trades.
    \2\ The Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) is the 
national not-for-profit trade association representing manufacturers, 
dealers, and distributors of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in the United 
States. SVIA's primary goal is to promote safe and responsible use of 
ATVs.
    \3\ The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) is a 
national, not-for-profit trade association formed to promote the safe 
and responsible use of recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs--
sometimes referred to as side-by-sides or UTVs) manufactured or 
distributed in North America. ROHVA is also accredited by the American 
National Standards Institute (ANSI) to serve as the Standards 
Developing Organization for ROVs. More information on the standard can 
be found at https://rohva.org/ansi-standard/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The introduction of the EXPLORE Act is timely and comes on the 
heels of the latest U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, which 
showed that in 2022, the outdoor recreation economy generated $1.1 
trillion in economic output, comprised 2.2% of U.S. GDP, and supported 
5 million jobs--3.2% of all employees in the country. Outdoor 
recreation has been proven to boost the health of the economy and 
Americans, and access to public lands and trails is crucial for 
millions of ATV, dirt bike, and side-by-side riders and drivers to 
enjoy the outdoors.
    There is much to support in this broad-based legislation that seeks 
to improve recreational opportunities across all federal land 
management agencies. Specifically, the Associations support provisions 
intended to identify, improve, and sustainably increase recreational 
opportunities on public lands. These provisions include a better 
understanding of recreational visitation patterns, increasing/improving 
broadband connectivity at developed recreation sites, improving parking 
and camping near recreational trails and areas, modernizing and 
improving accessible trails, and increasing youth participation in 
outdoor recreation.
    The Associations also support the establishment of a Federal 
Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR), which will help 
federal land management agencies work together to address maintenance 
backlogs, infrastructure work delays, and other issues, leading to 
improved and expanded recreational access for millions of Americans.
    Further, provisions that require the Secretaries of Agriculture and 
Interior to ``. . . seek to create additional opportunities, as 
appropriate, for motorized and nonmotorized access and opportunities on 
Federal recreational lands and waters administered by the Chief of the 
Forest Service or the Director of the Bureau of Land Management,'' 
provide clear Congressional direction that recreation will continue to 
be a foundational use of Forest Service and BLM lands as provided for 
in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act and the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act.
    Finally, we would like to highlight our support for the inclusion 
of the Military and Veterans in Parks Act (MVP Act), which promotes and 
enhances outdoor recreation opportunities for veterans and active 
service members. The MVP Act would help veterans' physical and mental 
health, especially those with accessibility issues, by expanding and 
improving recreational and trail opportunities on federal lands. Not 
only would the MVP Act allow veterans safe and accessible use of public 
lands, but it would also broaden employment opportunities for veterans, 
many of whom have experience and interests that align well with natural 
and cultural resource lands management.
    Passage of the EXPLORE Act will help ensure that our nearly $50 
billion powersports industry, and the recreation economy generally, 
continues to grow and serve our ever-expanding constituencies. We 
appreciate your efforts and look forward to working with you and your 
staff throughout the legislative process.

            Sincerely,

                                        Scott P. Schloegel,
                        Senior Vice President, Government Relations

                                 ______
                                 

                      OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

                                               December 1, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    We are writing to express our strong support for the Expanding 
Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, which was 
introduced in the House this week. This legislation provides meaningful 
funding to build outdoor recreation opportunities across the country by 
expanding the time federal lands are open to the public, investing in 
specific recreation infrastructure like biking trails and trailhead 
facilities, and utilizing real-time data to extend the outdoor 
recreation season. Investments like these will have a real impact on 
the ability of all Americans to spend time outside and enjoy the 
physical and mental health benefits of outdoor recreation. We thank you 
for your leadership on behalf of the outdoors and the outdoor 
recreation economy for the introduction of this bill.
    Outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of American life and a pillar 
of our economy, contributing more than $1.1 trillion to our economy and 
supporting 5 million jobs. Increased support for outdoor recreation 
through federal investments in recreation infrastructure and public 
parks--like those proposed in your legislation--are critical to the 
continued success of our businesses and the outdoor industry.
    Millions of Americans turned to the outdoors, including more women, 
more urban-dwellers, and more ethnically diverse individuals to find 
refuge during these difficult times. Yet, more than 100 million 
Americans still do not live within walking or biking distance of a 
park. Now more than ever, people are experiencing the physical and 
mental health benefits of getting outside, and Congress can take action 
to support this newfound shift to the outdoors by supporting this act.
    Outdoor Industry Association represents hundreds of outdoor 
businesses across the country, and our members proudly support the 
provisions outlined in the EXPLORE Act, which come from numerous past 
recreation bills. These include, but are not limited to, the 
Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act and Recreation Not 
Red Tape Act (RNR), which would further increase access to the outdoors 
by simplifying the permitting process for public lands and cutting 
regulatory red tape that creates barriers to recreation; the Outdoors 
for All Act, which would benefit underserved communities by creating 
inclusive outdoor recreation programs that bring economic and health 
benefits to low-income neighborhoods; and the Gateway Community and 
Recreation Enhancement Act, which would provide technical assistance 
and development opportunities to the communities that are the gateways 
to our cherished public lands.
    By increasing Americans' access to outdoor spaces and recreation, 
these bills will provide meaningful economic opportunities to countless 
communities and local outdoor industry businesses. Following several 
years of COVID-19 related lockdowns and economic stress, these 
proposals would help strengthen the outdoor industry while improving 
the mental, physical, and economic well-being of everyone, regardless 
of zip code, background, or income.
    We thank you for your continued dedication to the outdoors, and we 
look forward to working with you to ensure Congress passes this bill 
and President Biden signs it into law.

            Thank you,

                                             Kent Ebersole,
                                                          President

                                 ______
                                 

                             PeopleForBikes

                           Boulder, Colorado

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    On behalf of PeopleForBikes, I wanted to express our strong support 
for the EXPLORE Act. Bicycling continues to be an important part of the 
outdoor experience and the outdoor recreation economy. PeopleForBikes' 
overall mission is to make America the best place in the world to ride 
a bike by advancing good policy, safe products, improved 
infrastructure, wider participation and rider education. The EXPLORE 
Act will help advance that mission by increasing access to bicycling, 
especially on our public lands. I would strongly encourage the House 
Natural Resources Committee and the House of Representatives to pass 
this legislation.
    The PeopleForBikes Coalition is the sole trade association for U.S. 
manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of bicycle products, 
including electric bicycles. Our 335 members represent companies that 
produce goods in every segment of the bicycle market, from high-end 
competition bicycles to affordable kids' bikes. Our members produce the 
full range of components, parts and accessories used for bicycling, as 
well as electric bicycles.
    Like so many major legislative packages impacting the outdoors, the 
EXPLORE Act is bipartisan and has strong support from industry, non-
profit organizations, and stakeholders across the outdoor recreation 
ecosystem. This legislation brings together all corners of outdoor 
recreation and the bicycle industry is proud to support this bill, 
especially since it includes provisions to identify potential long 
distance bike trails, updates the existing complex permitting process 
on public lands that will benefit guided trips for cyclists, builds 
adaptive trails for veterans and the broader disability community, and 
prioritizes funding for local outdoor recreation projects within 
underserved communities.
    We greatly appreciate your leadership on this legislation and your 
inclusion of important provisions that expand access to bicycling. We 
look forward to working with you and your staff to ensure this 
legislation moves through the legislative process and is signed into 
law.

            Sincerely,

                                                Matt Moore,
                                                     Policy Counsel

                                 ______
                                 

                 SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION

                        Diamond Bar, California

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: The EXPLORE Act

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) writes to thank 
you for your leadership on the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor 
Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. This historic legislation will 
help meet the growing demand for access to the outdoors by improving 
access and experience for more Americans to recreate on public lands.
    SEMA is a non-profit trade association that represents over 7,000 
mostly small businesses around the country that manufacture, 
distribute, and retail specialty parts and accessories for motor 
vehicles. The specialty automotive aftermarket industry supports over 
1.3 million jobs across the U.S. and contributes over $336 billion to 
the American economy each year through the production and sale of 
performance, functional, restoration and styling-enhancement products 
for use on passenger cars, trucks, SUVs, and special interest collector 
vehicles.
    Protecting and expanding motorized access on public lands is 
important to tens of thousands of motorized recreationists, the local 
economy, and all of the men and women who manufacture, sell, and 
install parts needed to upgrade vehicles to go off-road. Off-roading is 
not only a passion for millions of Americans, but it is an economic 
driver that is critical to the U.S. economy, that contributes to the 
$1.1 trillion annually to the economy and employs 5 million people.
    SEMA supports advancing this comprehensive bill that seeks to 
improve recreational opportunities on federal lands, including for the 
motorized recreation community. SEMA strongly supports provisions 
intended to help federal land management agencies to increase motorized 
and non-motorized access to public lands as well as directing the U.S. 
Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to periodically 
update maps to help ensure responsible motorized recreation.
    We appreciate your efforts and look forward to working with the 
committee to pass the EXPLORE Act.

            Sincerely,

                                             Mike Spagnola,
                                                    President & CEO

                                 ______
                                 

                         THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

                                              November 30, 2023    

Hon. Tom Tiffany, Chairman
Hon. Joe Neguse, Ranking Member
House Natural Resources Committee
Subcommittee on Federal Lands
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

    Dear Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and Members of the 
Federal Lands Subcommittee:

    On behalf of our more than one million members and supporters, The 
Wilderness Society (TWS) writes to express its views on the Expanding 
Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act, AKA the ``EXPLORE 
Act,'' scheduled to be heard by the Subcommittee on November 30, 2023. 
We respectfully request that this letter be included in the hearing 
record.

    The EXPLORE Act is a comprehensive package of legislation bills on 
a wide range of subjects. The Wilderness Society supports the bill 
overall and strongly supports certain sections of the legislation. We 
will identify those sections below. At the same time, we have concerns 
about some components of the bill and several recommendations for 
improvement. We will lay out our concerns and recommendations for 
improvement in the order in which they appear in the bill.

    TWS strongly supports the following portions of the EXPLORE Act:

     Title II Access America--TWS supports efforts to increase 
            access to federal lands and waters for people with 
            disabilities and military veterans. We also strongly 
            support efforts to increase youth recreation visits to 
            Federal lands, and welcome the Committee's efforts to 
            extend the Every Kid Outdoors program.

     Title III Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation--Title 
            III has many valuable elements that would increase 
            opportunities to experience federal lands and waters. A key 
            component of this title is the SOAR Act, which TWS has 
            supported for many years. Passage of the SOAR Act would 
            dramatically improve guided recreation opportunities on 
            federal lands and waters. We thank the Committee for 
            incorporating the bill into the EXPLORE Act with only minor 
            amendment.

                     COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC SECTIONS

Section 113 Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation

    Section 113 establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor 
Recreation (FICOR) as a permanent, Congressionally-chartered council of 
the Executive Branch. We think this an important step for improving 
coordination between the federal land and water management agencies.
    We commend the sponsors for basing the EXPLORE Act's FICOR language 
on the America's Outdoor Recreation Act, S. 873, the Senate's version 
of the recreation package. This is a significant improvement over the 
language in H.R. 3107, the Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination 
Act.
    The EXPLORE Act improves upon the Senate bill when it defines 
``Federal recreation lands and waters.'' Instead of relying solely on 
the definition of Federal recreation lands and waters in the Federal 
Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq (FLREA), 
the EXPLORE Act expands this definition to include the lands and waters 
managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
Army Corps of Engineers. These two agencies are not covered by FLREA. 
However, it is important to include them here.
    Unfortunately, the EXPLORE Act does not take the additional step of 
including the lands and waters managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
in the definition of Federal recreation lands and waters. We regard 
this as a significant oversight since BIA would be a FICOR member under 
the EXPLORE Act and has responsibility for Tribal Parks across the 
country. We can think of no reason why NOAA and the Army Corps should 
be included, and BIA should not be included. We urge the Committee to 
correct this oversight.
    We commend the sponsors of the EXPLORE Act for authorizing the four 
relevant Cabinet Secretaries to rotate the leadership of the Council in 
the manner in which they believe it will work best. This will help to 
ensure that all four departments have an opportunity to lead the 
Council and participate fully in the Council's affairs.
Section 122 Protecting America's Rock Climbing

    The Wilderness Society supports the inclusion of section 122, 
derived from the Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act (PARC Act, H.R. 
1380) in the EXPLORE Act. Section 122 will provide increased clarity on 
the management of fixed climbing anchors in designated Wilderness. We 
note that the PARC Act was revised through an Amendment in the Nature 
of a Substitute (ANS) when it was marked up by this Committee on June 
21, 2023. The ANS made the PARC Act nearly identical to the climbing 
section of the America's Outdoor Recreation Act, S. 873 (AORA). This 
was a significant improvement to the bill.

    However, a few variances remain between section 122 and the 
climbing section of AORA. We believe one of these variances is 
significant. Section 122(e) of the EXPLORE Act omits language that 
appears in the parallel subsection of AORA. We think the omitted 
language is important and we urge the House to insert it into the 
EXPLORE Act at markup. To do so, we recommend that the House revise 
subsection 122(e) of the EXPLORE Act to read as follows (insertion 
shown in red):

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    .epsThe inserted language preserves essential discretion for the 
land management agencies to determine when the continued use of 
specific climbing routes is appropriate. This decision-making lies 
squarely within the management functions of the agencies. Without this 
language, subsection (e) could be read to require the agencies to allow 
the continued use of every route in existence on the date of enactment. 
We believe such a requirement would be too broad. For that reason, we 
urge House members to support an amendment to insert this language into 
the EXPLORE Act.
Section 123 Range Access

    TWS has concerns about section 123 of the EXPLORE Act as written. 
We believe the requirement to construct a shooting range on every 
National Forest and Bureau of Land Management district is arbitrary and 
fails to consider the level of local demand. We also believe that 
agencies should be able to collect fees for the use of shooting ranges. 
We recommend the following changes to address these concerns:

     Modify section 123 to direct the agencies to assess the 
            need for shooting ranges on a specific unit. Impose a 
            mandate only where a clear need exists.

     Eliminate the restriction in section 123(b)(3)(B)(iv) that 
            limits the ability of the agency to charge fees for the 
            shooting range. Allow the agencies to charge expanded 
            amenity recreation fees under FLREA.

Section 127 Motorized and Nonmotorized Access

    Section 127 has some positive elements but is also ambiguous in 
some respects. We recommend replacing the text of section 127 to 
resolve these ambiguities. Our replacement text appears below.

    We oppose the insertion of the savings clause in section 127(e). 
Our concern is that this subsection could undermine the travel 
management plans of the agencies and result in motorized use in 
nonmotorized areas. It could also give agencies a loophole to avoid 
completing travel management plans in the future. We recommend that 
subsection (e) be deleted.
    We recommend replacing section 127 with the following text:

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    

Section 131 Gateway Communities

    Section 131 imposes a significant unfunded mandate on the federal 
land management agencies. Subsection (a) directs the agencies to 
``collaborate with State and local governments, Indian Tribes, housing 
authorities, applicable trade associations, nonprofit organizations, 
and other relevant stakeholders to identify needs and economic impacts 
in gateway communities . . .'' Section 131(a)(1). The agencies are 
instructed to carry out this work ``using existing funds available to 
the Secretaries.''
    The task of collaborating with all these agencies is a major 
undertaking that will require significant agency resources. Congress 
should not require the agencies to take on this work with existing 
funds available. Doing so will force the agencies to neglect their 
other assigned responsibilities in order to comply with these mandates. 
If Congress intends to impose new mandates on the agencies, it has a 
responsibility to provide the additional funding necessary to carry out 
those mandates.
Section 132 Improved Recreation Visitation Data

TWS supports the goals of section 132 but believes it is problematic in 
two ways.

a. Single Visitation Data Reporting System

    First, subsection (a) requires the agencies to establish a single 
visitation data reporting system that provides an estimate of the 
number of visitors broken down by recreational activity. Developing a 
unified visitation data reporting system would be a significant 
improvement over the current piecemeal system. However, we urge the 
committee to be realistic about the challenges of producing unified 
data across multiple federal land management agencies. This task will 
be difficult for several reasons.
  1.  Of the five agencies covered by this bill (BLM, BOR, NPS, USFWS, 
            USFS) only two have entrance gates at which visitors can be 
            counted as they arrive (NPS and USFWS). Two of the five 
            agencies (BLM and USFWS) have completely porous boundaries 
            that make it very difficult to count people upon their 
            arrival.

  2.  Although some NPS and USFWS units have entrance gates at which 
            the agencies are able to count visitors, this data paints 
            an incomplete picture of visitation at Park Service units 
            and Wildlife Refuges. The reason for this because even 
            units with gates have other entry points through which 
            people can gain access without being counted. In addition, 
            some NPS and USFWS have no entrance gates. As a result, 
            visitation data for NPS and USFWS units is, inherently, an 
            underestimation of visitation.

  3.  Because their borders are porous, BLM and USFS must use other 
            methods for measuring visitation. Some of the alternative 
            methods currently being used involve labor intensive field 
            surveys that can only be conducted once every five years. 
            This makes the task of producing unified visitation data on 
            an annual basis more difficult.

    The differences in data collection methodologies and collection 
frequency will make it challenging for the agencies to produce unified 
annual visitation data. Some evolution in the agencies' data collection 
strategies may be required. For these reasons, we urge the committee to 
give the agencies plenty of time to comply with this mandate.
b. Real Time Data Pilot Program

    Section 132(b) requires the Secretaries to create a data pilot 
program that predicts visitation in real time and make that data 
available to the public through multiple media platforms. The bill 
instructs the agencies to carry out this work ``using existing funds 
available to the Secretaries.''
    This task is a major undertaking that will require the integration 
of data sets from multiple sources. This will be a challenging 
technological development process. Congress should not require the 
agencies to take on this work with existing funds available. Doing so 
will adversely affect the agency's other assigned responsibilities.
Section 153 Partnership Agreements to Modernize Campgrounds

    Section 153 requires the land management agencies to enter into an 
arbitrarily set minimum number of agreements within three years to 
modernize campgrounds and other facilities on federal lands and waters. 
However, section 153 does not authorize the agencies to set minimum 
standards for contract acceptability. Consequently, the requirement to 
enter into a minimum number of agreements could force them to accept 
bad agreements. We recommend that the committee revise section 153 to 
explicitly authorize the agencies to set minimum standards for contract 
acceptability and eliminate the minimum number of agreements in section 
153(c).
Section 156 Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program

    Access to high-quality parks is limited for many people in the 
United States including 28 million children who do not have any such 
parks within a half-mile radius of their homes. This deprivation is 
especially severe in low-income and communities of color.
    Section 156 aims to address this issue by expanding the eligibility 
for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) and codifying the 
ORLP program to make it permanent. ORLP is funded through the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund and supports the creation and improvement of 
outdoor recreation infrastructure in eligible areas of a population of 
25,000 or more, with priority given to low-income communities. This 
section has earned bipartisan support because it seeks to address 
outdoor recreation deficits, promote job training, public-private 
partnerships, and ensure equitable access to the benefits of local 
parks.
    Although TWS supports section 156, we note that the EXPLORE Act 
omits an essential element of the original Outdoors for All Act that 
would ensure greater access to the benefits of the OLRP program. 
Section 3(b) of the original bill (H.R. 1065) and section 406(b)(2)(B) 
of AORA (S. 873) would allow the Secretary to waive the match 
requirement for ORLP grants under certain circumstances.
It reads:

[    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    We recommend that this waiver authority be reinserted into the 
EXPLORE Act. Without this authority, the Secretary will not be able to 
harness the true potential of the ORLP program.

    Similarly, we recommend that section 156(b)(2)(B) of the EXPLORE 
Act be amended to allow grantees to use up to 10% of their grant 
receipts for administrative expenses. Currently, this subsection limits 
grantees to 7% for administrative expenses.

Conclusion

    Thank you for your time and consideration of our views and the 
views of our millions of members and supporters.

            Sincerely,

                                              Paul Sanford,
                                        Director of Policy Analysis

                                 ______
                                 

Submissions for the Record by Rep. Tiffany

                  AMERICAN MOUNTAIN GUIDES ASSOCIATION

                           Boulder, Colorado

                                               December 6, 2023    

Hon. Tom Tiffany, Chairman
Hon. Joe Neguse, Ranking Member
House Natural Resources Committee
Subcommittee on Federal Lands
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: ``Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act''

    Dear Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and Members of the 
Subcommittee:

    The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) respectfully 
submits this testimony for inclusion in the public record regarding the 
House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Federal Lands, 
Legislative Hearing on the EXPLORE Act, held on November 30, 2023. The 
EXPLORE Act includes improved versions of several longtime priorities 
of AMGA such as H.R. 1527, the Simplifying Outdoor Access for 
Recreation Act (SOAR Act), and H.R. 1380, the Protecting America's Rock 
Climbing Act (PARC Act). The American Mountain Guides Association 
supports both the SOAR Act and the PARC Act for the reasons stated 
herein.
About American Mountain Guides Association
    The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is a 501(c)(3) 
educational non-profit organization that provides training and 
certification for climbing instructors, mountain guides, and 
backcountry skiing guides throughout the United States. Founded in 
1979, the AMGA has trained over 13,000 climbing and skiing guides who 
provide outdoor experiences for the public on federal lands. As the 
American representative to the International Federation of Mountain 
Guide Associations, the AMGA institutes international standards for the 
mountain guiding profession in the United States and serves as an 
educational body for land management agencies, outdoor businesses, 
clubs, and other recreation stakeholders. Of additional relevance to 
today's hearing, our membership includes outfitters and guides who have 
been operating on federal lands since the inception of the modern 
commercial recreation permitting system. We have extensive experience 
with federal land management systems, climbing management including 
fixed anchors, and recreation special use permitting. We welcome the 
opportunity to provide testimony on the SOAR Act and PARC Act.
AMGA Support for the SOAR Act
    The American Mountain Guides Association appreciates the 
Subcommittee's recognition of the need to improve access to federal 
lands and we commend Chair Tom Tiffany, Ranking Member Joe Neguse, 
Vice-Chair John Curtis and the Federal Lands Subcommittee for taking 
steps to advance legislation that will enhance opportunities for 
Americans from all walks of life to access and enjoy federal lands. In 
particular, we believe there is a significant opportunity to increase 
access to recreational opportunities on federal lands by modernizing 
the outfitter and guide permitting systems of the federal land 
agencies. These systems are antiquated and inefficient, and they impose 
unnecessary and costly administrative burdens on land management 
agencies and guides alike. These issues prevent outfitting and guiding 
businesses from growing to their full potential and limit opportunities 
for the public to benefit from the assistance of an outfitter, guide, 
outdoor education center, outdoor adaptive program, veteran's outdoor 
program, or organized outdoor club.

    The SOAR Act as written in the EXPLORE Act will clarify existing 
authorities and establish new authorities that will make special 
recreation permits easier for outfitters and guides to obtain and 
manage, and easier for the agencies to administer. In the following 
section, we outline several provisions in the bill that are 
particularly notable.

    In Section 312(e), Special Recreation Permits for An Organized 
Group Activity or Event, the bill establishes a new type of simplified 
permit that can be issued quickly and easily when a guided outing will 
have no more than nominal effects on federal recreational lands and 
waters, resources, and programs. This common-sense approach will 
increase opportunities for the public to participate in guided 
recreational activities when those activities will not adversely impact 
the landscape and agency resources.

    In Section 313(a), Permit Flexibility, the bill directs the 
agencies to allow a new recreational activity to occur under an 
existing permit, without doing additional analysis, when the new 
activity is substantially similar to the activity that is already 
permitted.

    In Section 313(c), Surrender of Unused Visitor-Use Days, the bill 
establishes a program to allow a permit holder to return unused 
visitor-use days to the agency to be made available to other existing 
or potential permittees. Returned visitor-use days may be utilized by 
other permit holders and the unguided public. This section will promote 
economy of use by maximizing the utilization of all available visitor-
use days.

    In Section 315, Service First Initiative; Permits for 
Multijurisdictional Trips, the agencies are authorized to offer a 
single joint special recreation permit for guided trips that cross 
agency boundaries. Outdoor trips typically follow natural features such 
as rivers, canyons, and high mountain ridges for ease of travel and 
maximum recreational value. Oftentimes, agency boundaries are not 
perfectly aligned with these landscape features and in some cases a 
group may cross an agency boundary (or multiple agency boundaries) in 
the course of a single trip. Under the current system, this requires a 
permit from each agency. It is time consuming and costly for guides to 
apply for and maintain multiple permits with different agencies. It is 
also inefficient for the agencies to issue multiple permits to the same 
outfitter for a single activity.

    Section 315 of the bill will address these complexities by allowing 
the agencies to issue a single joint permit to minimize cost and 
administration when a guided trip crosses agency boundaries.

    In Section 316, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 
Transitional Special Recreation Permits for Outfitting and Guiding, the 
bill directs the agencies to develop and implement a 2-year 
transitional permit that can convert to a 5-year or 10-year permit 
after four years of satisfactory performance. The creation of a 2-year 
permit, and the ability for it to convert to a longer term, will bring 
significant new efficiencies in the form of less frequent permit 
processing. For example, under current law, a holder of a Forest 
Service temporary permit must re-apply for the permit every 180 days.

    In Section 318(c), Additional Capacity, the Forest Service is 
authorized to assign additional visitor-use days to a recreation 
service provider at any time, provided capacity is available. This will 
enable recreation service providers to meet the growing demand for 
recreational experiences and contribute to the growth of the local 
economies, many of which are in rural areas adjacent to federal lands.

    In Section 319, Liability, the bill authorizes the agencies to 
allow special recreation permit holders to use liability waivers to the 
extent they are authorized by applicable state law. Presently, there is 
inconsistency among land management agencies, and even within 
individual agencies, on the use of liability release forms. The Bureau 
of Land Management generally allows them, the U.S. Forest Service 
allows them in some locations but not others, and the National Park 
Service does not allow them at all. The bill would resolve these 
inconsistencies and establish the principle that State law controls the 
validity of liability waivers.

    In Section 319(b), Indemnification by Government Entities, the bill 
directs the agencies to waive the existing indemnification requirement 
for state-based institutions that are prohibited by state or local law 
from providing indemnification to the United States provided they carry 
the minimum required amount of liability insurance. Under current law, 
state-based institutions such as colleges, universities, and 
municipalities may be unable to hold special recreation permits due to 
their inability to fulfill the indemnification requirement. Section 
319(b) of the bill would remedy this situation and enable college 
outdoor recreation programs and municipal recreation districts, many of 
which offer low-cost outdoor courses and trips, to provide outdoor 
programs on federal lands.

    In Section 320, Cost Recovery Reform, the bill addresses a proposal 
released by the Forest Service on March 9, 2023 that would eliminate an 
existing fee exemption for the first 50 hours of agency time spent 
processing an application for a special recreation permit. If the 
Forest Service proposal is approved, special recreation permits will 
become significantly more costly. The additional cost will be a major 
barrier for small businesses and organizations, especially those who 
serve under-represented populations. Section 320 of the EXPLORE Act 
would direct the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to 
establish an hourly threshold under which application processing is 
exempt from fees. This will allow small businesses and non-profit 
organizations to continue providing high-quality outdoor experiences 
for the public at a reasonable price.
    The opportunities for improvement that are contained in the SOAR 
Act, as written in Title III of the EXPLORE Act, are truly bipartisan 
in nature. This is demonstrated by the wide range of Democrats, 
Republicans, and outdoor industry stakeholders who support the bill. As 
further evidence of bipartisan support, the SOAR Act was reported out 
of the House Natural Resources Committee with unanimous consent on July 
29, 2020 and again on October 13, 2021. The broad array of support is 
not by accident. The SOAR Act has been developed over a period of 10 
years with extensive input from the outdoor recreation community and in 
consultation with conservation groups and land management agencies. The 
bill has been carefully written and revised to accommodate the 
interests of diverse parties while promulgating change that is much 
needed and long overdue. With the SOAR Act, Congress has an opportunity 
to enact strong, bipartisan legislation that will truly enhance the 
recreational benefits of federal lands and empower the American people 
to enjoy them.
AMGA Support for the PARC Act
    The American Mountain Guides Association also supports the 
Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act because it will preserve access 
to guided climbing opportunities in America's wilderness areas. Many 
climbs in wilderness areas have occasional fixed anchors--such as a 
nylon sling wrapped around a tree, a metal piton placed in a crack, or 
a small bolt affixed to the rock--to allow a climbing party to safely 
ascend and descend a rock face or a mountain. Guides are highly reliant 
upon these fixed anchors to provide an enjoyable and safety-oriented 
experience for their clients. Without fixed anchors in place, many of 
the ``trade routes'' that guides have been using for decades to operate 
their businesses would become unreasonably dangerous, or altogether 
impossible. These trade routes exist in iconic wilderness climbing 
areas such as Yosemite National Park, CA; Joshua Tree National Park, 
CA; the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, UT; North Cascades 
National Park, WA; Shoshone National Forest, WY; and many others.
    Two weeks ago, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park 
Service proposed a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act that would 
prohibit fixed anchors in wilderness. This new interpretation goes 
against nearly 60 years of precedent in which these federal land 
agencies have allowed climbing and the occasional use of fixed anchors 
to explore public lands and wilderness areas. The new Forest Service 
and National Park Service proposals are problematic for a number of 
reasons.
    First, the federal land agency proposals would create significant 
safety issues by forcing local land managers to consider climbing fixed 
anchors as prohibited and implement a costly and time-consuming 
administrative exception process every time a climbing anchor needs to 
be maintained. The exception process, called a Minimum Requirements 
Analysis or ``MRA,'' can take months to complete. With this approach, 
the agencies fail to recognize that climbing guides need to maintain 
fixed anchors on an immediate basis to ensure the safety of their 
clients. A climbing guide can't wait for a months-long approval process 
to be completed when an anchor must be maintained in real time for 
their climbing team to safely ascend or descend a climb. For example, a 
common form of fixed anchor is a nylon sling tied around the base of a 
tree. Over time, these slings become deteriorated due to sun, wind, 
heat, and cold exposure. If a guide reaches an anchor and finds a 
deteriorated nylon sling that is unable to safely secure the climbing 
team, it is imperative that the guide be able to repair or replace the 
sling on the spot. For decades upon decades, guides have taken 
professional responsibility for the safety of their clients in vertical 
climbing terrain, which includes the fundamental need to make sure the 
climbing team's anchors are secure. The new proposals by the Forest 
Service and the National Park Service place an unnecessary 
administrative obstacle in front of the routine and standard practice 
of replacing fixed anchors that become weathered in unforgiving 
environments. The PARC Act is critical legislation that will protect 
the ability of guides to provide for the safety of the climbing public 
when fixed anchors are required for ascent and descent.
    Second, the federal agency proposals threaten appropriate historic 
climbing routes that have already been allowed and managed by federal 
land agencies. For example, many wilderness climbing routes on El 
Capitan in Yosemite National Park rely on a de minimus number of fixed 
anchors to protect blank sections of rock where removable climbing gear 
is not available. These fixed anchors are thousands of feet up the 
wall, occupy a space the size of a matchbox car, and are visible only 
to the climbers using them. The situation is the same in other 
Wilderness areas such as those in North Cascades National Park, the 
Wind River Range, or the Sierra Nevada Range. In fact, approximately 
90% of the established climbing routes in America's wilderness areas 
are now threatened by the agency proposals despite their negligible 
social, environmental, and visual impact. To be clear: America's 
climbing history and mountain culture is at risk. At a minimum, the 
federal land agency proposals need to be revised to exempt existing 
climbing routes that have been previously allowed and have been managed 
as appropriate wilderness recreation opportunities.
    Third, the proposals do not align with current land agency policies 
and management practices. In 2013, the National Park Service issued 
Director's Order 41 (DO41), which provided specific management 
direction for climbing in wilderness. DO41 establishes the principle 
that fixed anchors should be rare in wilderness, it prohibits any type 
of bolt-intensive climbs, and it requires prior authorization for the 
placement of new fixed anchors in wilderness. On the topic of fixed 
anchor maintenance, DO41 states that maintenance of fixed anchors 
``may'' require prior authorization--a reasonable and practical 
approach that generally allows for critical maintenance to be performed 
on site without prior authorization, but which provides the agency with 
discretion to require prior authorization in specific, unique 
circumstances.
    DO41 clearly allows for the occasional use and maintenance of fixed 
anchors in wilderness and requires either programmatic or site-specific 
authorization for the placement of new fixed anchors. The policy made 
it clear that fixed anchors were allowed, yet regulated, and the 
climbing community accepted it. These guidelines demonstrate that land 
managers already have a template to manage climbing effectively and 
protect the climbing resource, including wilderness character, while 
providing valuable visitor experiences and supporting local economies. 
The new proposal by the National Park Service is vastly at odds with 
DO41 and would undo decades of collaborative effort between climbers 
and the agency.
    The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service currently--and 
successfully--implement numerous Wilderness Management Plans at park 
units and national forests that specifically allow for the conditional 
placement and replacement of fixed anchors in wilderness. Reversing 
these existing plans with new impractical and costly proposals would 
create safety concerns, erase historic climbing achievements, and block 
future generations from safely experiencing the world's greatest 
climbing venues.

    The EXPLORE Act, via the PARC Act, will bring consistency and 
predictability to climbing management by providing the land management 
agencies with clear direction from Congress, especially regarding 
climbing management within wilderness areas. It is a simple and elegant 
solution that will:

  1.  Require the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to issue 
            national guidance on management of climbing within 
            wilderness areas;

  2.  Clarify that climbing and the use of fixed anchors are allowable 
            uses within wilderness areas;

  3.  Preserve the existing authority of land management agencies to 
            regulate climbing to ensure it protects wilderness 
            characteristics, natural resources, and cultural values; 
            and,

  4.  Provide for public participation in decisions affecting climbing 
            in wilderness areas.

    If guides are no longer able to freely use and maintain existing 
wilderness fixed anchors, and occasionally place a new fixed anchor 
with prior authorization, the American public would be deprived of the 
opportunity to experience the unique character of wilderness climbing. 
Guiding businesses would also face severe economic impacts, which are 
not to be understated. Many climbing guide services are small 
businesses that employ local workers in rural communities adjacent to 
federal lands. If a guide service is forced to cease or limit its 
operations in wilderness, it could cause irreparable harm to the 
business, the workers, and the economy of the local community.
    For the aforementioned reasons, the American Mountain Guides 
Association strongly supports the EXPLORE Act--and the SOAR Act and 
PARC Act included therein--that would modernize the guide and outfitter 
permitting process and allow for the use, placement, and maintenance of 
climbing fixed anchors in wilderness areas. Thank you for the 
opportunity to share our perspective. We look forward to working with 
Congress to implement the improvements and critical measures contained 
in the EXPLORE Act.

            Sincerely,

                                                 Matt Wade,
                                                 Executive Director
                                 ______
                                 

Submissions for the Record by Rep. Grijalva

 Prepared Statement of the Hon. Raul M. Grijalva, a Representative in 
                   Congress from the State of Arizona
                           on the EXPLORE Act

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the time and your partnership on this 
important legislation.
    I'm pleased to be here, discussing a renewed, bipartisan effort to 
continue the conversation around outdoor recreation on our public 
lands.
    The American people's love of our public lands and spending time 
outdoors is growing every year. Recreation has been a boon for local 
economies and job creation.
    But our public land management agencies also must have the tools, 
resources, and staff they need to keep up.
    The EXPLORE Act is a much-needed starting point for making sure we 
have improved, more equitable access for recreational pursuits.
    This legislation holds the potential to be a significant bipartisan 
win. I am pleased that key provisions sponsored by House Democrats are 
in this package, including Congresswoman Barragan's legislation, The 
Outdoors for All Act.
    Recreation and being outdoors is important for both our mental and 
physical health. This isn't something that should be reserved for just 
a select few.
    Everyone should have easy access to the outdoors and the benefits 
they provide.
    We must ensure that urbanized and densely populated communities, 
which have historically been left out of the recreation conversation, 
are a part of this legislation.
    That's why I'm excited that the EXPLORE Act permanently authorizes 
the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program so that urban and 
low-income communities can continue to access federal support for 
outdoor recreation opportunities.
    The outdoors are for all.
    I want to make clear that this legislation is a work in progress.
    This hearing today is an important step in that process.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and working with 
my Republican colleagues to consider any changes that are recommended 
by our partners.
    We will need to continue this discussion beyond today's hearing 
with federal land management agencies, outdoor recreation industry 
interests, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders about the 
impacts of outdoor recreation in federal lands; including how to best 
protect and preserve public lands.
    To close, I would also like to emphasize that as we move forward 
with this legislation, we must prioritize conservation, access, and 
restoration to uplift the protected places that are the backbone of the 
outdoor recreation economy.
    Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back.

                                 ______
                                 

                NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

                             Washington, DC

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Hon. Raul Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: NPCA position on the EXPLORE Act

    Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:

    Since 1919, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been 
the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhancing 
our National Park System. On behalf of our 1.6 million members and 
supporters nationwide, I want to share our remaining concerns and areas 
of support for the proposed EXPLORE Act.
    NPCA appreciates the intent of the EXPLORE Act as national parks 
reach the height of their popularity with over 300 million visits. NPCA 
hopes the Committee will work with us to make changes to improve the 
bill for park staff and visitors.
    The last few years have shown just how important getting into the 
outdoors is to the American public and the Explore Act contains 
numerous provisions that forward this priority. NPCA supports efforts 
to make our national parks and other public lands accessible to those 
with disabilities, including for our military and veterans. Title II--
Access America directs the federal land management agencies, including 
the National Park Service, to develop adaptive trails and adaptive 
recreation opportunities for those with physical disabilities. We 
support these efforts to catalog and create adaptive trails and 
recreation opportunities and ensure those opportunities are promoted 
for people to enjoy. We strongly encourage Congress to provide 
increased funding through annual appropriations to ensure the agencies 
succeed in these efforts.
    In addition to the Title II, there are specific sections that NPCA 
is pleased to see included in the EXPLORE Act. Sec. 113 increases 
coordination across multiple Federal agencies as our public lands 
experience record breaking visitation. Sec. 156 supports the Outdoor 
Recreation Legacy Partnership, a national grant program that develops 
recreational infrastructure in communities that have been traditionally 
under-resourced. Sections 231 and 232 increase access to outdoor 
experiences by supporting Every Kid Outdoors Act and encouraging 
strategic efforts to increase youth visitation on public lands. 
Sections 321 and 322 would make entrance, recreation, and America the 
Beautiful passes available for purchase online.
    However, there are also sections of this wide-reaching legislation 
that require further clarification and modification to ensure the best 
possible outcome for America's public lands and national parks. NPCA is 
opposed to Sec. 126, which would fundamentally alter wildlife 
management in the National Park System. Decisions on culling on 
National Park Service (NPS) lands should be rooted in science and 
utilized as a crucial wildlife management tool to ensure biodiversity 
in a park is maintained. Culling efforts within the legislated boundary 
of a national park is led by the government, or its authorized agent, 
to meet clear conservation goals. This effort is contrary to the NPS 
mission and standards for culling by essentially creating incentives 
for trophy hunting in parks where hunting is prohibited. This text 
would not add value to the science-driven, professional approach the 
National Park Service utilizes in wildlife management.
    Visitation within certain iconic units of the National Park System 
continues to be at, or near, record highs. This sustained increase in 
visitors presents opportunities for new visitors to enjoy and learn 
from America's natural and cultural treasures. However, overcrowding 
also presents new challenges for land managers as they work to 
guarantee a positive visitor experience that protects these special 
places. Sections 131 and 132 attempt to resolve some of these issues 
through the collection and dissemination of visitation data. 
Unfortunately, these sections present an unfunded mandate to land 
management agencies, who will be unable to successfully implement this 
strategy without significant federal funding. As Sec. 141 of this 
legislation illustrates, further infrastructure investments would be 
needed on our public lands to guarantee the necessary internet access 
required for real-time data collection. NPCA is not convinced that 
federal land management agencies have the corresponding staff who can 
analyze and ensure integrity of the collected data. Since the data is 
intended for public use, Congress should ensure its accuracy and 
efficacy, even if that data is collected by a private sector partner. 
Some of these strategies have already been undertaken by private 
companies, and Congress should ensure that the intent of this text 
isn't unintentionally duplicating private sector efforts. Finally, 
these sections lack a definition of ``suitable'' locations for 
developing, expanding, or enhancing recreation use. We need to ensure 
these sites are sufficient to support estimated visitor increases 
without degrading visitor experiences or damaging natural and cultural 
resources such as riparian areas, sensitive species, wildlife habitat 
and migration areas, and Indigenous sites and sacred cultural areas.
    While NCPA supports efforts to address the employee housing 
shortages in and near the national parks, we are concerned about 
language in Sec. 151 that allows the general public to be housed on 
national park land beyond those that work closely with the park such as 
concessioners, cooperating association employees and other partners. 
The NPS provides housing to employees when conditions of employment 
warrant it or due to a lack of availability elsewhere. The lack of 
affordable housing across the country is becoming a crisis for national 
park staff. National park managers throughout the country are 
struggling to provide adequate and affordable housing for their 
employees.
    NPCA supports creative ideas to address these housing needs for 
national parks employees and partners. The EXPLORE Act expands the 
Secretary of the Interior's authority to enter into partnerships with 
other federal agencies, states, local governments, tribal governments, 
housing entities, and other public and private organizations to 
develop, construct, rehabilitate or manage housing affordable housing 
for federal employees, their families and the public. This expanded 
authority allows the housing to be located both on and off public lands 
and NPCA supports the extension of the current authority to allow for 
these partnerships. We do not believe the general public should live in 
national park housing--Congress must ensure park employees can perform 
their duties by maintaining a supply of housing for them.
    A 21st century Park Service requires not only bold thinking, but 
investments in the staff and technology that are the foundational tools 
necessary to uphold the NPS mandate as outlined in the Organic Act. 
NPCA looks forward to working with Congress and this Committee as this 
legislation moves forward.
    If you have any questions or need additional information, please 
contact NPCA's Visitor Experience Program Manager Tucker Johnson 
([email protected]).
    Thank you for considering our views.

            Sincerely,

                                          Christina Hazard,
                           Legislative Director, Government Affairs

                                 ______
                                 

                            OUTDOOR ALLIANCE

                                              November 29, 2023    

Hon. Tom Tiffany, Chairman
Hon. Joe Neguse, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Federal Lands
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: EXPLORE Act legislative hearing

    Dear Chairman Tiffany and Ranking Member Neguse:

    On behalf of the human-powered outdoor recreation community, thank 
you for the Subcommittee's diligent work towards the bipartisan 
development of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation 
Experiences (EXPLORE) Act and for holding the Subcommittee's November 
30 hearing. We are enthusiastic about the Subcommittee's efforts and 
look forward to continuing to work with you to refine the EXPLORE Act.
    Protecting and enhancing high-quality outdoor recreation 
experiences on public lands and waters requires two things: 
conservation for the lands and waters on which these experiences 
depend, and sound management for outdoor recreation. The EXPLORE Act 
proposes important steps to better manage public lands and waters for 
recreation and improve opportunities for sustainable and equitable 
recreation access. The opportunity to enjoy public lands and waters 
improves peoples' lives, enhances their connection to the natural 
world, and also supports the outdoor recreation economy, which, 
according to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, supported more than 1 trillion dollars in gross economic 
output and nearly 5 million jobs.
    Outdoor Alliance is a coalition of ten member-based organizations 
representing the human powered outdoor recreation community. The 
coalition includes Access Fund, American Canoe Association, American 
Whitewater, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter 
Wildlands Alliance, The Mountaineers, the American Alpine Club, the 
Mazamas, Colorado Mountain Club, and Surfrider Foundation and 
represents the interests of the millions of Americans who climb, 
paddle, mountain bike, backcountry ski and snowshoe, and enjoy coastal 
recreation on our nation's public lands, waters, and snowscapes.

    Our specific comments follow. We request the Subcommittee's 
particular attention to necessary changes to the following sections:

     Sec. 112, Identifying opportunities for outdoor recreation 
            (p. 2 below);

     Sec. 123, Range access (p. 5 below);

     Sec. 127, Motorized and nonmotorized access (p. 6 below).

Title I, Outdoor Recreation and Infrastructure
Subtitle A--Outdoor Recreation Policy

    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports the EXPLORE Act's congressional 
declaration of policy, legislative support for FICOR, and recreation 
budget crosscut. We would like to work with the Subcommittee, however, 
to further refine Sec. 112, Identifying opportunities for recreation, 
which can be improved to reduce burden on the land management agencies 
and ensure that agencies are able to employ the results of the 
contemplated inventory to support high-quality recreation experiences.

    In general, we support the reorientation of Sec. 112 to support the 
sound management of high-quality recreation resources on public lands 
and waters. To do this, we request the following changes:

     In Sec. 112(b)(1)(B), rather than publishing the inventory 
            and assessment for public comment, public comment should be 
            the basis for the assessment process. The outdoor 
            recreation community will nearly always be in the best 
            position to provide the information that will form the 
            basis for the assessment and inventory, and encouraging 
            robust public outreach from agencies will be the best way 
            to ensure a sound assessment.

     Reduce the requirements on agencies in 
            Sec. Sec. 112(b)(3). Sec. 112(b)(3)(A)-(D) will be 
            particularly onerous on agencies, and we are particularly 
            concerned that, while costs and conflicts will be 
            relatively easy for agencies to document, demand, projected 
            demand, and benefits will be much more difficult to 
            determine. This may create an inadvertent incentive for 
            agencies to curtail recreation access. Sec. Sec. (E)-(G) 
            will be more valuable for agencies to consider, and we 
            support their retention.

     Amend Sec. 112(c)(1) to avoid directing land managers to 
            judge areas as ``underutilized'' and ``encourage'' use. The 
            opportunity to recreate in a high-quality landscape free 
            from crowds is itself a very important recreation value. In 
            general, ``underutilized'' is not a useful rubric for 
            considering the management of areas where the opportunity 
            for quiet or solitude may be an important value. 
            Additionally, land management agencies are likely not well 
            equipped to ``encourage recreation use'' given the 
            multitude of factors--from the quality of a given resource 
            for a particular pursuit, to the popularity of particular 
            locations on social media--that strongly affect use 
            patterns. Land managers should focus on supporting the 
            stewardship of high-quality recreation opportunities.

    A proposed redline to Sec. 112 is attached as Appendix 1.
Subtitle B--Public Recreation on Federal Recreational Lands and Waters

    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Subtitle B's provisions to 
safeguard Wilderness climbing opportunities and promote mountain biking 
as a sustainable outdoor recreation opportunity. We also have concerns 
and suggested changes to sections addressing shooting range access and 
travel management planning, which we have noted below.
    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Sec. 121, Biking on Long 
Distance Trails, which would promote mountain biking as a sustainable 
recreation activity on federal lands by identifying opportunities for 
long-distance bike trails. This section would diversify outdoor 
infrastructure by expanding long-distance bike trails across America's 
federal public lands. By providing opportunities for trail users, 
Congress can create pathways to positive physical and mental health, 
and this legislation supports these goals. Sec. 121 will direct federal 
land managers within the Department of Interior and USDA Forest Service 
to 1) identify no fewer than 10 existing long-distance bike trails not 
shorter than 80 miles; 2) identify not fewer than 10 opportunities to 
develop or complete long-distance trails not less than 80 miles; 3) 
create maps, signage, and promotional materials for long-distance 
trails; and 4) issue a progress report no later than 2 years after 
enactment. We appreciate Sec. 121's attention to these special 
opportunities and resources.
    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Sec. 122, Protecting America's 
Rock Climbing Act, which would safeguard Wilderness climbing 
opportunities by directing the establishment of national-level guidance 
for the placement and maintenance of fixed climbing anchors in 
Wilderness areas. Wilderness areas are integral to America's climbing 
history, and climbers were among the original supporters of the 
Wilderness Act. Many of America's most iconic climbing areas, including 
Yosemite's El Capitan and the Diamond in Rocky Mountain National Park, 
lie within federal Wilderness areas, and climbers benefit greatly from 
the Wilderness character found in these areas. Fixed anchors are 
essential tools in a climber's safety system. These include bolts, 
slings, pitons, and other tools long used by climbers to safely and 
sustainably ascend and descend technical terrain. Fixed anchors are 
found in Wilderness areas throughout the country, and many pre-date the 
Wilderness Act. Despite climbing's longtime status as an established 
use in Wilderness areas, there has never been a consistent federal 
policy for managing fixed anchors within Wilderness across agencies.
    Section 122 is especially critical in light of recent actions by 
the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. Earlier this 
month, these agencies issued draft climbing management guidance 
adopting a new interpretation of the Wilderness Act that considers 
fixed anchors as prohibited ``installations.'' \1\ The draft guidance 
creates significant uncertainty around the legality of existing fixed 
anchors, as well as climbers' ability to safely maintain and develop 
new and existing routes. Sec. 122 would support the outdoor recreation 
community's work to improve the draft guidance by restating Congress's 
intent that climbing--including the judicious use of fixed anchors--is 
an allowable use within Wilderness areas. This section will provide 
certainty that climbers can continue to enjoy sustainable access to 
some of the world's most treasured climbing areas without amending the 
Wilderness Act or changing long established Wilderness management.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, FSM 2355 
Climbing Opportunities #ORMS-3524, available at https://
cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=ORMS-3524; U.S. 
Department of Interior, National Park Service, Evaluation and 
Authorization Procedures for Fixed Anchors and Fixed Equipment in 
National Park Service Wilderness Areas, available at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=132387.

    Outdoor Alliance is concerned by several aspects of Sec. 123, Range 
Access. Our organizations generally support thoughtfully-sited 
designated shooting ranges on public land, as unmanaged and unregulated 
target shooting on public lands is a safety and resource protection 
hazard in many locations across the United States. Designated areas for 
this activity would improve public safety and reduce impacts to public 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
lands. We respectfully recommend the follow edits to this section:

     First, we are concerned that Section 2(c)(2) could prevent 
            closing areas of Federal land to shooting unless a target 
            shooting range is made available. This creates a potential 
            public safety hazard, especially given the Forest Service 
            and BLM's limited ability to quickly designate target 
            shooting ranges due to capacity constraints. Such closures 
            have been necessary to protect National Forest lands and 
            ensure public safety, particularly in high-use recreation 
            areas in close proximity to urban areas. We request that 
            the text be amended to allow for closures for public safety 
            or resource protection in addition to ``emergency 
            situations.''

     Second, we believe that the presence of a minimum of one 
            range per National Forest or BLM unit is arbitrary, and the 
            legislation should, rather, encourage agencies to evaluate 
            the need for additional developed shooting areas.

     We would strongly support the addition of provisions to 
            require planning for shooting area cleanup, including lead 
            removal. Given these likely costs, we strongly support the 
            elimination of the exemptions for these areas from 
            collecting fees under the Federal Lands Recreation 
            Enhancement Act, both as a matter of ensuring resources for 
            management and as a matter of equitability with other 
            public land users.

    Outdoor Alliance appreciates Sec. 125, Federal Interior Land 
Media's intent to update the permitting process for commercial filming 
to account for modern technology and modern formats for distributing 
media that blur the distinction between commercial and noncommercial 
activities. We support adding an additional requirement that commercial 
film crews acquire an online, no-cost permit that would provide an 
opportunity to educate production crews about best practices for 
filming on federal lands and establish a point of responsibility 
between film crews and federal agencies. This would provide an 
important opportunity to help minimize impacts on recreational, 
cultural, and ecological resources.
    Outdoor Alliance requests changes to Sec. 127, Motorized and Non-
Motorized Access. We are very much in support of making appropriate 
travel management planning for motorized vehicle use on federal land a 
priority, including the subsequent development of practical motor 
vehicle and over-snow vehicle use maps for the benefit of the 
recreating public. Meaningful travel management--the determination of 
an appropriate and sustainable network of roads, trails, and areas for 
motor vehicle use on public lands in all seasons--has been a goal of 
federal land management agencies since at least the early 1970s. 
Motorized travel is an important and legitimate use on public lands, 
both for public access and for recreation. But as motorized 
recreational use has increased over the years--and as the technological 
capability of off-road and over-snow vehicles has improved--so too have 
impacts increased to natural resources, wildlife, and other, non-
motorized uses of the same public lands. The need for effective 
management based on appropriate planning has never been more urgent 
than it is today.

    In order to accurately reflect the existing travel management 
planning process for both the BLM and Forest Service, we respectfully 
recommend incorporating the following edits to Sec. 127:

     Appropriately reference the end-product of BLM travel 
            management planning by referring to BLM plans as a ``ground 
            transportation linear feature dataset'' and reference the 
            processes that create this dataset: ``travel management 
            plans'' and ``winter travel management plans''.

     Change ``seek to create additional opportunities'' to 
            ``seek to improve opportunities'' in Sec. 127(d). Creating 
            new infrastructure is not always the path towards better 
            recreation access, especially when the BLM and Forest 
            Service already struggle to maintain their existing road 
            and trail networks. By directing the Secretaries to seek to 
            improve opportunities rather than simply to seek to create 
            additional opportunities, the EXPLORE Act opens the door to 
            pursuing a broader array of options for improving outdoor 
            recreation, such as maintaining existing trail networks or 
            building new trail segments that create (much-desired) loop 
            opportunities.

     Remove the savings clause at Sec. 127(e). Existing agency 
            regulations already specify that motorized and non-
            motorized uses are allowed even when agencies have not yet 
            completed motor vehicle use maps, over-snow vehicle use 
            maps, or ground transportation linear feature datasets.

    A proposed redline to Sec.  127is attached as Appendix 2.
Subtitle C--Supporting Gateway Communities and Addressing Park 
        Overcrowding

    Outdoor Alliance supports Subtitle C, which provides support to 
gateway communities and improves how agencies record and monitor 
recreation visitation data.

    Section 131, Gateway Communities, will help gateway communities 
capitalize on their proximity to recreation amenities in building local 
economies. The significance of outdoor recreation-related tourism in 
gateway communities has grown in recent years, and as more communities 
adapt to high levels of visitation and invest in their outdoor 
economies, additional support and collaboration from federal land 
managers can help address housing costs, infrastructure needs, 
workforce development, and other issues that can accompany recreation-
related economic growth. To accomplish this goal, Sec. 131 requires 
federal agencies to work with state, local, Tribal, and nonprofit 
partners to create a needs assessment of gateway communities, and the 
bill would provide new pathways for resource sharing between the 
federal government and local communities.
    We also appreciate Sec. 132, which improves how federal agencies 
communicate with the public regarding visitation to public lands. 
Current agency reporting makes it difficult for the public--and often 
land managers themselves--to understand the true location, extent, 
seasonality, and timing of recreational use across public lands. 
Innovative approaches like the proposed Real-time Data Pilot Program 
will help agencies adapt their recreation management to better account 
for where and when significant recreational use is occurring, including 
by identifying lesser-known recreation sites. This goal of improving 
recreation use data is further supported by Sec. 133, which would 
require certain land management units to establish protocols to model 
recreation use patterns.
Subtitle D--Broadband Connectivity on Federal Recreational Lands and 
        Waters

    Outdoor Alliance generally supports Subtitle D, which would 
facilitate the expansion of broadband and cellular service at National 
Parks and in certain developed recreation sites. However, given the 
broad range of deferred maintenance and other infrastructure needs--
including improved internet connectivity for rural gateway 
communities--we prefer that the resources envisioned by this subtitle 
be directed as strategically as possible and in a way that does not 
interfere with existing undeveloped and backcountry recreation 
opportunities. To this end, we appreciate the provisions of Sec. 141 
prioritizing broadband expansion for more developed sites within 
National Parks and prioritizing cellular service in areas needed by the 
public to access emergency services. We also appreciate Sec. 141's 
protections for viewsheds, natural and cultural resources, and the 
National Park visitor experience.
Subtitle E--Public-Private Parks Partnerships

    Outdoor Alliance supports portions of Subtitle E, particularly 
Sec. 156, which would codify the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership 
(ORLP), a grant program that improves access to outdoor recreation 
opportunities in underserved communities. We also have concerns with 
several sections of this subtitle, which we have noted below.
    Section 151, Lodging Options Developed for Government Employees, 
seeks to address the issue of housing shortages in and around National 
Parks and National Forests. Housing costs in public lands gateway 
communities have skyrocketed in recent years, and a lack of affordable 
housing has become a major hurdle for government agencies seeking to 
build the workforce needed to sustainably manage public lands. Outdoor 
Alliance supports efforts to address housing shortages for government 
employees; however, we recommend strengthening Sec. 151 by further 
prioritizing housing for federal employees and by providing additional 
transparency for members of the public. Regarding Sec. 151(a), which 
addresses the National Park Service, we recommend strengthening the 
proposed language at Sec. 101334(c)(4) to give preference to federal 
employees to the maximum extent possible, particularly for housing that 
is located on federal land. Regarding Sec. 151(c), which addresses the 
U.S. Forest Service, we recommend the agency be required to make a list 
of its administrative sites available to members of the public and 
provide for public comment prior to leasing a site for development 
under this section. Finally, while we are not opposed to providing 
housing for federal employees on public lands, we strongly prefer that 
gateway communities be encouraged to plan for sustainable growth within 
existing private lands.
    Outdoor Alliance is similarly concerned by Sec. 153, which would 
establish a pilot program enabling federal land managers to enter into 
agreements with state, local, and Tribal governments, as well as 
nonprofit organizations and private entities, to restore and maintain 
certain recreational facilities such as campgrounds, resorts, cabins, 
and visitor centers on federal lands. In general, our community 
strongly prefers that land management agencies be adequately funded to 
maintain recreational facilities and is concerned by efforts to de 
facto privatize these resources. Additionally, we are concerned by the 
potential of these efforts to displace public lands visitors who prefer 
a less developed experience, as well as the potential for these changes 
to increase costs and undercut efforts to make public lands accessible 
to everyone. We believe it would also be prudent for land managers to 
be instructed to consider the effect on adjacent resources (including 
areas popular or potentially popular for dispersed camping) as users 
who do not prefer, or cannot afford, these developed options are 
displaced. We request that the scale of this proposal be reduced to one 
unit of the National Forest System and one unit of BLM land.
    Outdoor Alliance supports Sec. 154, Parking Opportunities for 
Federal Recreational Lands and Waters, which would provide federal land 
managers with new authorities to increase parking areas on federal 
lands, where appropriate. As outdoor recreation participation grows, 
parking at some recreation areas has become increasingly limited, often 
creating a public safety hazard for recreationists as well as for 
members of the general public. We especially appreciate that Sec. 154 
provides land managers with the authority to provide for alternative 
transportation systems, which can help alleviate the need for 
additional parking.
    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Sec. 156, which would codify and 
make permanent the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, a grant 
program to improve access to outdoor recreation opportunities in 
underserved communities. Outdoor recreation is the most common way in 
which Americans come to know their public lands and waters and develop 
a stewardship ethic. Recreation activities help provide a connection to 
place; personal and health benefits; community connection; and vibrant 
economies. Too many Americans, however, lack ready access to these 
opportunities. ORLP helps make recreation and conservation funding 
available to the communities that need it most. We strongly support 
making this program permanent. We also strongly recommend adding 
language included in Sec. 406(b)(2)(B) of America's Outdoor Recreation 
Act of 2023 (S. 873) allowing the Secretary to waive the matching funds 
requirement if an eligible entity has no reasonable means for meeting 
the matching funds requirement and the public benefit of a project 
outweighs the public interest in the matching requirement. This 
provision is necessary to ensure that ORLP funds are available to 
smaller organizations and marginalized communities that often do not 
have access to the resources necessary to raise matching funds. In many 
cases, these are the exact communities that ORLP was designed to 
benefit, and adding this provision will help to ensure that these funds 
are spent where they are most needed.
Title II, Access America

    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Title II, which would expand 
outdoor recreation opportunities for military service members, 
veterans, people with disabilities, and young people. Spending time in 
the outdoors has been proven to provide a wide variety of physical and 
mental health benefits, and this title would make these benefits more 
readily available to segments of the population where they are vitally 
needed.
Subtitle A--Access for People With Disabilities

    Subtitle A would expand access to outdoor recreation on public 
lands for people with disabilities by evaluating the accessibility of 
existing recreation infrastructure, by directing land managers to 
develop new accessible recreation opportunities, and by making 
assistive technology more readily available on federal public lands. 
Outdoor Alliance especially appreciates that Sec. 215 includes biking, 
rock climbing, and snow sports within the list of accessible recreation 
opportunities. As adaptive technology continues to improve, 
recreationists with disabilities will have increased ability to pursue 
these activities on federal lands. We also recommend that Sec. 212 
clarify the extent of the comprehensive trails inventory envisioned by 
Sec. 212(a)(1). As worded, this section suggests that land managers may 
be required to inventory every trail on public lands for 
accessibility--a potentially unachievable task without significant 
dedicated funding.
Subtitle B--Military and Veterans in Parks

    Subtitle B would expand outdoor access for military service members 
and veterans by expanding resources for outdoor education, facilitating 
new outdoor recreation programs, promoting outdoor career opportunities 
for veterans, and more. Research shows that outdoor recreation can help 
alleviate mental health issues common to veterans including post-
traumatic stress disorder.\2\ Outdoor Alliance strongly supports this 
subtitle, which would make these benefits more easily attainable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ See, Mark Wheeler, Nicholas R. Cooper, et al, Outdoor 
recreational activity experiences improve psychological wellbeing of 
military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: Positive 
findings from a pilot study and a randomised controlled trial, 15(11) 
PLoS One (2020); Joanna Ellen Bettmann, Ileana Anderson, Joe Makouske, 
and Adam Hanley, Mental Health Outcomes of Peer-led Therapeutic 
Adventure for Military Veterans, 45(3) Journal of Experiential 
Education (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtitle C--Youth Access

    Subtitle C would increase youth participation in outdoor activities 
by directing land managers to create a national strategy for youth 
recreation, and by extending the existing Every Kid Outdoors program. 
The Every Kid Outdoors Program encourages fourth graders to experience 
America's public lands and waters by providing free access to thousands 
of sites throughout the U.S., including National Parks. This program 
helps to give kids the opportunity to experience outdoor recreation 
early in life, which can have lifelong health benefits and helps 
inspire the next generation of caretakers for America's public lands. 
The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, 
which codified this program in 2019, included a sunset provision that 
would cause the program to expire in 2026. Sec. 232 would extend this 
important program for an additional seven years.
Title III, Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation

    Outdoor Alliance strongly supports Title III, Simplifying Outdoor 
Access for Recreation, which would facilitate meaningful outdoor 
experiences by improving the recreational permitting systems for 
outfitters and guides. For many people, guided outdoor experiences 
provide a first exposure to more adventurous forms of outdoor 
recreation and to the natural world. These opportunities are essential 
for allowing new participants to experience outdoor recreation 
activities in a safe environment that allows for skill building and 
helps participants become more conscientious visitors to sensitive 
landscapes.

    The ability for facilitated access providers to offer these 
experiences is dependent on a challenging and dated system for special 
use permitting for public lands activities. Title III will improve the 
recreational permitting systems so more people can experience public 
lands through volunteer-based clubs or with an outfitter, guide, 
nonprofit outdoor leadership organization, or university outdoor 
program. We are particularly supportive of provisions in the Title III 
that would:

     Direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to 
            identify opportunities to improve the special recreation 
            permitting process (Sec. 312);

     Allow outfitters' unused surplus service days to be made 
            available to other potential permittees (Sec. 313);

     Allow outfitters and guides to engage in activities that 
            are substantially similar to the activities specified in 
            their permit (Sec. 313);

     Make information about the availability of the special 
            recreation permits available online (Sec. 314);

     Allow agencies to provide permits for multi-jurisdictional 
            trips under a single joint permit (Sec. 315);

     Encourage agencies to allow purchasers to buy a federal 
            and state recreation pass in a single transaction 
            (Sec. 321);

     Make the America the Beautiful Pass and other federal 
            recreation passes available for purchase online (Sec. 322);

     Extend the duration of the recreation season to cover a 
            broader period of the year where recreational activities 
            are occurring (Sec. 331);

     Encourage federal agencies to enhance recreation 
            opportunities through private-sector volunteer programs 
            (Sec. 341);

     Require an interagency report on special recreation 
            permits in underserved communities (Sec. 353).

    Together, these changes would simplify and modernize recreation 
permitting to make guided outdoor experiences more easily accessible to 
the American public.
    Finally, we respectfully recommend that Sec. 352 Permit Relief for 
Picnic Areas specify what exactly is intended by serving fewer than 40 
clients. Without clarification, Sec. 352 could be interpreted to allow 
an outfitter, guide, or youth group to bring 40 clients per day to a 
picnic area. This could result in significant user conflict and 
unacceptable adverse resource effects. We recommend that the permit 
waiver be limited to a level of use that is unlikely to have 
significant impacts, such as capping the waiver so that it allows an 
outdoor leader to serve 40 clients per year (40 service days) at any 
given picnic area.

    Thank you for considering our community's input and thank you for 
your diligent work to enhance sustainable outdoor recreation access on 
America's public lands and waters. We look forward to continuing to 
work with you to advance strong bipartisan outdoor recreation 
legislation in the 118th Congress.

            Best regards,

                                             Louis Geltman,
                 Vice President for Policy and Government Relations

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