By the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
The House Natural Resources Committee passed the SEMA-supported H.R. 6492, the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. The EXPLORE Act is a comprehensive legislative package that directs the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to update travel maps and encourages both agencies to create more motorized opportunities on public lands. In addition to this, the EXPLORE Act aims to address special recreation permits and fees that have been expensive and cumbersome for off-road groups to navigate on federal lands, attempts to improve visitor experiences, addresses the lack of affordable housing causing staffing shortages on public lands and transforms outdoor recreation experiences for active-duty military members, veterans and Gold Star families.
The EXPLORE Act now awaits a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Click here to ask your U.S. Representative to support the EXPLORE Act.
This bipartisan public lands and recreation bill expands on S. 873, the "America's Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023" (AORA), and includes SEMA-supported key provisions from AORA.
The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), along with 37 additional sponsors. The comprehensive outdoor recreation legislation has a broad range of support from more than 30 organizations.
The EXPLORE Act is a comprehensive legislative effort that increases access to outdoor recreation opportunities to help grow the $1.1 trillion impact of the outdoor recreation industry. You can find more information about the major provisions of the legislation by reviewing the section-by-section.
"Exploring the great outdoors is part of the fabric of this nation and our identity as Americans. Our beautiful lands and waters should be easily available for the enjoyment of all," U.S. Rep. Westerman said. "The EXPLORE Act is a comprehensive, bipartisan bill that will improve access and opportunities for recreation across our public lands and waters. We're taking important steps to modernize visitor experiences, reduce overcrowding, improve access for those with disabilities, address infrastructure issues and reduce burdensome permitting processes for small businesses that depend on access to our public lands."
"SEMA thanks Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva for introducing the EXPLORE Act. This bipartisan bill would streamline the process and expenses associated with obtaining special recreation permits, require federal land management agencies to increase opportunities for motorized and non-motorized access on public lands, and direct the BLM and Forest Service to make maps available to the public depicting where vehicles are allowed to recreate," said Mike Spagnola, SEMA president and CEO.
For more information on the EXPLORE Act, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.