Send a letter to your U.S. House member asking them to support the EXPLORE Act.
By the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on the SEMA-supported bill H.R. 6492, the "Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act" (EXPLORE Act). The comprehensive public lands bill directs the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to create more motorized opportunities on public lands, addresses 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.
Your lawmakers need to hear from you now about why the bipartisan EXPLORE Act matters to your business! Click here to ask your U.S. Representative to support the bill.
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee passed the EXPLORE Act in January. The strongly bipartisan legislation is sponsored by Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and was drafted in coordination with Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ). The EXPLORE Act has 51 co-sponsors, including 27 Democrats and 24 Republicans. The bill expands on S. 873, the "America's Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023" (AORA), and includes key, SEMA-supported provisions from AORA. 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 outline.
"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.