II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 873 

To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, 

Federal public land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. BARRASSO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater 

access to, Federal public land, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—OUTDOOR RECREATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

Subtitle A—Declaration of Policy 


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Sec. 111. Congressional declaration of policy. 

Subtitle B—Public Recreation on Federal Recreational Lands and Waters 

Sec. 121. Biking on long-distance bike trails. 

Sec. 122. Forest Service climbing guidance. 

Sec. 123. Target shooting ranges. 

Subtitle C—Improving Recreation Infrastructure 

Sec. 131. Broadband internet connectivity at developed recreation sites. 

Sec. 132. Extension of seasonal recreation opportunities. 

Sec. 133. Gateway communities. 

Sec. 134. Parking opportunities for Federal recreational lands and waters. 

Sec. 135. Travel management. 

Sec. 136. Public-private partnerships to modernize federally owned campgrounds, resorts, cabins, and visitor centers on Federal recreational lands and waters. 

Sec. 137. Forest Service pay-for-performance projects. 

Subtitle D—Engagement 

Sec. 141. Identifying opportunities for recreation. 

Sec. 142. Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation. 

Sec. 143. Informing the public of access closures. 

Sec. 144. Improved recreation visitation data. 

Sec. 145. Monitoring for improved recreation decision making. 

Sec. 146. Access for servicemembers and veterans. 

Sec. 147. Increasing youth recreation visits to Federal land. 

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL LANDS RECREATION 

ENHANCEMENT ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Special recreation permits and fees. 

Sec. 204. Online collection of certain recreation fees. 

Sec. 205. Online purchases and establishment of a digital version of America 

the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational 

Lands Passes. 

Sec. 206. Availability of Federal, State, and local recreation passes. 

Sec. 207. Use of special recreation permit fee revenue. 

Sec. 208. Permanent authorization. 

TITLE III—SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS FOR OUTFITTING 

AND GUIDING 

Subtitle A—Administration of Special Recreation Permits for Outfitting and 

Guiding 

Sec. 311. Permit administration. 

Sec. 312. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management transitional special 

recreation permits for outfitting and guiding. 

Sec. 313. Surrender of unused visitor-use days. 

Sec. 314. Reviews for transitional permits and long-term permits. 

Sec. 315. Adjustment of allocated visitor-use days. 

Subtitle B—Additional Provisions Relating to Special Recreation Permits 


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Sec. 321. Permitting process improvements. 

Sec. 322. Service First Initiative and multijurisdictional trips. 

Sec. 323. Permit flexibility. 

Sec. 324. Liability. 

Sec. 325. Cost recovery reform. 

Sec. 326. Permit relief for picnic areas. 

Sec. 327. Interagency report on special recreation permits for underserved communities. 

Subtitle C—Effect 

Sec. 331. Effect. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Filming and still photography within the National Park System and 

on other Federal land. 

Sec. 402. Volunteer enhancement program. 

Sec. 403. Cape and antler preservation enhancement. 

Sec. 404. Federal land and water aquatic resource activities assistance. 

Sec. 405. Amendments to the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act. 

Sec. 406. Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. 

Sec. 407. Recreation budget crosscut. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMERCIAL USE AUTHORIZATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘commercial use authorization’’ means a com5 mercial use authorization to provide services to visi6 tors to units of the National Park System under 

7 subchapter II of chapter 1019 of title 54, United 

8 States Code. 

9 (2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

10 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has 

11 the meaning given the term in section 802 of the 

12 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 6801). 

14 (3) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND

15 WATERS.—The term ‘‘Federal recreational lands and 


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1 waters’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

2 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

3 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 

4 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

8 (5) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 

9 term ‘‘recreation service provider’’ has the meaning 

10 given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands 

11 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as 

12 amended by section 202(9)). 

13 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

14 means each of— 

15 (A) the Secretary; and 

16 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 (8) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec20 retary concerned’’ means— 

21 (A) the Secretary, with respect to land 

22 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; or 

23 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re24 spect to land managed by the Forest Service. 


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1 (9) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 

2 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given 

3 the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recre4 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as 

5 amended by section 202(10)). 

6 (10) VISITOR-USE DAY.—The term ‘‘visitor-use 

7 day’’ means a visitor-use day, user day, launch, or 

8 other metric used by the Secretary concerned for 

9 purposes of authorizing use under a special recre10 ation permit. 

11 TITLE I—OUTDOOR RECRE12 ATION AND INFRASTRUC13 TURE 

14 Subtitle A—Declaration of Policy 

15 SEC. 111. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

16 Congress declares that it is the policy of the Federal 

17 Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal 

18 recreational lands and waters, to the extent consistent 

19 with the laws applicable to specific areas of Federal rec20 reational lands and waters, including multiple-use man21 dates and land management planning requirements. 


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1 Subtitle B—Public Recreation on 

2 Federal Recreational Lands and 

3 Waters 

4 SEC. 121. BIKING ON LONG-DISTANCE BIKE TRAILS. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF LONG-DISTANCE BIKE TRAIL.— 

6 In this section, the term ‘‘long-distance bike trail’’ means 

7 a continuous route, consisting of 1 or more trails or rights8 of-way, that— 

9 (1) is not less than a total of 80 miles in length 

10 on Federal recreational lands and waters; 

11 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, makes 

12 use of existing trails; 

13 (3) is composed generally of a consistent type 

14 of trail; 

15 (4) may be used for mountain biking, 

16 bikepacking, road biking, bicycle touring, or gravel 

17 biking; and 

18 (5) may include short connections by way of a 

19 road or highway. 

20 (b) LONG-DISTANCE BIKE TRAILS ON FEDERAL

21 RECREATIONAL LANDS AND WATERS.— 

22 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF LONG-DISTANCE BIKE

23 TRAILS.—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretaries 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) identify not fewer than 10 long-dis2 tance bike trails, consistent with management 

3 requirements for the Federal recreational lands 

4 and waters identified, that make use of trails 

5 and roads in existence on the date of enactment 

6 of this Act; and 

7 (B)(i) identify not fewer than 10 areas in 

8 which there is an opportunity to develop or 

9 complete long-distance bike trails, consistent 

10 with the management requirements for the Fed11 eral recreational lands and waters identified; 

12 (ii) coordinate with stakeholders on the 

13 feasibility of, and identifying any resources nec14 essary for, completing the development of the 

15 trails identified under clause (i); and 

16 (iii) incorporate existing applicable re17 search and planning decisions in carrying out 

18 this section. 

19 (2) CONFLICT AVOIDANCE WITH OTHER

20 USES.—Before identifying a trail or road as a long21 distance bike trail under paragraph (1), the Sec22 retary concerned shall ensure that the identification 

23 of the long-distance bike trail would not conflict with 

24 an existing use of the trail or road, including horse25 back riding or use by pack and saddle stock. 


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1 (3) MAPS, SIGNAGE, AND PROMOTIONAL MATE2 RIALS.—For any long-distance bike trail identified 

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned may 

4 publish and distribute maps, install signage, and 

5 issue promotional materials. 

6 (4) GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.—To the 

7 extent practicable, the Secretary concerned shall 

8 seek to identify long-distance bike trails and areas 

9 for the development or completion of long-distance 

10 bike trails under paragraph (1) in a geographically 

11 equitable manner. 

12 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in 

14 partnership with interested organizations, shall pre15 pare and publish a report that lists the long-distance 

16 bike trails identified under paragraph (1). 

17 SEC. 122. FOREST SERVICE CLIMBING GUIDANCE. 

18 (a) CLIMBING GUIDANCE IN WILDERNESS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Agriculture shall issue guidance relating to 

22 climbing management for National Forest System 

23 land, including in designated wilderness areas on 

24 National Forest System land, pursuant to the joint 

25 explanatory statement for division G (relating to the 


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1 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Re2 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021) described 

3 in section 4 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

4 2021 (Public Law 116–260; 134 Stat. 1185), that 

5 recognizes the appropriateness of the allowable ac6 tivities described in paragraph (2) in the designated 

7 wilderness areas, if the allowable activities are car8 ried out in accordance with— 

9 (A) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

10 seq.); 

11 (B) other applicable laws (including regu12 lations); and 

13 (C) any terms and conditions that are de14 termined to be necessary by the Secretary of 

15 Agriculture. 

16 (2) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The allowable 

17 activities referred to in paragraph (1) are— 

18 (A) recreational climbing; 

19 (B) the placement, use, and maintenance 

20 of fixed anchors; and 

21 (C) the use of other equipment necessary 

22 for recreational climbing. 

23 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Before final24 izing guidance relating to climbing management under 

25 subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Agriculture shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 vide to the public notice and an opportunity to comment 

2 regarding the proposed guidance. 

3 SEC. 123. TARGET SHOOTING RANGES. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF TARGET SHOOTING RANGE.—In 

5 this section, the term ‘‘target shooting range’’ means a 

6 developed and managed area that is authorized or oper7 ated by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Manage8 ment specifically for the purposeful discharge by the public 

9 of legal firearms, firearms training, archery, or other asso10 ciated activities. 

11 (b) ASSESSING, IDENTIFYING, AND ESTABLISHING

12 TARGET SHOOTING RANGE LOCATIONS.— 

13 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary con15 cerned shall make available to the public a list 

16 that— 

17 (A) identifies each National Forest and 

18 each Bureau of Land Management district that 

19 has a target shooting range that meets the re20 quirements described in paragraph (3)(B); 

21 (B) identifies each National Forest and 

22 each Bureau of Land Management district that 

23 does not have a target shooting range that 

24 meets the requirements described in paragraph 

25 (3)(B); and 


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1 (C) for each National Forest and each Bu2 reau of Land Management district identified 

3 under subparagraph (B), provides a determina4 tion of whether applicable law or the applicable 

5 land use plan prevents the establishment of a 

6 target shooting range that meets the require7 ments described in paragraph (3)(B). 

8 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET SHOOTING

9 RANGE LOCATIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con11 cerned shall identify at least 1 suitable location 

12 for a target shooting range that meets the re13 quirements described in paragraph (3)(B) with14 in each National Forest and each Bureau of 

15 Land Management district with respect to 

16 which the Secretary concerned has determined 

17 under paragraph (1)(C) that the establishment 

18 of a target shooting range is not prevented by 

19 applicable law or the applicable land use plan. 

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretaries, in 

21 consultation with the entities described in sub22 section (d), shall, for purposes of identifying a 

23 suitable location for a target shooting range 

24 under subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) consider the proximity of areas fre2 quently used by recreational shooters; 

3 (ii) ensure that the target shooting 

4 range would not adversely impact a shoot5 ing range operated or maintained by a 

6 non-Federal entity, including a shooting 

7 range located on private land; and 

8 (iii) consider other nearby recreational 

9 uses to minimize potential conflict. 

10 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW TARGET SHOOT11 ING RANGES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, at 1 or 

14 more suitable locations identified on each eligi15 ble National Forest and each Bureau of Land 

16 Management district under paragraph (2)(A), 

17 the Secretary concerned shall— 

18 (i) subject to the availability of appro19 priations, construct a target shooting 

20 range that meets the requirements de21 scribed in subparagraph (B) or modify an 

22 existing target shooting range to meet the 

23 requirements described in subparagraph 

24 (B); or 


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1 (ii) enter into an agreement with an 

2 entity described in subsection (d)(1), under 

3 which the entity shall establish or maintain 

4 a target shooting range that meets the re5 quirements described in subparagraph (B). 

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A target shooting 

7 range established under this paragraph— 

8 (i)(I) shall be able to accommodate ri9 fles, pistols, and shotguns; and 

10 (II) may accommodate archery; 

11 (ii) shall include appropriate public 

12 safety designs and features, including— 

13 (I) significantly modified land14 scapes, including berms, buffer dis15 tances, or other public safety designs 

16 or features; 

17 (II) a designated firing line; and 

18 (III) benches; 

19 (iii) may include— 

20 (I) shade structures; 

21 (II) trash containers; 

22 (III) restrooms; and 

23 (IV) any other features that the 

24 Secretary concerned determines to be 

25 necessary; and 


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1 (iv) may not require a user to pay a 

2 fee to use the target shooting range. 

3 (C) RECREATION AND PUBLIC PURPOSES

4 ACT.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

5 Secretary concerned may consider a target 

6 shooting range that is located on land trans7 ferred pursuant to the Act of June 14, 1926 

8 (commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation and Pub9 lic Purposes Act’’) (44 Stat. 741, chapter 578; 

10 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), as a target shooting 

11 range that meets the requirements described in 

12 subparagraph (B). 

13 (c) RESTRICTIONS.— 

14 (1) MANAGEMENT.—The management of a tar15 get shooting range shall be subject to such condi16 tions as the Secretary concerned determines are nec17 essary for the safe, responsible use of— 

18 (A) the target shooting range; and 

19 (B) the adjacent land and resources. 

20 (2) CLOSURES.—Except in emergency situa21 tions for reasons of public safety, the Secretary con22 cerned shall seek to ensure that a target shooting 

23 range that meets the requirements described in sub24 section (b)(3)(B), or an equivalent shooting range 

25 adjacent to a National Forest or Bureau of Land 


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1 Management district, is available to the public prior 

2 to closing Federal recreational lands and waters ad3 ministered by the Chief of the Forest Service or the 

4 Director of the Bureau of Land Management to rec5 reational shooting, in accordance with section 4103 

6 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Manage7 ment, and Recreation Act (16 U.S.C. 7913). 

8 (d) CONSULTATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

10 the Secretaries shall consult with interested parties, 

11 as applicable, including— 

12 (A) local and Tribal governments; 

13 (B) nonprofit or nongovernmental organi14 zations, including organizations that are sig15 natories to the memorandum of understanding 

16 entitled ‘‘Federal Lands Hunting, Fishing, and 

17 Shooting Sports Roundtable Memorandum of 

18 Understanding’’ and signed by the Forest Serv19 ice and the Bureau of Land Management on 

20 August 17, 2006; 

21 (C) State fish and wildlife agencies; 

22 (D) shooting clubs; 

23 (E) Federal advisory councils relating to 

24 hunting and shooting sports; 


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1 (F) individuals or entities with authorized 

2 leases or permits in an area under consideration 

3 for a target shooting range; 

4 (G) State and local offices of outdoor 

5 recreation; 

6 (H) State and local public safety agencies; 

7 (I) adjacent landowners; and 

8 (J) the public. 

9 (2) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries may— 

10 (A) coordinate with an entity described in 

11 paragraph (1) to assist with the construction, 

12 modification, operation, or maintenance of a 

13 target shooting range; and 

14 (B) explore opportunities to leverage fund15 ing to maximize non-Federal investment in the 

16 construction, modification, operation, or main17 tenance of a target shooting range. 

18 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

20 through fiscal year 2033, the Secretaries shall submit to 

21 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

23 House of Representatives a report describing the progress 

24 made with respect to the implementation of this section. 


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1 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section affects 

2 the authority of the Secretary concerned to administer a 

3 target shooting range that is in addition to the target 

4 shooting ranges that meet the requirements described in 

5 (b)(3)(B) on Federal recreational lands and waters admin6 istered by the Secretary concerned. 

7 Subtitle C—Improving Recreation 

8 Infrastructure 

9 SEC. 131. BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AT DE10 VELOPED RECREATION SITES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Chief of 

12 the Forest Service shall enter into an agreement with the 

13 Secretary of Commerce to foster the installation or con14 struction of broadband internet infrastructure at devel15 oped recreation sites on Federal recreational lands and 

16 waters to establish broadband internet connectivity— 

17 (1) subject to the availability of appropriations; 

18 and 

19 (2) in accordance with applicable law. 

20 (b) IDENTIFICATION.—Not later than 2 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

22 through fiscal year 2033, the Secretary and the Chief of 

23 the Forest Service, in coordination with States and local 

24 communities, shall make publicly available— 


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1 (1) a list of the highest priority developed recre2 ation sites, as determined under subsection (c), on 

3 Federal recreational lands and waters that lack 

4 broadband internet; 

5 (2) an estimate of— 

6 (A) the cost to equip each of those sites 

7 with broadband internet infrastructure; and 

8 (B) the annual cost to operate that infra9 structure; and 

10 (3) a list of potential— 

11 (A) barriers to operating the infrastructure 

12 described in paragraph (2)(A); and 

13 (B) methods to recover the costs of that 

14 operation. 

15 (c) PRIORITIES.—In selecting developed recreation 

16 sites for the list described in subsection (b)(1), the Sec17 retary and the Chief of the Forest Service shall give pri18 ority to developed recreation sites— 

19 (1) at which broadband internet infrastructure 

20 has not been constructed due to— 

21 (A) geographic challenges; or 

22 (B) the location having an insufficient 

23 number of nearby permanent residents, despite 

24 high seasonal or daily visitation levels; or 


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1 (2) that are located in an economically dis2 tressed county that could benefit significantly from 

3 developing the outdoor recreation economy of the 

4 county. 

5 SEC. 132. EXTENSION OF SEASONAL RECREATION OPPOR6 TUNITIES. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF SEASONAL CLOSURE.—In this 

8 section, the term ‘‘seasonal closure’’ means any period 

9 during which— 

10 (1) a unit of Federal recreational lands and 

11 waters, or a portion of a unit of Federal recreational 

12 lands and waters, is closed to the public for a con13 tinuous period of not less than 30 days, excluding 

14 temporary closures relating to wildlife conservation 

15 or public safety; and 

16 (2) permitted or allowable recreational activi17 ties, which provide an economic benefit, including 

18 off-season or winter-season tourism, are not taking 

19 place at— 

20 (A) the unit of Federal recreational lands 

21 and waters; or 

22 (B) a portion of a unit of Federal rec23 reational lands and waters. 

24 (b) COORDINATION.—The Secretaries shall consult 

25 and coordinate with multiple outdoor recreation-related 


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1 businesses operating on or adjacent to a unit of Federal 

2 recreational lands and waters, State offices of outdoor 

3 recreation, local destination marketing organizations, ap4 plicable trade organizations, nonprofit organizations, In5 dian Tribes, local governments, and institutions of higher 

6 education— 

7 (1) to better understand trends with respect to 

8 visitors to the unit of Federal recreational lands and 

9 waters; 

10 (2) to solicit input from, and provide informa11 tion for, outdoor recreation marketing campaigns; 

12 and 

13 (3) to better understand— 

14 (A) the effect of seasonal closures of areas 

15 of, or infrastructure on, units of Federal rec16 reational lands and waters on outdoor recre17 ation opportunities, adjacent businesses, and 

18 local tax revenue; and 

19 (B) opportunities to extend the period of 

20 time during which areas of, or infrastructure 

21 on, units of Federal recreational lands and 

22 waters are open to the public to increase out23 door recreation opportunities and associated 

24 revenues for businesses and local governments. 

25 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall make 

2 efforts to make infrastructure available to accommo3 date increased visitation to units of Federal rec4 reational lands and waters during periods that are 

5 at or before the beginning or at or after the end of 

6 traditional seasonal closures— 

7 (A) to extend the outdoor recreation sea8 son and the duration of income to gateway com9 munities; and 

10 (B) to provide more opportunities to visit 

11 resources on units of Federal recreational lands 

12 and waters to reduce crowding during peak sea13 sons. 

14 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Efforts described in para15 graph (1) may include— 

16 (A) the addition of a facility at the unit of 

17 Federal recreational lands and waters; or 

18 (B) the improvement of access to or on the 

19 unit of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

20 (d) AGREEMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may enter 

22 into agreements with businesses, local governments, 

23 or other entities to share the cost of additional ex24 penses necessary to extend the period of time during 

25 which an area of, or infrastructure on, a unit of 


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1 Federal recreational lands and waters is made open 

2 to the public. 

3 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretaries 

4 may accept in-kind contributions of goods and serv5 ices provided by businesses, local governments, or 

6 other entities for purposes of paragraph (1). 

7 SEC. 133. GATEWAY COMMUNITIES. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF GATEWAY COMMUNITY.—In this 

9 section, the term ‘‘gateway community’’ means a commu10 nity that serves as an entry point or is adjacent to a recre11 ation destination on Federal recreational lands and waters 

12 or non-Federal land at which there is consistently high, 

13 in the determination of the Secretaries, seasonal or year14 round visitation. 

15 (b) ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS AND NEEDS IN GATE16 WAY COMMUNITIES.—Subject to the availability of exist17 ing funds, the Secretaries— 

18 (1) shall collaborate with State and local gov19 ernments, Indian Tribes, housing authorities, appli20 cable trade associations, nonprofit organizations, 

21 and other relevant stakeholders to identify needs and 

22 economic impacts in gateway communities, includ23 ing— 

24 (A) housing shortages; 


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1 (B) demands on existing municipal infra2 structure; 

3 (C) accommodation and management of 

4 sustainable visitation; and 

5 (D) the expansion and diversification of 

6 visitor opportunities by bolstering the visitation 

7 at— 

8 (i) underutilized locations, as identi9 fied under section 141(c)(1)(B), on nearby 

10 Federal recreational lands and waters; or 

11 (ii) lesser-known recreation sites, as 

12 identified under section 144(b)(1)(B), on 

13 nearby land managed by a State agency or 

14 a local agency; and 

15 (2) may address a need identified under para16 graph (1) by— 

17 (A) providing financial or technical assist18 ance to a gateway community under an existing 

19 program; 

20 (B) issuing a lease, right-of-way, or ease21 ment, in accordance with applicable laws; or 

22 (C) issuing an entity referred to in para23 graph (1) a special use permit (other than a 

24 special recreation permit), in accordance with 

25 applicable laws. 


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1 (c) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO

2 BUSINESSES.—The Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

3 through the Administrator of the Rural Business-Coopera4 tive Service) and the Secretary of Commerce shall provide 

5 information on applicable agency resources and programs 

6 available to provide financing, technical assistance, and 

7 other services in gateway communities to support eco8 nomic opportunities through tourism, including support 

9 for the food service and accommodations sectors with an 

10 emphasis on new and diversifying businesses. 

11 (d) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out this section, the 

12 Secretaries may, in accordance with applicable laws, enter 

13 into a public-private partnership, cooperative agreement, 

14 memorandum of understanding, or similar agreement with 

15 a gateway community or a business in a gateway commu16 nity. 

17 SEC. 134. PARKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL REC18 REATIONAL LANDS AND WATERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall seek to in20 crease parking opportunities for persons recreating on 

21 Federal recreational lands and waters— 

22 (1) in accordance with existing laws and appli23 cable land use plans; 


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1 (2) in a manner that minimizes any increase in 

2 maintenance obligations on Federal recreational 

3 lands and waters; and 

4 (3) in a manner that does not impact wildlife 

5 habitat that is critical to the mission of a Federal 

6 agency responsible for managing Federal rec7 reational lands and waters. 

8 (b) AUTHORITY.—To supplement the quantity of 

9 parking spaces available at units of Federal recreational 

10 lands and waters on the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 the Secretaries may— 

12 (1) enter into a public-private partnership for 

13 parking opportunities on non-Federal land; 

14 (2) lease non-Federal land for parking opportu15 nities; or 

16 (3) provide alternative transportation systems 

17 for a unit of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

18 SEC. 135. TRAVEL MANAGEMENT. 

19 (a) TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLANS.—The Secretary 

20 concerned shall seek to have, not later than 5 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, in a printed and publicly 

22 available format that is compliant with the format for geo23 graphic information systems— 

24 (1) for each district administered by the Direc25 tor of the Bureau of Land Management, a ground 


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1 transportation linear feature authorized for public 

2 use or administrative use; and 

3 (2) for each unit of the National Forest Sys4 tem, a motor vehicle use map. 

5 (b) OVER-SNOW VEHICLE-USE MAPS.—The Sec6 retary concerned shall seek to have, not later than 10 

7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, in a printed 

8 and publicly available format that is compliant with the 

9 format for geographic information systems, an over-snow 

10 vehicle use map for each unit of Federal recreational lands 

11 and waters administered by the Chief of the Forest Service 

12 or Director of the Bureau of Land Management that has 

13 adequate snowfall for over-snow vehicle use to occur. 

14 (c) OUT-OF-DATE PLANS AND MAPS.—Not later 

15 than 20 years after the date on which the Secretary con16 cerned adopted or reviewed, through public notice and 

17 comment, a travel management plan or map described in 

18 subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary concerned shall review, 

19 through public notice and comment, and update, as nec20 essary, the applicable travel management plan or map. 

21 (d) MOTORIZED AND NONMOTORIZED ACCESS.—The 

22 Secretaries shall seek to create additional opportunities, 

23 as appropriate, for motorized and nonmotorized access 

24 and opportunities on Federal recreational lands and 


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1 waters administered by the Chief of the Forest Service or 

2 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 

3 SEC. 136. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TO MODERNIZE 

4 FEDERALLY OWNED CAMPGROUNDS, RE5 SORTS, CABINS, AND VISITOR CENTERS ON 

6 FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 

7 WATERS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) COVERED ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 activity’’ means— 

11 (A) a capital improvement, including the 

12 construction, reconstruction, and nonroutine 

13 maintenance of any structure, infrastructure, or 

14 improvement, relating to the operation of, or 

15 access to, a covered recreation facility; and 

16 (B) any activity necessary to operate or 

17 maintain a covered recreation facility. 

18 (2) COVERED RECREATION FACILITY.—The 

19 term ‘‘covered recreation facility’’ means a federally 

20 owned campground, resort, cabin, or visitor center 

21 that is— 

22 (A) in existence on the date of enactment 

23 of this Act; and 

24 (B) located on Federal recreational lands 

25 and waters administered by— 


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1 (i) the Chief of the Forest Service; or 

2 (ii) the Director of the Bureau of 

3 Land Management. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means— 

6 (A) a unit of State, Tribal, or local govern7 ment; 

8 (B) a nonprofit organization; and 

9 (C) a private entity. 

10 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretaries shall estab11 lish a pilot program under which the Secretary concerned 

12 may enter into an agreement with, or issue or amend a 

13 land use authorization to, an eligible entity to allow the 

14 eligible entity to carry out covered activities relating to 

15 a covered recreation facility, subject to the requirements 

16 of this section and the terms of any relevant land use au17 thorization, regardless of whether the eligible entity holds, 

18 on the date of enactment of this Act, an authorization to 

19 be a concessionaire for the covered recreation facility. 

20 (c) MINIMUM NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS OR LAND

21 USE AUTHORIZATIONS.—Not later than 3 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned, 

23 with the consent of each affected holder of an authoriza24 tion to be a concessionaire for a covered recreation facility, 


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1 if applicable, shall enter into at least 1 agreement or land 

2 use authorization under subsection (b) in— 

3 (1) a unit of the National Forest System in 

4 each region of the National Forest System; and 

5 (2) Federal recreational lands and waters ad6 ministered by the Director of the Bureau of Land 

7 Management in not fewer than 5 States in which the 

8 Bureau of Land Management administers Federal 

9 recreational lands and waters. 

10 (d) REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Before entering 

12 into an agreement or issuing a land use authoriza13 tion under subsection (b), an eligible entity shall 

14 submit to the Secretary concerned a development 

15 plan that— 

16 (A) describes investments in the covered 

17 recreation facility to be made by the eligible en18 tity during the first 3 years of the agreement 

19 or land use authorization; 

20 (B) describes annual maintenance spend21 ing for each year of the agreement or land use 

22 authorization; and 

23 (C) includes any other terms and condi24 tions determined to be necessary or appropriate 

25 by the Secretary concerned. 


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1 (2) AGREEMENTS AND LAND USE AUTHORIZA2 TIONS.—An agreement or land use authorization 

3 under subsection (b) shall— 

4 (A) be for a term of not more than 30 

5 years, commensurate with the level of invest6 ment; 

7 (B) require that, not later than 3 years 

8 after the date on which the Secretary concerned 

9 enters into the agreement or issues or amends 

10 the land use authorization, the applicable eligi11 ble entity shall expend, place in an escrow ac12 count for the eligible entity to expend, or de13 posit in a special account in the Treasury for 

14 expenditure by the Secretary concerned, without 

15 further appropriation, for covered activities re16 lating to the applicable covered recreation facil17 ity, an amount or specified percentage, as de18 termined by the Secretary concerned, which 

19 shall be equal to not less than $2,000,000, of 

20 the anticipated receipts for the term of the 

21 agreement or land use authorization; 

22 (C) require the eligible entity to operate 

23 and maintain the covered recreation facility and 

24 any associated infrastructure designated by the 


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1 Secretary concerned in a manner acceptable to 

2 the Secretary concerned and the eligible entity; 

3 (D) include any terms and conditions that 

4 the Secretary concerned determines to be nec5 essary for a special use permit issued under 

6 section 7 of the Act of April 24, 1950 (com7 monly known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye Act’’) (64 

8 Stat. 84, chapter 97; 16 U.S.C. 580d), includ9 ing the payment described in subparagraph (E) 

10 or the Federal Land Policy and Management 

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as appli12 cable; 

13 (E) provide for payment to the Federal 

14 Government of a fee or a sharing of revenue— 

15 (i) consistent with— 

16 (I) the land use fee for a special 

17 use permit authorized under section 7 

18 of the Act of April 24, 1950 (com19 monly known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye 

20 Act’’) (64 Stat. 84, chapter 97; 16 

21 U.S.C. 580d); or 

22 (II) the value to the eligible enti23 ty of the rights provided by the agree24 ment or land use authorization, taking 

25 into account the capital invested by, 


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1 and obligations of, the eligible entity 

2 under the agreement or land use au3 thorization; and 

4 (ii) all or part of which may be offset 

5 by the work to be performed at the ex6 pense of the eligible entity that is separate 

7 from the routine costs of operating and 

8 maintaining the applicable covered recre9 ation facility and any associated infrastruc10 ture designated by the Secretary con11 cerned, as determined to be appropriate by 

12 the Secretary concerned; 

13 (F) include provisions stating that— 

14 (i) the eligible entity shall obtain no 

15 property interest in the covered recreation 

16 facility pursuant to the expenditures of the 

17 eligible entity, as required by the agree18 ment or land use authorization; 

19 (ii) all structures and other improve20 ments constructed, reconstructed, or non21 routinely maintained by that entity under 

22 the agreement or land use authorization on 

23 land owned by the United States shall be 

24 the property of the United States; and 


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1 (iii) the eligible entity shall be solely 

2 responsible for any cost associated with the 

3 decommissioning or removal of a capital 

4 improvement, if needed, at the conclusion 

5 of the agreement or land use authorization; 

6 and 

7 (G) be subject to any other terms and con8 ditions determined to be necessary or appro9 priate by the Secretary concerned. 

10 (e) LAND USE FEE RETENTION.—A land use fee 

11 paid or revenue shared with the Secretary concerned 

12 under an agreement or land use authorization under this 

13 section shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary 

14 concerned for recreation-related purposes on the unit of 

15 Federal recreational lands and waters at which the land 

16 use fee or revenue is collected, without further appropria17 tion. 

18 SEC. 137. FOREST SERVICE PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE 

19 PROJECTS. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.—The term 

22 ‘‘independent evaluator’’ means an individual or en23 tity, including an institution of higher education, 

24 that is selected by the pay-for-performance bene25 ficiary and pay-for-performance investor, as applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 ble, or by the pay-for-performance project developer, 

2 in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to 

3 make the determinations and prepare the reports re4 quired under subsection (e). 

5 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The 

6 term ‘‘National Forest System land’’ means land in 

7 the National Forest System (as defined in section 

8 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re9 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))). 

10 (3) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.—The 

11 term ‘‘pay-for-performance agreement’’ means a mu12 tual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 

13 contract, grant agreement, or cooperative agreement 

14 described in chapter 63 of title 31, United States 

15 Code) for a pay-for-performance project— 

16 (A) with a term of— 

17 (i) not less than 1 year; and 

18 (ii) not more than 20 years; and 

19 (B) that is executed, in accordance with 

20 applicable law, by— 

21 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

22 (ii) a pay-for-performance beneficiary 

23 or pay-for-performance project developer. 

24 (4) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE BENEFICIARY.— 

25 The term ‘‘pay-for-performance beneficiary’’ means 


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1 a State or local government, an Indian Tribe, or a 

2 nonprofit or for-profit organization that— 

3 (A) repays capital loaned upfront by a pay4 for-performance investor, based on a project 

5 outcome specified in a pay-for-performance 

6 agreement; or 

7 (B) provides capital directly for costs asso8 ciated with a pay-for-performance project. 

9 (5) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE INVESTOR.—The 

10 term ‘‘pay-for-performance investor’’ means a State 

11 or local government, an Indian Tribe, or a nonprofit 

12 or for-profit organization that provides upfront 

13 loaned capital for a pay-for-performance project with 

14 the expectation of a financial return dependent on a 

15 project outcome. 

16 (6) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECT.—The 

17 term ‘‘pay-for-performance project’’ means a project 

18 that— 

19 (A) would provide or enhance a rec20 reational opportunity; 

21 (B) is conducted on— 

22 (i) National Forest System land; or 

23 (ii) other land, if the activities would 

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1 cluding a recreational use of National For2 est System land); and 

3 (C) would use an innovative funding or fi4 nancing model that leverages— 

5 (i) loaned capital from a pay-for-per6 formance investor to cover upfront costs 

7 associated with a pay-for-performance 

8 project, with the loaned capital repaid by a 

9 pay-for-performance beneficiary at a rate 

10 of return dependent on a project outcome, 

11 as measured by an independent evaluator; 

12 or 

13 (ii) capital directly from a pay-for-per14 formance beneficiary to support costs asso15 ciated with a pay-for-performance project 

16 in an amount based on an anticipated 

17 project outcome. 

18 (7) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECT DEVEL19 OPER.—The term ‘‘pay-for-performance project de20 veloper’’ means a nonprofit or for-profit organization 

21 that serves as an intermediary to assist in devel22 oping or implementing a pay-for-performance agree23 ment or a pay-for-performance project. 

24 (8) PROJECT OUTCOME.—The term ‘‘project 

25 outcome’’ means a measurable, beneficial result 


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1 (whether economic, environmental, or social) that is 

2 attributable to a pay-for-performance project and de3 scribed in a pay-for-performance agreement. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The Sec5 retary of Agriculture shall establish a pilot program in ac6 cordance with this section to carry out 1 or more pay7 for-performance projects. 

8 (c) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 

10 through a pay-for-performance agreement or appro11 priations, all or any portion of a pay-for-perform12 ance project may be implemented by— 

13 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; or 

14 (B) a pay-for-performance project devel15 oper or a third party, subject to the conditions 

16 that— 

17 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

18 approve the implementation by the pay-for19 performance project developer or third 

20 party; and 

21 (ii) the implementation is in accord22 ance with applicable law. 

23 (2) RELATION TO LAND MANAGEMENT

24 PLANS.—A pay-for-performance project carried out 

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1 cable land management plan developed under section 

2 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

3 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

4 (3) OWNERSHIP.— 

5 (A) NEW IMPROVEMENTS.—The United 

6 States shall have title to any improvements in7 stalled on National Forest System land as part 

8 of a pay-for-performance project. 

9 (B) EXISTING IMPROVEMENTS.—Investing 

10 in, conducting, or completing a pay-for-perform11 ance project on National Forest System land 

12 shall not affect the title of the United States 

13 to— 

14 (i) any federally owned improvements 

15 involved in the pay-for-performance 

16 project; or 

17 (ii) the underlying land. 

18 (4) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The carrying out of any 

19 action for a pay-for-performance project does not 

20 provide any right to any party to a pay-for-perform21 ance agreement. 

22 (5) POTENTIAL CONFLICTS.—Before approving 

23 a pay-for-performance project under this section, the 

24 Secretary of Agriculture shall consider and seek to 


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1 avoid potential conflicts (including economic com2 petition) with any existing written authorized use. 

3 (d) PROJECT AGREEMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Act of 

5 June 30, 1914 (38 Stat. 430, chapter 131; 16 

6 U.S.C. 498), or subtitle C of title XX of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397n et seq.), in carrying 

8 out the pilot program under this section, the Sec9 retary of Agriculture may enter into a pay-for-per10 formance agreement under which a pay-for-perform11 ance beneficiary, pay-for-performance investor, or 

12 pay-for-performance project developer agrees to pay 

13 for or finance all or part of a pay-for-performance 

14 project. 

15 (2) SIZE LIMITATION.—The Secretary of Agri16 culture may not enter into a pay-for-performance 

17 agreement under the pilot program under this sec18 tion for a pay-for-performance project valued at 

19 more than $15,000,000. 

20 (3) FINANCING.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A pay-for-performance 

22 agreement shall specify the amounts that a pay23 for-performance beneficiary or a pay-for-per24 formance project developer agrees to pay to a 

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1 formance project developer, as appropriate, in 

2 the event of an independent evaluator deter3 mining pursuant to subsection (e) the degree to 

4 which a project outcome has been achieved. 

5 (B) ELIGIBLE PAYMENTS.—An amount de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be— 

7 (i) based on— 

8 (I) the respective contributions of 

9 the parties under the pay-for-perform10 ance agreement; and 

11 (II) the economic, environmental, 

12 or social benefits derived from the 

13 project outcomes; and 

14 (ii)(I) a percentage of the estimated 

15 value of a project outcome; 

16 (II) a percentage of the estimated cost 

17 savings to the pay-for-performance bene18 ficiary or the Secretary of Agriculture de19 rived from a project outcome; 

20 (III) a percentage of the enhanced 

21 revenue to the pay-for-performance bene22 ficiary or the Secretary of Agriculture de23 rived from a project outcome; or 

24 (IV) a percentage of the cost of the 

25 pay-for-performance project. 


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1 (C) FOREST SERVICE FINANCIAL ASSIST2 ANCE.—Subject to the availability of appropria3 tions, the Secretary of Agriculture may only 

4 contribute funding for a pay-for-performance 

5 project if— 

6 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture dem7 onstrates that— 

8 (I) the pay-for-performance 

9 project will provide a cost savings to 

10 the United States; or 

11 (II) the funding would accelerate 

12 the pace of implementation of an ac13 tivity previously planned to be com14 pleted by the Secretary of Agriculture; 

15 and 

16 (ii) the contribution of the Secretary 

17 of Agriculture has a value that is not more 

18 than 50 percent of the total cost of the 

19 pay-for-performance project. 

20 (D) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Any funds re21 ceived by the Secretary of Agriculture under 

22 subsection (c)(1)— 

23 (i) shall be retained in a separate 

24 fund in the Treasury to be used solely for 

25 pay-for-performance projects; and 


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1 (ii) shall remain available until ex2 pended and without further appropriation. 

3 (4) MAINTENANCE AND DECOMMISSIONING OF

4 PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECT IMPROVE5 MENTS.—A pay-for-performance agreement shall— 

6 (A) include a plan for maintaining any 

7 capital improvement constructed as part of a 

8 pay-for-performance project after the date on 

9 which the pay-for-performance project is com10 pleted; and 

11 (B) specify the party that will be respon12 sible for decommissioning the improvements as13 sociated with the pay-for-performance project— 

14 (i) at the end of the useful life of the 

15 improvements; 

16 (ii) if the improvements no longer 

17 serve the purpose for which the improve18 ments were developed; or 

19 (iii) if the pay-for-performance project 

20 fails. 

21 (5) TERMINATION OF PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE

22 PROJECT AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of Agri23 culture may unilaterally terminate a pay-for-per24 formance agreement, in whole or in part, for any 

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1 ing which the Secretary of Agriculture provides to 

2 each party to the pay-for-performance agreement a 

3 notice of the termination. 

4 (e) INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS.— 

5 (1) PROGRESS REPORTS.—An independent eval6 uator shall submit to the Secretary of Agriculture 

7 and each party to the applicable pay-for-performance 

8 agreement— 

9 (A) by not later than 2 years after the 

10 date on which the pay-for-performance agree11 ment is executed, and at least once every 2 

12 years thereafter, a written report that summa13 rizes the progress that has been made in achiev14 ing each project outcome; and 

15 (B) before the first scheduled date for a 

16 payment described in subsection (d)(3)(A), and 

17 each subsequent date for payment, a written re18 port that— 

19 (i) summarizes the results of the eval20 uation conducted by the independent eval21 uator to determine whether a payment 

22 should be made pursuant to the pay-for23 performance agreement; and 

24 (ii) analyzes the reasons why a project 

25 outcome was achieved or was not achieved. 


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1 (2) FINAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date on which a pay-for-performance 

3 project is completed, the independent evaluator shall 

4 submit to the Secretary of Agriculture and each 

5 party to the pay-for-performance agreement a writ6 ten report that includes, with respect to the period 

7 covered by the report— 

8 (A) an evaluation of the effects of the pay9 for-performance project with respect to each 

10 project outcome; 

11 (B) a determination of whether the pay12 for-performance project has met each project 

13 outcome; and 

14 (C) the amount of the payments made for 

15 the pay-for-performance project pursuant to 

16 subsection (d)(3)(A). 

17 (f) ADDITIONAL FOREST SERVICE-PROVIDED AS18 SISTANCE.— 

19 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

20 Agriculture may provide technical assistance to fa21 cilitate pay-for-performance project development, 

22 such as planning, permitting, site preparation, and 

23 design work. 


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1 (2) CONSULTANTS.—Subject to the availability 

2 of appropriations, the Secretary of Agriculture may 

3 hire a contractor— 

4 (A) to conduct a feasibility analysis of a 

5 proposed pay-for-performance project; 

6 (B) to assist in the development, imple7 mentation, or evaluation of a proposed pay-for8 performance project or a pay-for-performance 

9 agreement; or 

10 (C) to assist with an environmental anal11 ysis of a proposed pay-for-performance project. 

12 (g) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

13 shall approve a record of decision, decision notice, or deci14 sion memo for any activities to be carried out on National 

15 Forest System land as part of a pay-for-performance 

16 project before the Secretary of Agriculture may enter into 

17 a pay-for-performance agreement involving the applicable 

18 pay-for-performance project. 

19 (h) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) SUNSET.—The authority to enter into a 

21 pay-for-performance agreement under this section 

22 terminates on September 30, 2033. 

23 (2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in paragraph 

24 (1) affects any pay-for-performance project agree25 ment entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture 


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1 under this section before the date described in that 

2 paragraph. 

3 Subtitle D—Engagement 

4 SEC. 141. IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF LAND USE PLAN.—In this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘land use plan’’ means— 

7 (1) a land use plan prepared by the Secretary 

8 pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

9 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); 

10 and 

11 (2) a land management plan prepared by the 

12 Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest 

13 Service pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and 

14 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

15 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

16 (b) INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall— 

18 (A) conduct a single inventory and assess19 ment of recreation resources for Federal rec20 reational lands and waters; and 

21 (B) publish the inventory and assessment 

22 conducted under subparagraph (A) for public 

23 comment. 


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1 (2) UNIQUE RECREATION VALUES.—An inven2 tory and assessment conducted under paragraph (1) 

3 shall recognize— 

4 (A) any unique recreation values and 

5 recreation opportunities; and 

6 (B) areas of concentrated recreational use. 

7 (3) INVENTORY.—The inventory conducted 

8 under paragraph (1) shall— 

9 (A) identify, list, and map recreation re10 sources by— 

11 (i) type of recreation opportunity and 

12 type of natural or artificial recreation in13 frastructure; 

14 (ii) to the extent available, the level of 

15 use of the recreation resource as of the 

16 date of the inventory; and 

17 (iii) location; and 

18 (B) identify, to the extent practicable, any 

19 trend relating to recreation opportunities or use 

20 at a recreation resource identified under sub21 paragraph (A). 

22 (4) ASSESSMENTS.—For any recreation re23 source inventoried under paragraph (1), the Sec24 retary concerned shall assess— 


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1 (A) the level of demand for the recreation 

2 resource; 

3 (B) the maintenance needs of, and ex4 penses necessary to administer, the recreation 

5 resource; 

6 (C) the benefits of current and projected 

7 future recreation use, including to the local 

8 economy; 

9 (D) the capacity of the recreation resource 

10 to meet the demand described in subparagraph 

11 (A), including the relationship of current and 

12 projected future recreation use on— 

13 (i) natural, cultural, and other re14 sources; 

15 (ii) other authorized uses and activi16 ties on the Federal recreational lands and 

17 waters subject to the applicable land use 

18 plan; and 

19 (iii) existing infrastructure; 

20 (E) the suitability for developing, expand21 ing, or enhancing the recreation resource; 

22 (F) technological developments and innova23 tion that affects recreation use; and 

24 (G) the adequacy of the current manage25 ment of the recreation resource. 


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1 (c) FUTURE RECREATION NEEDS AND MANAGE2 MENT.— 

3 (1) FUTURE NEEDS.—Based on the inventory 

4 and assessment conducted under subsection (b)(1), 

5 the Secretary concerned shall— 

6 (A) estimate future recreation needs 

7 through a collaborative process; 

8 (B) identify underutilized locations that 

9 are suitable for developing, expanding, or en10 hancing recreation use; and 

11 (C) select additional high-value recreation 

12 resources at which to encourage recreation use, 

13 consistent with the applicable land use plan. 

14 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting a high15 value recreation resource under paragraph (1)(C), 

16 the Secretary concerned shall consider the following: 

17 (A) The future recreation needs estimated 

18 under paragraph (1)(A). 

19 (B) The maintenance needs of, and the ex20 penses necessary to administer, the high-value 

21 recreation resource. 

22 (C) The presence of partner organizations 

23 prepared to assist in the stewardship of the 

24 high-value recreation resource. 


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1 (D) The benefits of recreation use, includ2 ing benefits to the local economy. 

3 (E) The impacts of recreation use on— 

4 (i) natural, cultural, or other re5 sources; 

6 (ii) other authorized uses and activi7 ties on the Federal recreational lands and 

8 waters subject to any applicable land use 

9 plan; and 

10 (iii) adjacent landowners. 

11 (3) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

12 shall— 

13 (A) seek input from the public, including 

14 adjacent landowners and individuals or entities 

15 with existing land use authorizations, with re16 spect to the management of any high-value 

17 recreation resource identified under paragraph 

18 (1)(C); 

19 (B) maintain or enhance the recreation 

20 values and encourage recreation use of the 

21 high-value recreation resource identified, sub22 ject to the availability of appropriations and 

23 consistent with any applicable multiple-use 

24 mandates; and 


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1 (C) manage a high-value recreation re2 source under this paragraph in a manner that 

3 is consistent with applicable law. 

4 (d) EXISTING EFFORTS.—To the extent practicable, 

5 the Secretary concerned shall utilize or incorporate exist6 ing applicable research and planning decisions and proc7 esses in carrying out this section. 

8 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 200103 of 

9 title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (d); and 

11 (2) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 

12 (h), and (i) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h), 

13 respectively. 

14 SEC. 142. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON OUTDOOR 

15 RECREATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 200104 of title 54, United 

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 200104. Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor 

19 Recreation 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 

22 Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation 

23 established under subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND

25 WATERS.—The term ‘Federal recreational lands and 


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1 waters’ has the meaning given the term in section 

2 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

3 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 

4 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab5 lish an interagency council, to be known as the ‘Federal 

6 Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation’. 

7 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com9 posed of representatives of the following depart10 ments and agencies, to be appointed by the head of 

11 the applicable department or agency: 

12 ‘‘(A) The National Park Service. 

13 ‘‘(B) The Bureau of Land Management. 

14 ‘‘(C) The United States Fish and Wildlife 

15 Service. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

17 ‘‘(E) The Bureau of Reclamation. 

18 ‘‘(F) The Forest Service. 

19 ‘‘(G) The Corps of Engineers. 

20 ‘‘(H) The National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—In addition 

23 to the members described in paragraph (1), the Sec24 retary may invite participation in the meetings or 


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1 other activities of the Council from among the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Council on Environmental Qual4 ity. 

5 ‘‘(B) The Natural Resources Conservation 

6 Service. 

7 ‘‘(C) Rural development programs of the 

8 Department of Agriculture. 

9 ‘‘(D) The Economic Development Adminis10 tration. 

11 ‘‘(E) The National Travel and Tourism Of12 fice of the Department of Commerce. 

13 ‘‘(F) The National Center for Chronic Dis14 ease Prevention and Health Promotion. 

15 ‘‘(G) The Environmental Protection Agen16 cy. 

17 ‘‘(H) The Department of Transportation. 

18 ‘‘(I) The Tennessee Valley Authority. 

19 ‘‘(J) The Bureau of Economic Analysis of 

20 the Department of Commerce. 

21 ‘‘(K) The National Marine Fisheries Serv22 ice. 

23 ‘‘(L) The Federal Energy Regulatory Com24 mission. 


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1 ‘‘(M) The Federal Highway Administra2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(N) An applicable State agency or office. 

4 ‘‘(O) An applicable agency or office of a 

5 local government. 

6 ‘‘(3) STATE COORDINATION.—In determining 

7 additional participants under paragraph (2), the 

8 Secretary shall seek to ensure that not fewer than 

9 1 State is invited to participate in each meeting or 

10 other activity of the Council. 

11 ‘‘(4) LEADERSHIP.—The leadership of the 

12 Council shall rotate annually among the members of 

13 the Council described in paragraph (1), or as other14 wise determined by the Secretary, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

16 Commerce, and the Secretary of Defense. 

17 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—Notwithstanding section 708 

18 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

19 2023 (Public Law 117–328), the members of the 

20 Council described in paragraph (1) may enter into 

21 agreements to share the management and oper22 ational costs of the Council. 

23 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—The Council shall meet as fre24 quently as appropriate for the purposes of coordinating— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the implementation of the America’s Out2 door Recreation Act of 2023, including carrying out 

3 any reports required under that Act or an amend4 ment made by that Act; 

5 ‘‘(2) recreation management policies across 

6 Federal agencies, including implementation of the 

7 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

8 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.); 

9 ‘‘(3) the response by an agency that manages 

10 Federal recreational lands and waters to public 

11 health emergencies or other emergencies that result 

12 in disruptions to, or closures of, Federal recreational 

13 lands and waters; 

14 ‘‘(4) the expenditure of funds relating to out15 door recreation on Federal recreational lands and 

16 waters, including funds made available under section 

17 40804(b)(7) of the Infrastructure Investment and 

18 Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(7)); 

19 ‘‘(5) the adoption and expansion of emerging 

20 technologies on Federal recreational lands and 

21 waters; 

22 ‘‘(6) research activities, including quantifying 

23 the economic impacts of recreation; 

24 ‘‘(7) dissemination to the public of outdoor 

25 recreation-related information (including information 


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1 relating to opportunities, reservations, accessibility, 

2 and closures), in a manner that ensures the recre3 ation-related information is easily accessible with 

4 modern communication devices; 

5 ‘‘(8) the improvement of access to Federal rec6 reational lands and waters; and 

7 ‘‘(9) the identification and engagement of part8 ners outside the Federal Government— 

9 ‘‘(A) to promote outdoor recreation; 

10 ‘‘(B) to facilitate collaborative management 

11 of outdoor recreation; and 

12 ‘‘(C) to provide additional resources relat13 ing to enhancing outdoor recreation opportuni14 ties. 

15 ‘‘(e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the au16 thorities, regulations, or policies of any Federal agency de17 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (c).’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 for chapter 2001 of title 54, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking the item relating to section 200104 

21 and inserting the following: 

‘‘200104. Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation.’’. 

22 SEC. 143. INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ACCESS CLOSURES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall, to the ex24 tent practicable and in a timely fashion, alert the public 

25 to any closure or disruption to public campsites, trails, 


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1 roads, and other public areas and access points under the 

2 jurisdiction of the applicable Secretary. 

3 (b) ONLINE ALERT.—An alert under subsection (a) 

4 shall be posted online on a public website of the appro5 priate land unit in a manner that— 

6 (1) ensures that the public can easily find the 

7 alert in searching for the applicable campsite, trail, 

8 road, or other access point; and 

9 (2) consolidates all alerts under subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 144. IMPROVED RECREATION VISITATION DATA. 

11 (a) CONSISTENT VISITATION DATA.— 

12 (1) ANNUAL VISITATION DATA.—The Secre13 taries shall establish a single visitation data report14 ing system to report accurate annual visitation data, 

15 in a consistent manner, for— 

16 (A) each unit of Federal recreational lands 

17 and waters; and 

18 (B) land held in trust for an Indian Tribe, 

19 on request of the Indian Tribe. 

20 (2) CATEGORIES OF USE.—Within the visitation 

21 data reporting system established under paragraph 

22 (1), the Secretaries shall— 

23 (A) establish multiple categories of dif24 ferent recreation activities that are reported 

25 consistently across agencies; and 


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1 (B) provide an estimate of the number of 

2 visitors for each applicable category established 

3 under subparagraph (A) for each unit of Fed4 eral recreational lands and waters. 

5 (b) REAL-TIME DATA PILOT PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, using existing 

8 funds available to the Secretaries, the Secretaries 

9 shall carry out a pilot program, to be known as the 

10 ‘‘Real-time Data Pilot Program’’ (referred to in this 

11 section as the ‘‘Pilot Program’’), to make available 

12 to the public, for each unit of Federal recreational 

13 lands and waters selected for participation in the 

14 Pilot Program under paragraph (2)— 

15 (A) real-time or predictive data on visita16 tion (including data and resources publicly 

17 available from existing nongovernmental plat18 form) at— 

19 (i) the unit of Federal recreational 

20 lands and waters; 

21 (ii) to the extent practicable, areas 

22 within the unit of Federal recreational 

23 lands and waters; and 

24 (iii) to the extent practicable, recre25 ation sites managed by any other Federal 


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1 agency, a State agency, or a local agency 

2 that are located near the unit of Federal 

3 recreational lands and waters; and 

4 (B) through multiple media platforms, in5 formation about lesser-known, suitable recre6 ation sites located near the unit of Federal rec7 reational lands and waters (including recreation 

8 sites managed by any other Federal agency, a 

9 State agency, or a local agency), in an effort to 

10 encourage visitation among recreational sites. 

11 (2) LOCATIONS.— 

12 (A) INITIAL NUMBER OF UNITS.—On es13 tablishment of the Pilot Program, the Secre14 taries shall select for participation in the Pilot 

15 Program— 

16 (i) 15 units of Federal recreational 

17 lands and waters managed by the Sec18 retary; and 

19 (ii) 5 units of Federal recreational 

20 lands and waters managed by the Sec21 retary of Agriculture (acting through the 

22 Chief of the Forest Service). 

23 (B) EXPANSION.—Subject to paragraph 

24 (4), not later than 5 years after the date of en25 actment of this Act, the Secretaries shall exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 pand the Pilot Program by selecting 80 addi2 tional units of Federal recreational lands and 

3 waters managed by the Secretaries for partici4 pation in the Pilot Program, not fewer than 50 

5 of which shall be units managed by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (C) FEEDBACK; SUPPORT OF GATEWAY

8 COMMUNITIES.—The Secretaries shall— 

9 (i) solicit feedback regarding partici10 pation in the Pilot Program from commu11 nities adjacent to units of Federal rec12 reational lands and waters and the public; 

13 and 

14 (ii) in carrying out subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B), select a unit of Federal recreation 

16 lands and waters to participate in the Pilot 

17 Program only if the Secretaries determine 

18 that the communities adjacent to the unit 

19 of Federal recreational lands and waters 

20 support the participation. 

21 (3) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

22 Secretaries may disseminate the information de23 scribed in paragraph (1) directly or through an enti24 ty or organization referred to in subsection (c). 


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1 (4) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.—Before ex2 panding the Pilot Program under paragraph (2)(B), 

3 the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on 

4 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

5 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

6 of Representatives a report describing best practices 

7 for the Pilot Program. 

8 (c) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THIRD-PARTY PRO9 VIDERS.—For purposes of carrying out this section, the 

10 Secretary concerned may— 

11 (1) coordinate and partner with— 

12 (A) communities adjacent to units of Fed13 eral recreational lands and waters; 

14 (B) State and local outdoor recreation and 

15 tourism offices; 

16 (C) local governments; 

17 (D) Indian Tribes; 

18 (E) trade associations; 

19 (F) local outdoor recreation marketing or20 ganizations; 

21 (G) permitted facilitated recreation pro22 viders; or 

23 (H) other relevant stakeholders; and 


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1 (2) coordinate or enter into agreements, as ap2 propriate, with private sector and nonprofit part3 ners, including— 

4 (A) technology companies; 

5 (B) geospatial data companies; 

6 (C) experts in data science, analytics, and 

7 operations research; or 

8 (D) data companies. 

9 (d) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Secretaries may use 

10 existing programs or products of the Secretaries to carry 

11 out this section. 

12 (e) PRIVACY CLAUSES.—Nothing in this section pro13 vides authority to the Secretaries— 

14 (1) to monitor or record the identity or move15 ments of a visitor to a unit of Federal recreational 

16 lands and waters; 

17 (2) to restrict, interfere with, or monitor a pri18 vate communication of a visitor to a unit of Federal 

19 recreational lands and waters; or 

20 (3) to collect— 

21 (A) information from owners of land adja22 cent to a unit of Federal recreational lands and 

23 waters; or 

24 (B) information on non-Federal land. 


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1 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2025, and 

2 annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall publish on a 

3 website of the Secretaries a report that describes the an4 nual visitation of each unit of Federal recreational lands 

5 and waters, including, to the maximum extent practicable, 

6 visitation categorized by recreational activity. 

7 SEC. 145. MONITORING FOR IMPROVED RECREATION DECI8 SION MAKING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall seek to cap10 ture comprehensive recreation use data to better under11 stand and inform decision making by the Secretaries. 

12 (b) PILOT PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, and after public notice 

14 and comment, the Secretaries shall establish pilot proto15 cols at not fewer than 10 land management units under 

16 the jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to model recre17 ation use patterns (including low-use recreation activities 

18 and dispersed recreation activities) that may not be effec19 tively measured by existing general and opportunistic sur20 vey and monitoring protocols. 

21 SEC. 146. ACCESS FOR SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS. 

22 The Secretaries are encouraged to work with the Sec23 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

24 to ensure servicemembers and veterans have access to out25 door recreation and outdoor-related volunteer and wellness 


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1 programs as a part of the basic services provided to 

2 servicemembers and veterans. 

3 SEC. 147. INCREASING YOUTH RECREATION VISITS TO FED4 ERAL LAND. 

5 (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once 

7 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretaries shall develop and 

8 make public a national strategy, after public notice and 

9 comment, to increase the number of youth recreation visits 

10 to Federal land. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A strategy developed under 

12 subsection (a)— 

13 (1) shall— 

14 (A) emphasize increased recreation oppor15 tunities on Federal land for underserved youth; 

16 (B) establish objectives and quantifiable 

17 targets for increasing youth recreation visits; 

18 and 

19 (C) provide the anticipated costs to achieve 

20 the objectives and meet the targets established 

21 under subparagraph (B); and 

22 (2) shall not establish any preference between 

23 similar recreation facilitated by noncommercial or 

24 commercial entities. 


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1 (c) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretaries may enter into 

2 contracts or cost-share agreements (including contracts or 

3 agreements for the acquisition of vehicles) to carry out 

4 this section. 

5 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

6 FEDERAL LANDS RECRE7 ATION ENHANCEMENT ACT 

8 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

9 The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

10 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) is amended by striking section 801 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

13 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Federal Lands Recre14 ation Enhancement Act’.’’. 

15 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation En17 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

19 striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘section 803(f)’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 3(g)’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 

24 (4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 

25 5(a)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 805(a)(7)’’; 


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1 (5) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘section 5(d)’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘section 805(d)’’; 

3 (6) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘section 7’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 

5 (7) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘section 

6 3(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)(2)’’; 

7 (8) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), 

8 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para9 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), 

10 (10), and (14), respectively, and moving the para11 graphs so as to appear in numerical order; 

12 (9) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re13 designated) the following: 

14 ‘‘(9) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 

15 term ‘recreation service provider’ means a person 

16 that provides recreational services to the public 

17 under a special recreation permit under clause (iii) 

18 or (iv) of paragraph (13)(A).’’; and 

19 (10) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘special 

23 recreation permit’ means a permit issued by a 

24 Federal land management agency for the use of 

25 Federal recreational lands and waters— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for a specialized recreational use 

2 not described in clause (ii), (iii), or (iv), 

3 such as— 

4 ‘‘(I) an organizational camp; 

5 ‘‘(II) a single event that does not 

6 require an entry or participation fee 

7 that is not strictly a sharing of ex8 penses for the purposes of the event; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(III) participation by the public 

11 in a recreation activity or recreation 

12 use of a specific area of Federal rec13 reational lands and waters in which 

14 use by the public is allocated; 

15 ‘‘(ii) for a large-group activity or 

16 event for not fewer than 75 participants; 

17 ‘‘(iii) for— 

18 ‘‘(I) at the discretion of the Sec19 retary, a single organized group recre20 ation activity or event (including an 

21 activity or event in which motorized 

22 recreational vehicles are used or in 

23 which outfitting and guiding services 

24 are used) that— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) is a structured or 

2 scheduled event or activity; 

3 ‘‘(bb) is not competitive and 

4 is for fewer than 75 participants; 

5 ‘‘(cc) may charge an entry 

6 or participation fee; 

7 ‘‘(dd) involves fewer than 

8 200 visitor-use days; and 

9 ‘‘(ee) is undertaken or pro10 vided by the recreation service 

11 provider at the same site not 

12 more frequently than 3 times a 

13 year; 

14 ‘‘(II) a single competitive event; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(III) at the discretion of the 

17 Secretary, a recurring organized 

18 group recreation activity (including an 

19 outfitting and guiding activity) that— 

20 ‘‘(aa) is a structured or 

21 scheduled activity; 

22 ‘‘(bb) is not competitive; 

23 ‘‘(cc) may charge a partici24 pation fee; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) occurs in a group size 

2 of fewer than 7 participants; 

3 ‘‘(ee) involves fewer than 40 

4 visitor-use days; and 

5 ‘‘(ff) is undertaken or pro6 vided by the recreation service 

7 provider for a term of not more 

8 than 180 days; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) for— 

10 ‘‘(I) a recurring outfitting, guid11 ing, or, at the discretion of the Sec12 retary, other recreation service, the 

13 authorization for which is for a term 

14 of not more than 10 years; or 

15 ‘‘(II) a recurring outfitting, guid16 ing, or, at the discretion of the Sec17 retary, other recreation service, that 

18 occurs under a transitional special 

19 recreation permit authorized under 

20 section 312(a) of the America’s Out21 door Recreation Act of 2023. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘special 

23 recreation permit’ does not include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a concession contract for the pro2 vision of accommodations, facilities, or 

3 services; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a commercial use authorization 

5 issued under section 101925 of title 54, 

6 United States Code; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) any other type of permit, includ8 ing a special use permit administered by 

9 the National Park Service.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS AND FEES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 803 of the Federal Lands 

12 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ each place it appears 

15 and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 

17 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 

18 (3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS AND FEES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(i) may develop and make available 

24 to the public an application to obtain a 


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1 special recreation permit described in 

2 clause (i) of section 802(13)(A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall develop and make available 

4 to the public an application to obtain a 

5 special recreation permit described in 

6 clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 

7 802(13)(A). 

8 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.—On review 

9 of a completed application developed under sub10 paragraph (A), as applicable, and a determina11 tion by the Secretary that the applicant is eligi12 ble for the special recreation permit, the Sec13 retary may issue to the applicant a special 

14 recreation permit, subject to any terms and 

15 conditions that are determined to be necessary 

16 by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(C) INCIDENTAL SALES.—A special recre18 ation permit issued under this paragraph may 

19 include an authorization for sales that are inci20 dental in nature to the permitted use of the 

21 Federal recreational lands and waters. 

22 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

24 charge a special recreation permit fee for the 


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1 issuance of a special recreation permit in ac2 cordance with this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(B) PREDETERMINED SPECIAL RECRE4 ATION PERMIT FEES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

6 subparagraphs (D) and (E), the Secretary 

7 shall establish and may charge a predeter8 mined fee, described in clause (ii), for a 

9 special recreation permit described in 

10 clause (iii) or (iv) of section 802(13)(A) 

11 for a specific type of use on a unit of Fed12 eral recreational lands and waters, con13 sistent with the criteria set forth in clause 

14 (iii). 

15 ‘‘(ii) TYPE OF FEE.—A predetermined 

16 fee described in clause (i) shall be— 

17 ‘‘(I) a fixed fee that is assessed 

18 per special recreation permit, includ19 ing a fee with an associated size limi20 tation or other criteria as determined 

21 to be appropriate by the Secretary; or 

22 ‘‘(II) an amount assessed per vis23 itor-use day. 

24 ‘‘(iii) CRITERIA.—A predetermined fee 

25 under clause (i) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) have been established before 

2 the date of enactment of the Amer3 ica’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023; 

4 ‘‘(II) be established after the 

5 date of enactment of the America’s 

6 Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023, in 

7 accordance with subsection (b); 

8 ‘‘(III)(aa) be established after 

9 the date of enactment of the Amer10 ica’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) be comparable to an 

13 amount described in subparagraph 

14 (D)(ii) or (E)(ii), as applicable; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) beginning on the date that 

16 is 2 years after the date of enactment 

17 of the America’s Outdoor Recreation 

18 Act of 2023, be $6 per visitor-use day 

19 in instances in which the Secretary 

20 has not established a predetermined 

21 fee under subclause (I), (II), or (III). 

22 ‘‘(C) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR SPECIAL23 IZED RECREATIONAL USES AND LARGE-GROUP

24 ACTIVITIES OR EVENTS.—The Secretary may, 

25 at the discretion of the Secretary, establish and 


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1 charge a fee for a special recreation permit de2 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of section 

3 802(13)(A). 

4 ‘‘(D) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR SINGLE

5 ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITIES OR

6 EVENTS, COMPETITIVE EVENTS, AND CERTAIN

7 RECURRING ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION

8 ACTIVITIES.—If the Secretary elects to charge a 

9 fee for a special recreation permit described in 

10 section 802(13)(A)(iii), the Secretary shall 

11 charge the recreation service provider, based on 

12 the election of the recreation service provider— 

13 ‘‘(i) the applicable predetermined fee 

14 established under subparagraph (B); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) an amount equal to a percentage 

16 of, to be determined by the Secretary, but 

17 to not to exceed 5 percent of, adjusted 

18 gross receipts calculated under subpara19 graph (F). 

20 ‘‘(E) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR TRANSI21 TIONAL PERMITS AND LONG-TERM PERMITS.— 

22 Subject to subparagraph (G), if the Secretary 

23 elects to charge a fee for a special recreation 

24 permit described in section 802(13)(A)(iv), the 

25 Secretary shall charge the recreation service 


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1 provider, based on the election of the recreation 

2 service provider— 

3 ‘‘(i) the applicable predetermined fee 

4 established under subparagraph (B); or 

5 ‘‘(ii) an amount equal to a percentage 

6 of, to be determined by the Secretary, but 

7 not to exceed 3 percent of, adjusted gross 

8 receipts calculated under subparagraph 

9 (F). 

10 ‘‘(F) ADJUSTED GROSS RECEIPTS.—For 

11 the purposes of subparagraphs (D)(ii) and 

12 (E)(ii), the Secretary shall calculate the ad13 justed gross receipts collected for each trip or 

14 event authorized under a special recreation per15 mit, using either of the following calculations, 

16 based on the election of the recreation service 

17 provider: 

18 ‘‘(i) The sum of— 

19 ‘‘(I) the product obtained by mul20 tiplying— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the general amount 

22 paid by participants of the trip or 

23 event to the recreation service 

24 provider for the applicable trip or 

25 event (excluding amounts related 


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1 to goods, souvenirs, merchandise, 

2 gear, and additional food pro3 vided or sold by the recreation 

4 service provider); and 

5 ‘‘(bb) the quotient obtained 

6 by dividing— 

7 ‘‘(AA) the number of 

8 days of the trip or event 

9 that occurred on Federal 

10 recreational lands and 

11 waters covered by the special 

12 recreation permit, rounded 

13 to the nearest whole day; by 

14 ‘‘(BB) the total number 

15 of days of the trip or event; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) the amount of any addi18 tional revenue received by the recre19 ation service provider for an add-on 

20 activity or an optional excursion that 

21 occurred on the Federal recreational 

22 lands and waters covered by the spe23 cial recreation permit. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The difference between— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the total cost paid by the 

2 participants of the trip or event for 

3 the trip or event to the recreation 

4 service provider, including any addi5 tional revenue received by the recre6 ation service provider for an add-on 

7 activity or an optional excursion that 

8 occurred on the Federal recreational 

9 lands and waters covered by the spe10 cial recreation permit; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the sum of— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the amount of any 

13 revenues from goods, souvenirs, 

14 merchandise, gear, and additional 

15 food provided or sold by the 

16 recreation service provider to the 

17 participants of the applicable trip 

18 or event; 

19 ‘‘(bb) the amount of any 

20 costs or revenues from services 

21 and activities provided or sold by 

22 the recreation service provider to 

23 the participants of the trip or 

24 event that occurred in a location 

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1 reational lands and waters cov2 ered by the special recreation 

3 permit (including costs for travel 

4 and lodging outside the Federal 

5 recreational lands and waters 

6 covered by the special recreation 

7 permit); and 

8 ‘‘(cc) the amount of any rev9 enues from any service provided 

10 by a recreation service provider 

11 for an activity on Federal rec12 reational lands and waters that is 

13 not covered by the special recre14 ation permit. 

15 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub16 paragraph (E), the Secretary may charge a 

17 recreation service provider a minimum annual 

18 fee for a special recreation permit described in 

19 section 802(13)(A)(iv). 

20 ‘‘(H) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

21 ‘‘(i) EFFECT.—Nothing in this para22 graph affects any fee for— 

23 ‘‘(I) a concession contract admin24 istered by the National Park Service 


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1 for the provision of accommodations, 

2 facilities, or services; or 

3 ‘‘(II) a commercial use authoriza4 tion for use of Federal recreational 

5 lands and waters managed by the Na6 tional Park Service. 

7 ‘‘(ii) COST RECOVERY.—Nothing in 

8 this paragraph affects the ability of the 

9 Secretary to recover any administrative 

10 costs under section 325 of the America’s 

11 Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023. 

12 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT

13 FEES AND OTHER RECREATION FEES.— 

14 The collection of a special recreation per15 mit fee under this paragraph shall not af16 fect the authority of the Secretary to col17 lect an entrance fee, a standard amenity 

18 recreation fee, or an expanded amenity 

19 recreation fee authorized under subsections 

20 (e), (f), and (g). 

21 ‘‘(i) DISCLOSURE OF RECREATION FEES AND USE

22 OF RECREATION FEES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF ENTRANCE FEES, STANDARD

24 AMENITY RECREATION FEES, EXPANDED AMENITY


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1 RECREATION FEES, AND AVAILABLE RECREATION

2 PASSES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

4 post clear notice of any entrance fee, standard 

5 amenity recreation fee, expanded amenity recre6 ation fee, and available recreation passes at ap7 propriate locations in each unit or area of Fed8 eral recreational land and waters at which an 

9 entrance fee, standard amenity recreation fee, 

10 or expanded amenity recreation fee is charged. 

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

12 include in publications distributed at a unit or 

13 area or described in subparagraph (A) the no14 tice described in that subparagraph. 

15 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF USES OF RECREATION FEES.— 

16 Beginning on January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall 

17 annually post, at the location at which a recreation 

18 fee described in paragraph (1)(A) is collected, clear 

19 notice of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the total recreation fees collected dur21 ing each of the 2 preceding fiscal years at the 

22 respective unit or area of the Federal land man23 agement agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) each use during the preceding fiscal 

2 year of the applicable recreation fee or recre3 ation pass revenues collected under this section. 

4 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF RECREATION FEE PROJECTS.— 

5 To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall post 

6 clear notice at the location at which work is per7 formed using recreation fee and recreation pass rev8 enues collected under this section. 

9 ‘‘(4) CENTRALIZED REPORTING ON AGENCY

10 WEBSITES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Janu12 ary 1, 2025, and not later than 60 days after 

13 the beginning of each fiscal year thereafter, the 

14 Secretary shall post on the website of the appli15 cable Federal land management agency a 

16 searchable list of each use during the preceding 

17 fiscal year of the recreation fee or recreation 

18 pass revenues collected under this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) LIST COMPONENTS.—The list re20 quired under subparagraph (A) shall include, 

21 with respect to each use described in that sub22 paragraph— 

23 ‘‘(i) a title and description of the over24 all project; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a title and description for each 

2 component of the project; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the location of the project; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) the amount obligated for the 

5 project. 

6 ‘‘(5) NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS.—A recreation 

7 service provider may inform a customer of the recre8 ation service provider of any fee charged by the Sec9 retary under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 804 of the 

11 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 6803) is amended by striking subsection (e). 

13 SEC. 204. ONLINE COLLECTION OF CERTAIN RECREATION 

14 FEES. 

15 Section 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation En16 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by section 

17 203(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) ONLINE PAYMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to providing 

20 onsite payment methods, the Secretaries may collect 

21 payment online for— 

22 ‘‘(A) entrance fees under subsection (e); 

23 ‘‘(B) standard amenity recreation fees; 

24 ‘‘(C) expanded amenity recreation fees; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) special recreation permit fees. 

2 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF ONLINE PAYMENTS.— 

3 An online payment collected under paragraph (1) 

4 that is associated with a specific unit or area of a 

5 Federal land management agency shall be distrib6 uted in accordance with section 805(c).’’. 

7 SEC. 205. ONLINE PURCHASES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A 

8 DIGITAL VERSION OF AMERICA THE BEAU9 TIFUL—THE NATIONAL PARKS AND FEDERAL 

10 RECREATIONAL LANDS PASSES. 

11 Section 805(a) of the Federal Lands Recreation En12 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6804(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking subparagraph 

14 (A) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall 

16 sell the National Parks and Federal Rec17 reational Lands Pass— 

18 ‘‘(i) at all Federal recreational lands 

19 and waters at which— 

20 ‘‘(I) an entrance fee or a stand21 ard amenity recreation fee is charged; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(II) such sales are feasible; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at such other locations as the 

2 Secretaries determine to be appropriate 

3 and feasible; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) through the website of each of 

5 the Federal land management agencies and 

6 the websites of the relevant units and 

7 subunits of the Federal land management 

8 agencies, which shall include— 

9 ‘‘(I) a prominent link on each 

10 website; and 

11 ‘‘(II) information about where 

12 and when the National Parks and 

13 Federal Recreational Lands Pass may 

14 be used.’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(10) DIGITAL RECREATION PASSES.—By not 

17 later than January 1, 2026, the Secretaries shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) establish a digital version of the Na19 tional Parks and Federal Recreational Lands 

20 Pass that is able to be stored on a mobile de21 vice; and 

22 ‘‘(B) on the completion of a sale carried 

23 out under paragraph (6)(A)(iii), make available 

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1 tional Parks and Federal Recreational Lands 

2 Pass established under subparagraph (A).’’. 

3 SEC. 206. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 

4 RECREATION PASSES. 

5 Section 806 of the Federal Lands Recreation En6 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6805) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SALES OF STATE AND COUNTY

9 RECREATION PASSES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a request by 

11 a State or county, the Secretaries may, on behalf of 

12 the State or county— 

13 ‘‘(A) sell a pass covering a fee charged by 

14 a State or county for entrance to, or rec15 reational use of, a park or public land in the 

16 State or county; and 

17 ‘‘(B) collect any required fees for a pass 

18 sold under subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(2) REVENUE FROM PASS SALES.—The Secre20 taries shall transfer to the applicable State or county 

21 any amounts collected on behalf of the State or 

22 county under paragraph (1)(B). 

23 ‘‘(e) COORDINATING THE SALES OF FEDERAL, 

24 STATE, AND LOCAL RECREATION PASSES.—The Secre25 taries, in consultation with States and counties, shall seek 


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1 to coordinate the availability of Federal, State, and county 

2 recreation passes to allow an individual to purchase a Fed3 eral recreation pass and a State or county recreation pass 

4 in a single transaction.’’. 

5 SEC. 207. USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE REV6 ENUE. 

7 Section 808 of the Federal Lands Recreation En8 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6807) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ each place it appears 

10 and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (a)(3)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘6(a) 

15 or a visitor reservation service.’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘806(a) or a visitor reservation service;’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(G) the processing of special recreation 

19 permit applications and administration of spe20 cial recreation permits; and 

21 ‘‘(H) the improvement of the operation of 

22 the special recreation permit program under 

23 section 803(h).’’; and 

24 (3) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 

2 5’’ and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 

4 5’’ and inserting ‘‘section 805’’. 

5 SEC. 208. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION. 

6 The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking section 810; and 

9 (2) by redesignating sections 811 through 815 

10 as sections 810 through 814, respectively. 

11 TITLE III—SPECIAL RECRE12 ATION PERMITS FOR OUTFIT13 TING AND GUIDING 

14 Subtitle A—Administration of Spe15 cial Recreation Permits for Out16 fitting and Guiding 

17 SEC. 311. PERMIT ADMINISTRATION. 

18 (a) PERMIT AVAILABILITY.— 

19 (1) NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT AVAIL20 ABILITY.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (B), in an area of Federal rec23 reational lands and waters in which use by 

24 recreation service providers is allocated, if the 

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1 itor-use days are available for allocation to 

2 recreation service providers or holders of a com3 mercial use authorization for outfitting and 

4 guiding, the Secretary concerned shall publish 

5 the information on the website of the agency 

6 that administers the applicable area of Federal 

7 recreational lands and waters. 

8 (B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this para9 graph— 

10 (i) applies to— 

11 (I) the reissuance of an existing 

12 special recreation permit or commer13 cial use authorization for outfitting 

14 and guiding; or 

15 (II) the issuance of a new special 

16 recreation permit or new commercial 

17 use authorization for outfitting and 

18 guiding issued to the purchaser of— 

19 (aa) a recreation service pro20 vider that is the holder of an ex21 isting special recreation permit; 

22 or 

23 (bb) a holder of an existing 

24 commercial use authorization for 

25 outfitting and guiding; or 


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1 (ii) creates a prerequisite to the 

2 issuance of a special recreation permit or 

3 commercial use authorization for outfitting 

4 and guiding or otherwise limits the author5 ity of the Secretary concerned— 

6 (I) to issue a new special recre7 ation permit or new commercial use 

8 authorization for outfitting and guid9 ing; or 

10 (II) to add a new or additional 

11 use to an existing special recreation 

12 permit or an existing commercial use 

13 authorization for outfitting and guid14 ing. 

15 (2) UPDATES.—The Secretary concerned shall 

16 ensure that information published on the website 

17 under this subsection is consistently updated to pro18 vide current and correct information to the public. 

19 (3) ELECTRONIC MAIL NOTIFICATIONS.—The 

20 Secretary concerned shall establish a system by 

21 which potential applicants for special recreation per22 mits or commercial use authorizations for outfitting 

23 and guiding may subscribe to receive notification by 

24 electronic mail of the availability of special recre25 ation permits under subsection (h)(1) of section 803 


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1 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

2 (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by section 203(a)(3)) 

3 or commercial use authorizations for outfitting and 

4 guiding. 

5 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION OR PROPOSAL ACKNOWL6 EDGMENTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

8 the date on which the Secretary concerned receives 

9 a completed application or a complete proposal for 

10 a special recreation permit under subsection (h)(1) 

11 of section 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation En12 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by 

13 section 203(a)(3)), the Secretary concerned shall— 

14 (A) provide to the applicant notice ac15 knowledging receipt of the application or pro16 posal; and 

17 (B)(i) issue a final decision with respect to 

18 the application or proposal; or 

19 (ii) provide to the applicant notice of a 

20 projected date for a final decision on the appli21 cation or proposal. 

22 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection ap23 plies to a concession contract issued by the National 

24 Park Service for the provision of accommodations, 

25 facilities, or services. 


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1 SEC. 312. FOREST SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MAN2 AGEMENT TRANSITIONAL SPECIAL RECRE3 ATION PERMITS FOR OUTFITTING AND GUID4 ING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 

7 shall implement a program to authorize the issuance of 

8 transitional special recreation permits for a new or addi9 tional reoccurring outfitting, guiding, or other recreation 

10 service, as determined by the Secretary concerned, on Fed11 eral recreational lands and waters managed by the Chief 

12 of the Forest Service or the Director of the Bureau of 

13 Land Management. 

14 (b) TERM OF TRANSITIONAL PERMITS FOR OUTFIT15 TING AND GUIDING.—A transitional special recreation 

16 permit issued under subsection (a) shall be issued for a 

17 term of 2 years. 

18 (c) ISSUANCE OF LONG-TERM PERMITS FOR OUTFIT19 TING AND GUIDING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the request of a recre21 ation service provider that holds a transitional spe22 cial recreation permit under the program imple23 mented under subsection (a), the Secretary con24 cerned shall provide for the issuance of a long-term 

25 special recreation permit for outfitting and guiding 

26 to replace the transitional special recreation permit 


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1 if the Secretary concerned determines that the recre2 ation service provider— 

3 (A) has held not less than 2 transitional 

4 special recreation permits or similar permits 

5 issued under— 

6 (i) the program implemented under 

7 subsection (a); or 

8 (ii) any other program to issue similar 

9 special recreation permits in existence be10 fore the date of enactment of this Act; 

11 (B) during the 3-year period preceding the 

12 request, has not been determined to have a per13 formance that is less than satisfactory, as de14 termined under the monitoring process de15 scribed in section 314(a), for any transitional 

16 special recreation permits or similar special 

17 recreation permits issued by the Secretary con18 cerned, including the transitional special recre19 ation permit proposed to be replaced, for the re20 spective unit of Federal recreational lands and 

21 waters; and 

22 (C) notwithstanding section 314(b)(3), has 

23 used not less than 50 percent of the visitor-use 

24 days allocated to the recreation service provider 

25 under the transitional special recreation permit. 


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1 (2) TERM.—The term of a long-term special 

2 recreation permit under this subsection issued to re3 place a transitional special recreation permit under 

4 paragraph (1) shall be for a period of 5 or 10 years, 

5 as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary 

6 concerned. 

7 (3) VISITOR-USE DAY ALLOCATIONS.—In re8 placing a transitional special recreation permit under 

9 paragraph (1) with a long-term special recreation 

10 permit for outfitting and guiding, the Secretary con11 cerned may, at the discretion of the Secretary con12 cerned, increase the number of visitor-use days allo13 cated to the recreation service provider under the 

14 long-term special recreation permit for outfitting 

15 and guiding. 

16 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section alters or af17 fects the authority of the Secretary concerned to issue a 

18 special recreation permit under subsection (h)(1) of sec19 tion 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by section 203(a)(3)). 

21 SEC. 313. SURRENDER OF UNUSED VISITOR-USE DAYS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A recreation service provider hold23 ing a special recreation permit described in paragraph 

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1 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as amended 

2 by section 202(10)) may— 

3 (1) notify the Secretary concerned of an inabil4 ity to use visitor-use days annually allocated to the 

5 recreation service provider under the special recre6 ation permit; and 

7 (2) surrender to the Secretary concerned the 

8 unused visitor-use days for the applicable year for 

9 temporary reassignment under section 315(b). 

10 (b) DETERMINATION.—To ensure a recreation service 

11 provider described in subsection (a) is able to make an 

12 informed decision before surrendering any unused visitor13 use day under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary concerned 

14 shall, on the request of the applicable recreation service 

15 provider, determine and notify the recreation service pro16 vider whether the unused visitor-use day meets the re17 quirement described in section 314(b)(3)(B) before the 

18 recreation service provider surrenders the unused visitor19 use day. 

20 SEC. 314. REVIEWS FOR TRANSITIONAL PERMITS AND 

21 LONG-TERM PERMITS. 

22 (a) MONITORING.—The Secretary concerned shall 

23 monitor for compliance a recreation service provider— 


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1 (1) annually, in the case of a transitional spe2 cial recreation permit for outfitting and guiding 

3 issued under section 312; 

4 (2) once every 2 years, in the case of a special 

5 recreation permit described in paragraph 

6 (13)(A)(iv)(I) of section 802 of the Federal Lands 

7 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as 

8 amended by section 202(10)) that is issued for a 

9 term of 10 years; 

10 (3) in the case of a special recreation permit re11 placed under section 312 with a long-term special 

12 recreation permit for outfitting and guiding with a 

13 term of 10 years, during each of the 4th, 6th, 8th, 

14 and 10th years in which the long-term special recre15 ation permit is in effect; and 

16 (4) in the case of a special recreation permit re17 placed under section 312 with a long-term special 

18 recreation permit for outfitting and guiding with a 

19 term of 5 years, during each of the 4th and 5th 

20 years in which the special recreation permit is in ef21 fect. 

22 (b) USE-OF-ALLOCATION REVIEWS.— 

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1 use days among special recreation permits for outfit2 ting and guiding, the Secretary of Agriculture, act3 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall, 

4 and the Secretary may, review the use by the recre5 ation service provider of the visitor-use days allo6 cated— 

7 (A) under a transitional special recreation 

8 permit issued under section 312, not later than 

9 90 days before the date on which the transi10 tional special recreation permit expires; and 

11 (B) under a long-term special recreation 

12 permit described in paragraph (13)(A)(iv)(I) of 

13 section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation 

14 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as amend15 ed by section 202(10)), once every 5 years. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF THE REVIEW.—In con17 ducting a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

18 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the For19 est Service, or the Secretary, as applicable, shall de20 termine— 

21 (A) the number of visitor-use days that the 

22 recreation service provider has used each year 

23 under the transitional special recreation permit 

24 or the special recreation permit, in accordance 

25 with paragraph (3); and 


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1 (B) of the years identified under subpara2 graph (A), the year in which the recreation 

3 service provider used the most visitor-use days. 

4 (3) CONSIDERATION OF SURRENDERED, UN5 USED VISITOR-USE DAYS.—For the purposes of de6 termining the number of visitor-use days a recre7 ation service provider has used in a specified year 

8 under paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary of Agri9 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv10 ice, and the Secretary, as applicable, shall consider 

11 an unused visitor-use day that has been surrendered 

12 under section 313(a)(2) as— 

(A) 1 13 ⁄2 of a visitor-use day used; or 

14 (B) 1 visitor-use day used, if the Secretary 

15 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 

16 Forest Service, or the Secretary, as applicable, 

17 determines the use of the allocated visitor-use 

18 day had been or will be prevented by a cir19 cumstance beyond the control of the recreation 

20 service provider. 

21 SEC. 315. ADJUSTMENT OF ALLOCATED VISITOR-USE DAYS. 

22 (a) ADJUSTMENTS FOLLOWING USE OF ALLOCATION

23 REVIEWS.—On the completion of a use-of-allocation re24 view of a special recreation permit described in paragraph 

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1 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as amended 

2 by section 202(10)) conducted under section 314(b), the 

3 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 

4 Forest Service, or the Secretary, as applicable, shall adjust 

5 the number of visitor-use days allocated to a recreation 

6 service provider under the special recreation permit as fol7 lows: 

8 (1) If the Secretary concerned determines that 

9 the performance of the recreation service provider 

10 was satisfactory during the most recent review con11 ducted under subsection (a) of section 314, the an12 nual number of visitor-use days allocated for each 

13 remaining year of the permit shall be equal to 125 

14 percent of the number of visitor-use days used, as 

15 determined under subsection (b)(2)(A) of that sec16 tion, during the year identified under subsection 

17 (b)(2)(B) of that section, not to exceed the level allo18 cated to the recreation service provider on the date 

19 on which the special recreation permit was issued. 

20 (2) If the Secretary concerned determines the 

21 performance of the recreation service provider is less 

22 than satisfactory during the most recent perform23 ance review conducted under subsection (a) of sec24 tion 314, the annual number of visitor-use days allo25 cated for each remaining year of the special recreVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 ation permit shall be equal to not more than 100 

2 percent of the number of visitor-use days used, as 

3 determined under subsection (b)(2)(A) of that sec4 tion during the year identified under subsection 

5 (b)(2)(B) of that section. 

6 (b) TEMPORARY REASSIGNMENT OF UNUSED VIS7 ITOR-USE DAYS.—The Secretary concerned may tempo8 rarily assign unused visitor-use days, made available under 

9 section 313(a)(2) to— 

10 (1) any other existing or potential recreation 

11 service provider, notwithstanding the number of vis12 itor-use days allocated to the special recreation per13 mit holder under the special recreation permit held 

14 or to be held by the recreation service provider; or 

15 (2) any existing or potential holder of a special 

16 recreation permit described in clause (i) or (iii) of 

17 paragraph (13)(A) of section 802 of the Federal 

18 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

19 6801) (as amended by section 202(10)), including 

20 the public. 

21 (c) ADDITIONAL CAPACITY.—If unallocated visitor22 use days are available, the Secretary concerned may, at 

23 any time, amend a special recreation permit to allocate 

24 additional visitor-use days to a qualified recreation service 

25 provider. 


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1 Subtitle B—Additional Provisions 

2 Relating to Special Recreation 

3 Permits 

4 SEC. 321. PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—To simplify the process of the 

6 issuance and reissuance of special recreation permits and 

7 reduce the cost of administering special recreation permits 

8 under subsection (h) of section 803 of the Federal Lands 

9 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as 

10 amended by section 203(a)(3)), the Secretaries shall— 

11 (1) during the period beginning on January 1, 

12 2021, and ending on January 1, 2025— 

13 (A) evaluate the process for issuing special 

14 recreation permits; and 

15 (B) based on the evaluation under sub16 paragraph (A), identify opportunities— 

17 (i) to eliminate duplicative processes 

18 with respect to issuing special recreation 

19 permits; 

20 (ii) to reduce costs for the issuance of 

21 special recreation permits; 

22 (iii) to decrease processing times for 

23 special recreation permits; and 

24 (iv) to issue simplified special recre25 ation permits, including special recreation 


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1 permits for an organized group recreation 

2 activity or event under subsection (e); and 

3 (2) not later than 1 year after the date on 

4 which the Secretaries complete the evaluation and 

5 identification processes under paragraph (1), revise, 

6 as necessary, relevant agency regulations and guid7 ance documents, including regulations and guidance 

8 documents relating to the environmental review 

9 process, for special recreation permits to implement 

10 the improvements identified under paragraph (1)(B). 

11 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

13 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, utilize 

14 available tools, including tiering to existing pro15 grammatic reviews, as appropriate, to facilitate an 

16 effective and efficient environmental review process 

17 for activities undertaken by the Secretary concerned 

18 relating to the issuance of special recreation permits. 

19 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.—Not later 

20 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary concerned shall— 

22 (A) evaluate— 

23 (i) whether existing categorical exclu24 sions available to the Secretary concerned 

25 on the date of enactment of this Act are 


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1 consistent with the provisions of this Act; 

2 and 

3 (ii) whether a modification of an exist4 ing categorical exclusion or the establish5 ment of 1 or more new categorical exclu6 sions developed in compliance with the Na7 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

8 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is necessary to 

9 undertake an activity described in para10 graph (1) in a manner consistent with the 

11 authorities and requirements in this Act; 

12 and 

13 (B) revise relevant agency regulations and 

14 policy statements, as necessary, to modify exist15 ing categorical exclusions or incorporate new 

16 categorical exclusions based on the evaluation 

17 conducted under subparagraph (A). 

18 (c) NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.—Except as required 

19 under subsection (c) or (d) of section 4 of the Wilderness 

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 1133), the Secretary concerned shall not 

21 conduct a needs assessment as a condition of issuing a 

22 special recreation permit under subsection (h) of section 

23 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

24 (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by section 203(a)(3)). 


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1 (d) ONLINE APPLICATIONS.—Using funds made 

2 available to the Secretaries, not later than 3 years after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 

4 make the application for a special recreation permit under 

5 subsection (h) of section 803 of the Federal Lands Recre6 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended 

7 by section 203(a)(3)), including a reissuance of a special 

8 recreation permit under that section, available for comple9 tion and submission— 

10 (1) online; 

11 (2) by mail or electronic mail; and 

12 (3) in person at the field office for the applica13 ble Federal recreational lands and waters. 

14 (e) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS FOR AN ORGA15 NIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITY OR EVENT.— 

16 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 (A) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FOR AN

18 ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITY OR

19 EVENT.—The term ‘‘special recreation permit 

20 for an organized group recreation activity or 

21 event’’ means a special recreation permit de22 scribed in subclause (I) or (III) of paragraph 

23 (13)(A)(iii) of section 802 of the Federal Lands 

24 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) 

25 (as amended by section 202(10)). 


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1 (B) YOUTH GROUP.—The term ‘‘youth 

2 group’’ means a recreation service provider that 

3 predominantly serves individuals not older than 

4 25 years of age. 

5 (2) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN ALLOCATIONS

6 OF USE.—If the Secretary concerned allocates vis7 itor-use days available for an area or activity on 

8 Federal recreational lands and waters among recre9 ation service providers that hold a permit described 

10 in paragraph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Fed11 eral Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 6801) (as amended by section 202(10)), a special 

13 recreation permit for an organized group recreation 

14 activity or event shall not be subject to that alloca15 tion of visitor-use days. 

16 (3) ISSUANCE.—In accordance with paragraphs 

17 (5) and (6), if use by the general public is not sub18 ject to a limited entry permit system and if capacity 

19 is available for the times or days in which the pro20 posed activity or event would be undertaken, on re21 quest of a recreation service provider (including a 

22 youth group) to conduct an organized group recre23 ation activity or event described in subclause (I) or 

24 (III) of paragraph (13)(A)(iii) of section 802 of the 

25 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 


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1 U.S.C. 6801) (as amended by section 202(10)), the 

2 Secretary concerned— 

3 (A) shall make a nominal effects deter4 mination to determine whether the proposed ac5 tivity or event would have more than nominal 

6 effects on Federal recreational lands and 

7 waters, resources, and programs; and 

8 (B)(i) shall not require a recreation service 

9 provider (including a youth group) to obtain a 

10 special recreation permit for an organized group 

11 recreation activity or event if the Secretary con12 cerned determines— 

13 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

14 be undertaken would have only nominal ef15 fects on Federal recreational lands and 

16 waters, resources, and programs; and 

17 (II) establishing additional terms and 

18 conditions for the proposed activity or 

19 event is not necessary to protect or avoid 

20 conflict on or with Federal recreational 

21 lands and waters, resources, and programs; 

22 (ii) in the case of an organized group 

23 recreation activity or event described in sub24 clause (I) of that paragraph, may issue to a 

25 recreation service provider (including a youth 


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1 group) a special recreation permit for an orga2 nized group recreation activity or event, subject 

3 to any terms and conditions as are determined 

4 to be appropriate by the Secretary concerned, if 

5 the Secretary concerned determines— 

6 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

7 be undertaken would have only nominal ef8 fects on Federal recreational lands and 

9 waters, resources, and programs; and 

10 (II) establishing additional terms and 

11 conditions for the proposed activity or 

12 event is necessary to protect or avoid con13 flict on or with Federal recreational lands 

14 and waters, resources, and programs; 

15 (iii) in the case of an organized group 

16 recreation activity or event described in sub17 clause (III) of that paragraph, shall issue to a 

18 recreation service provider (including a youth 

19 group) a special recreation permit for an orga20 nized group recreation activity or event, subject 

21 to such terms and conditions determined to be 

22 appropriate by the Secretary concerned, if the 

23 Secretary concerned determines— 

24 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

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1 fects on Federal recreational lands and 

2 waters, resources, and programs; and 

3 (II) establishing additional terms and 

4 conditions for the proposed activity or 

5 event is necessary to protect or avoid con6 flict on or with Federal recreational lands 

7 and waters, resources, and programs; and 

8 (iv) may issue to a recreation service pro9 vider (including a youth group) a special recre10 ation permit for an organized group recreation 

11 activity or event, subject to any terms and con12 ditions determined to be appropriate by the 

13 Secretary concerned, if the Secretary concerned 

14 determines— 

15 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

16 be undertaken may have more than nomi17 nal effects on Federal recreational lands 

18 and waters, resources, and programs; and 

19 (II) establishing additional terms and 

20 conditions for the proposed activity or 

21 event would be necessary to protect or 

22 avoid conflict on or with Federal rec23 reational lands and waters, resources, and 

24 programs. 


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1 (4) FEES.—The Secretary concerned may elect 

2 not to charge a fee to a recreation service provider 

3 (including a youth group) for a special recreation 

4 permit for an organized group recreation activity or 

5 event. 

6 (5) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub7 section prevents the Secretary concerned from lim8 iting or abating the allowance of a proposed activity 

9 or event under paragraph (3)(B)(i) or the issuance 

10 of a special recreation permit for an organized group 

11 recreation activity or event, based on resource condi12 tions, administrative burdens, or safety issues. 

13 (6) QUALIFICATIONS.—A special recreation per14 mit for an organized group recreation activity or 

15 event issued under paragraph (3) shall be subject to 

16 the health and safety standards required by the Sec17 retary concerned for a permit issued under para18 graph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Federal 

19 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 6801) (as amended by section 202(10)). 

21 SEC. 322. SERVICE FIRST INITIATIVE AND MULTIJURIS22 DICTIONAL TRIPS. 

23 (a) REPEAL.—Section 330 of the Department of the 

24 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 

25 (43 U.S.C. 1703), is repealed. 


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1 (b) COOPERATIVE ACTION AND SHARING OF RE2 SOURCES BY THE SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR AND

3 AGRICULTURE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2012 and 

5 each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretaries, subject 

6 to annual review of Congress, may carry out an ini7 tiative, to be known as the ‘‘Service First Initiative’’, 

8 under which the Secretaries and agencies and bu9 reaus within the Department of the Interior and the 

10 Department of Agriculture— 

11 (A) may establish programs to conduct 

12 projects, planning, permitting, leasing, con13 tracting, and other activities, either jointly or 

14 on behalf of one another; 

15 (B) may co-locate in Federal offices and 

16 facilities leased by an agency of the Department 

17 of the Interior or the Department of Agri18 culture; and 

19 (C) may issue special rules to test the fea20 sibility of issuing unified permits, applications, 

21 and leases. 

22 (2) DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY.—The Secre23 taries may make reciprocal delegations of the respec24 tive authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the 

25 Secretaries in support of the Service First Initiative 


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1 agency-wide to promote customer service and effi2 ciency. 

3 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section alters, 

4 expands, or limits the applicability of any law (in5 cluding regulations) to land administered by the Bu6 reau of Land Management, National Park Service, 

7 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the For8 est Service or matters under the jurisdiction of any 

9 other bureaus or offices of the Department of the 

10 Interior or the Department of Agriculture, as appli11 cable. 

12 (4) TRANSFERS OF FUNDING.—To facilitate the 

13 sharing of resources under the Service First Initia14 tive, the Secretaries may make transfers of funds 

15 and reimbursements of funds on an annual basis, in16 cluding transfers and reimbursements for multi-year 

17 projects, subject to the limitation that this authority 

18 may not be used to circumvent requirements and 

19 limitations imposed on the use of Federal funds. 

20 (c) PILOT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL RECREATION PER21 MITS FOR MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIPS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries 

24 shall establish a pilot program to offer to a person 

25 seeking an authorization for a multijurisdictional 


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1 trip a single joint special recreation permit or com2 mercial use authorization that authorizes the use of 

3 each unit of Federal recreational lands and waters 

4 on which the multijurisdictional trip occurs, subject 

5 to the authorities that apply to the applicable unit 

6 of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

7 (2) MINIMUM NUMBER OF PERMITS.—Not later 

8 than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretaries shall issue not fewer than 10 single 

10 joint special recreation permits described in para11 graph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Federal 

12 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 6801) (as amended by section 202(10)) or commer14 cial use authorizations under the pilot program es15 tablished under paragraph (1). 

16 (3) LEAD AGENCIES.—In carrying out the pilot 

17 program established under paragraph (1), the Secre18 taries shall— 

19 (A) designate a lead agency for issuing and 

20 administering a single joint special recreation 

21 permit or commercial use authorization; and 

22 (B) select not fewer than 4 offices at which 

23 a person shall be able to apply for a single joint 

24 special recreation permit or commercial use au25 thorization, of which— 


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1 (i) not fewer than 2 offices are man2 aged by the Secretary; and 

3 (ii) not fewer than 2 offices are man4 aged by the Secretary of Agriculture, act5 ing through the Chief of the Forest Serv6 ice. 

7 (4) RETENTION OF AUTHORITY BY THE APPLI8 CABLE SECRETARY.—Each of the Secretaries shall 

9 retain the authority to enforce the terms, stipula10 tions, conditions, and agreements in a single joint 

11 special recreation permit or commercial use author12 ization issued under the pilot program established 

13 under paragraph (1) that apply specifically to the 

14 use occurring on the Federal recreational lands and 

15 waters managed by the applicable Secretary, under 

16 the authorities that apply to the applicable Federal 

17 recreational lands and waters. 

18 (5) OPTION TO APPLY FOR SEPARATE SPECIAL

19 RECREATION PERMITS OR COMMERCIAL USE AU20 THORIZATIONS.—A person seeking an authorization 

21 for a multijurisdictional trip may apply for— 

22 (A) a separate special recreation permit or 

23 commercial use authorization for the use of 

24 each unit of Federal recreational lands and 


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1 waters on which the multijurisdictional trip oc2 curs; or 

3 (B) a single joint special recreational per4 mit or commercial use authorization made 

5 available under the pilot program established 

6 under paragraph (1). 

7 (6) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection ap8 plies to a concession contract issued by the National 

9 Park Service for the provision of accommodations, 

10 facilities, or services. 

11 SEC. 323. PERMIT FLEXIBILITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned shall es13 tablish guidelines to allow a holder of a special recreation 

14 permit under subsection (h) of section 803 of the Federal 

15 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as 

16 amended by section 203(a)(3)), on the approval of the 

17 Secretary concerned, to engage in another recreational ac18 tivity under the special recreation permit that is substan19 tially similar to the specific activity authorized under the 

20 special recreation permit. 

21 (b) CRITERIA.—For the purposes of this section, a 

22 recreational activity shall be considered to be a substan23 tially similar recreational activity if the recreational activ24 ity— 


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1 (1) is comparable in type, nature, scope, and 

2 ecological setting to the specific activity authorized 

3 under the special recreation permit; 

4 (2) does not result in a greater impact on nat5 ural and cultural resources than the impact of the 

6 authorized activity; 

7 (3) does not adversely affect— 

8 (A) any other holder of a special recreation 

9 permit or other permit; or 

10 (B) any other authorized use of the Fed11 eral recreational lands and waters; and 

12 (4) is consistent with— 

13 (A) any applicable laws (including regula14 tions); and 

15 (B) the land management plan, resource 

16 management plan, or equivalent plan applicable 

17 to the Federal recreational lands and waters. 

18 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects any au19 thority of, regulation issued by, or decision of the Sec20 retary concerned relating to the use of electric bicycles on 

21 Federal recreational lands and waters under any other 

22 Federal law. 

23 SEC. 324. LIABILITY. 

24 (a) INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), as a condition of issuing a special recre3 ation permit under subsection (h)(1)(B) of section 

4 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

5 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by section 

6 203(a)(3)) or a commercial use authorization, the 

7 Secretary concerned may require the holder of the 

8 special recreation permit or commercial use author9 ization to have a commercial general liability insur10 ance policy that— 

11 (A) is commensurate with the level of risk 

12 of the activities to be conducted under the spe13 cial recreation permit or commercial use au14 thorization; and 

15 (B) includes the United States as an addi16 tional insured in an endorsement to the applica17 ble policy. 

18 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary concerned 

19 shall not require a holder of a special recreation per20 mit or commercial use authorization for low-risk ac21 tivities, as determined by the Secretary concerned, 

22 including commemorative ceremonies and participa23 tion by the public in a recreation activity or recre24 ation use of a specific area of Federal recreational 

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1 cated, to comply with the requirements of paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 (b) INDEMNIFICATION BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTI4 TIES.—The Secretary concerned shall not require a State, 

5 State agency, State institution, or political subdivision of 

6 a State to indemnify the United States for tort liability 

7 as a condition for issuing a special recreation permit or 

8 commercial use authorization to the extent the State, 

9 State agency, State institution, or political subdivision of 

10 a State is precluded by State law from providing indem11 nification to the United States for tort liability, if the 

12 State, State agency, State institution, or political subdivi13 sion of the State maintains the minimum amount of liabil14 ity insurance coverage required by the Federal land man15 agement agency for the activities conducted under the spe16 cial recreation permit or commercial use authorization in 

17 the form of— 

18 (1) a commercial general liability insurance pol19 icy, which includes the United States as an addi20 tional insured in an endorsement to the policy, if the 

21 State is authorized to obtain commercial general li22 ability insurance by State law; 

23 (2) self-insurance, which covers the United 

24 States as an additional insured, if authorized by 

25 State law; or 


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1 (3) a combination of the coverage described in 

2 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

3 (c) EXCULPATORY AGREEMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), a Federal land management agency shall 

6 not implement, administer, or enforce any regula7 tion, guidance, or policy prohibiting the use of an ex8 culpatory agreement between a recreation service 

9 provider or a holder of a commercial use authoriza10 tion and a customer relating to services provided 

11 under a special recreation permit or a commercial 

12 use authorization. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any exculpatory agree14 ment used by a recreation service provider or holder 

15 of a commercial use authorization for an activity au16 thorized under a special recreation permit or com17 mercial use authorization— 

18 (A) shall shield the United States from any 

19 liability, if otherwise allowable under Federal 

20 law; and 

21 (B) shall not waive any liability of the 

22 recreation service provider or holder of the com23 mercial use authorization that may not be 

24 waived under the laws (including common law) 


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1 of the applicable State or for gross negligence, 

2 recklessness, or willful misconduct. 

3 (3) CONSISTENCY.—Not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre5 taries shall— 

6 (A) review the policies of the Secretaries 

7 pertaining to the use of exculpatory agreements 

8 by recreation service providers and holders of 

9 commercial use authorizations; and 

10 (B) revise any policy described in subpara11 graph (A) as necessary to make the policies of 

12 the Secretaries pertaining to the use of excul13 patory agreements by recreation service pro14 viders and holders of commercial use authoriza15 tions consistent with this subsection and across 

16 all Federal recreational lands and waters. 

17 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section applies to a 

18 concession contract issued by the National Park Service 

19 for the provision of accommodations, facilities, or services. 

20 SEC. 325. COST RECOVERY REFORM. 

21 (a) COST RECOVERY FOR SPECIAL RECREATION

22 PERMITS.—In addition to a fee collected under section 

23 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

24 (16 U.S.C. 6802) or any other authorized fee collected by 

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1 sess and collect a reasonable fee from an applicant for, 

2 and holder of, a special recreation permit to recover ad3 ministrative costs incurred by the Secretary concerned 

4 for— 

5 (1) processing a proposal or application for the 

6 special recreation permit; 

7 (2) issuing the special recreation permit; and 

8 (3) monitoring the special recreation permit to 

9 ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of 

10 the special recreation permit. 

11 (b) DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS FROM COST RECOV12 ERY.—If the administrative costs described in subsection 

13 (a) are assessed on an hourly basis, the Secretary con14 cerned shall— 

15 (1) establish an hourly de minimis threshold 

16 that exempts a specified number of hours from the 

17 assessment and collection of administrative costs de18 scribed in subsection (a); and 

19 (2) charge an applicant only for any hours that 

20 exceed the de minimis threshold. 

21 (c) MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS.—If the Secretary con22 cerned collectively processes multiple applications for spe23 cial recreation permits for the same or similar services in 

24 the same unit of Federal recreational lands and waters, 

25 the Secretary concerned shall, to the extent practicable— 


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1 (1) assess from the applicants the fee described 

2 in subsection (a) on a prorated basis; and 

3 (2) apply the requirement described in sub4 section (b) to each applicant on an individual basis. 

5 (d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary concerned shall not 

6 assess or collect administrative costs under this section for 

7 a programmatic environmental review. 

8 SEC. 326. PERMIT RELIEF FOR PICNIC AREAS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary concerned does 

10 not require the public to obtain a permit or reservation 

11 to access a picnic area on Federal recreational lands and 

12 waters administered by the Chief of the Forest Service or 

13 Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Sec14 retary concerned may not require a covered person de15 scribed in subsection (b) to obtain a permit solely to access 

16 the picnic area. 

17 (b) DESCRIPTION OF COVERED PERSONS.—A cov18 ered person referred to in subsection (a) is a person (in19 cluding an educational group) that provides— 

20 (1) outfitting and guiding services on Federal 

21 recreational lands and waters; and 

22 (2) the services described in paragraph (1) to 

23 fewer than 40 customers annually at the picnic area. 


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1 SEC. 327. INTERAGENCY REPORT ON SPECIAL RECREATION 

2 PERMITS FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED COMMUNITY.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘‘covered community’’ means a rural or 

5 urban, low-income, or underserved community, including 

6 an Indian Tribe, that has been underrepresented in out7 door recreation opportunities on Federal recreational 

8 lands and waters. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, acting jointly, 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re12 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives a report that de14 scribes— 

15 (1) the estimated use of special recreation per16 mits serving covered communities; 

17 (2) examples of special recreation permits, part18 nerships, cooperative agreements, or other arrange19 ments providing access to Federal recreational lands 

20 and waters for covered communities; 

21 (3) other ways covered communities are engag22 ing on Federal recreational lands and waters, includ23 ing through stewardship and conservation projects 

24 or activities; 

25 (4) any barriers for existing or prospective 

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1 cial use authorizations operating within or serving a 

2 covered community; and 

3 (5) any recommendations to facilitate and in4 crease permitted access to Federal recreational lands 

5 and waters for covered communities. 

6 Subtitle C—Effect 

7 SEC. 331. EFFECT. 

8 Except as provided in sections 311(a), 322, and 324, 

9 nothing in this title (including an amendment made by 

10 this title) affects the authority or responsibility of the Sec11 retary to award concessions contracts for the provision of 

12 accommodations, facilities, or services, or commercial use 

13 authorizations. 

14 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

15 PROVISIONS 

16 SEC. 401. FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY WITHIN THE 

17 NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AND ON OTHER 

18 FEDERAL LAND. 

19 (a) FILMING IN NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM UNITS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1009 of title 54, 

21 United States Code, is amended by striking section 

22 100905 and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘§ 100905. Filming and still photography in System 

24 units 

25 ‘‘(a) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

2 that a filming or still photography activity or similar 

3 recording project in a System unit (referred to in 

4 this section as a ‘filming or still photography activ5 ity’) and the authorizing or permitting of a filming 

6 or still photography activity are carried out in ac7 cordance with— 

8 ‘‘(A) the laws and policies applicable to the 

9 Service; 

10 ‘‘(B) the applicable general management 

11 plan; and 

12 ‘‘(C) this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) NO PERMITS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

14 shall not require an authorization or a permit or as15 sess a fee, if a fee for a filming or still photography 

16 activity is not otherwise required by law, for a film17 ing or still photography activity that— 

18 ‘‘(A)(i) involves fewer than 6 individuals; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements de21 scribed in paragraph (5); 

22 ‘‘(B) is merely incidental to an activity or 

23 event that is allowed or authorized at the Sys24 tem unit, regardless of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals partici2 pating in the allowed or authorized activity 

3 or event; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) whether any individual receives 

5 compensation for any products of the film6 ing or still photography activity; or 

7 ‘‘(C) is a news-gathering activity, unless 

8 the news-gathering activity does not meet each 

9 of the requirements described in paragraph (5). 

10 ‘‘(3) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AU11 THORIZATIONS FOR DE MINIMIS USE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 establish a de minimis use authorization for 

14 filming or still photography activities that meets 

15 the requirements described in subparagraph 

16 (F). 

17 ‘‘(B) POLICY.—For a filming or still pho18 tography activity that meets the requirements 

19 described in subparagraph (F), the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(i) may require a de minimis use au21 thorization; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall not require a permit. 

23 ‘‘(C) NO FEE.—The Secretary shall not 

24 charge a fee for a de minimis use authorization 

25 under this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide for a person to apply for and obtain a 

3 de minimis use authorization under this para4 graph— 

5 ‘‘(i) through the website of the Serv6 ice; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in person at the field office of 

8 the applicable System unit. 

9 ‘‘(E) ISSUANCES.—The Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) establish a procedure— 

11 ‘‘(I) to automate the approval of 

12 an application submitted through the 

13 website of the Service under subpara14 graph (D)(i); and 

15 ‘‘(II) to issue a de minimis use 

16 authorization under this paragraph 

17 immediately on receipt of an applica18 tion that is submitted in person at the 

19 field office of the applicable System 

20 unit under subparagraph (D)(ii); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) if an application submitted under 

22 subparagraph (D) meets the requirements 

23 of this paragraph, immediately on receipt 

24 of the application issue a de minimis use 


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1 authorization for the filming or still pho2 tography activity. 

3 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

4 shall only issue a de minimis use authorization 

5 under this paragraph if the filming or still pho6 tography activity— 

7 ‘‘(i) involves a group of not fewer than 

8 6 individuals and not more than 8 individ9 uals; 

10 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements 

11 described in paragraph (5); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with subsection (c). 

13 ‘‘(G) CONTENTS.—A de minimis use au14 thorization issued under this paragraph shall 

15 list the requirements described in subparagraph 

16 (F). 

17 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED PERMITS.—Except as provided 

18 in paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary may require a 

19 permit application and, if a permit is issued, assess 

20 a reasonable fee, as described in subsection (b)(1), 

21 for a filming or still photography activity that— 

22 ‘‘(A) involves more than 8 individuals; or 

23 ‘‘(B) does not meet each of the require24 ments described in paragraph (5). 


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1 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMING OR STILL

2 PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY.—The requirements re3 ferred to in paragraphs (2)(A)(ii), (3)(F)(ii), (4)(B), 

4 and (7)(C) are as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) A person conducts the filming or still 

6 photography activity in a manner that— 

7 ‘‘(i) does not impede or intrude on the 

8 experience of other visitors to the applica9 ble System unit; 

10 ‘‘(ii) except as otherwise authorized, 

11 does not disturb or negatively impact— 

12 ‘‘(I) a natural or cultural re13 source; or 

14 ‘‘(II) an environmental or scenic 

15 value; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) allows for equitable allocation or 

17 use of facilities of the applicable System 

18 unit. 

19 ‘‘(B) The person conducts the filming or 

20 still photography activity at a location in which 

21 the public is allowed. 

22 ‘‘(C) The person conducting the filming or 

23 still photography activity does not require the 

24 exclusive use of a site or area. 

25 ‘‘(D) The person does not— 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(i) conduct the filming or still pho2 tography activity in a localized area that 

3 receives a very high volume of visitation; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the discretion of the Secretary, 

6 negatively impact the experience of another 

7 visitor in the localized area. 

8 ‘‘(E) The person conducting the filming or 

9 still photography activity does not use a set or 

10 staging equipment, subject to the limitation 

11 that handheld equipment (such as a tripod, 

12 monopod, and handheld lighting equipment) 

13 shall not be considered staging equipment for 

14 the purposes of this subparagraph. 

15 ‘‘(F) The person conducting the filming or 

16 still photography activity complies with and ad17 heres to visitor use policies, practices, and regu18 lations applicable to the applicable System unit. 

19 ‘‘(G) The filming or still photography ac20 tivity is not likely to result in additional admin21 istrative costs being incurred by the Secretary 

22 with respect to the filming or still photography 

23 activity, as determined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(H) The person conducting the filming or 

25 still photography activity complies with other 


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•S 873 IS

1 applicable Federal, State, and local laws (in2 cluding regulations), including laws relating to 

3 the use of unmanned aerial equipment. 

4 ‘‘(6) CONTENT CREATION.—Regardless of dis5 tribution platform, any video, still photograph, or 

6 audio recording for commercial or noncommercial 

7 content creation at a System unit shall be considered 

8 to be a filming or still photography activity under 

9 this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(7) EFFECT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PERMITS REQUESTED THOUGH NOT

12 REQUIRED.—On the request of a person intend13 ing to carry out a filming or still photography 

14 activity, the Secretary may issue a permit and 

15 assess a reasonable fee for the filming or still 

16 photography activity, even if a permit for the 

17 filming or still photography activity is not re18 quired under this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) NO ADDITIONAL PERMITS, COMMER20 CIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS, OR FEES FOR

21 FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AT AU22 THORIZED EVENTS.—If an activity or event is 

23 allowed or authorized under a permit, such as 

24 a wedding, engagement party, family reunion, 

25 photography club outing, or celebration of a 


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•S 873 IS

1 graduate, the activity or event organizers or 

2 any relevant party to the activity or event shall 

3 not need a separate permit for the filming or 

4 still photography activity at the allowed or per5 mitted activity or event. 

6 ‘‘(C) MONETARY COMPENSATION.—The re7 ceipt of monetary compensation by the person 

8 conducting the filming or still photography ac9 tivity shall not affect the permissibility of the 

10 filming or still photography activity or the ap11 plication of the requirements under this section. 

12 ‘‘(D) WILDERNESS ACT APPLICABILITY.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this 

14 subsection supersedes the provisions of the 

15 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions 

17 of this section shall apply in a component 

18 of the National Wilderness Preservation 

19 System to the extent consistent with the 

20 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(b) FEES AND RECOVERY COSTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FEES.—The reasonable fees referred to in 

23 paragraphs (4) and (7)(A) of subsection (a) shall 

24 meet each of the following criteria: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The reasonable fee shall provide a 

2 fair return to the United States. 

3 ‘‘(B) The reasonable fee shall be based on 

4 the following criteria: 

5 ‘‘(i) The number of days of the film6 ing or still photography activity. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The size of the film or still pho8 tography crew present at the System unit. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The quantity and type of film or 

10 still photography equipment present at the 

11 System unit. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Any other factors that the Sec13 retary determines to be necessary. 

14 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For any permit issued 

16 under subsection (a) and in addition to any fee 

17 assessed in accordance with paragraph (1), the 

18 Secretary shall collect from the applicant for 

19 the applicable permit any costs incurred by the 

20 Secretary related to a filming or still photog21 raphy activity subject to a permit under sub22 section (a)(4), including— 

23 ‘‘(i) the costs of the review or issuance 

24 of the permit; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) related administrative and per2 sonnel costs. 

3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON FEES COLLECTED.—All 

4 costs recovered under subparagraph (A) shall 

5 be in addition to the fee described in paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FEES.—All fees collected under this 

9 section shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

11 the Secretary, without further appropria12 tion, in accordance with the formula and 

13 purposes established under the Federal 

14 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

17 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—All costs recovered under 

18 paragraph (2)(A) shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

20 the Secretary, without further appropria21 tion, at the System unit at which the costs 

22 are collected; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

24 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

25 may create use limits on or require a person to cease, 


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•S 873 IS

1 move, or modify a filming or still photography activity, 

2 whether or not the activity has been permitted, if the Sec3 retary determines that— 

4 ‘‘(1) there is a likelihood that the person would 

5 cause resource damage at the System unit, except as 

6 otherwise authorized; 

7 ‘‘(2) the person would create an unreasonable 

8 disruption of the use and enjoyment by the public of 

9 the System unit; 

10 ‘‘(3) the activity would impede the routine, 

11 emergency, or otherwise necessary management and 

12 staff operations on the System unit; or 

13 ‘‘(4) the filming or still photography activity 

14 poses a health or safety risk to the public. 

15 ‘‘(d) PROCESSING OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish a process to ensure that the Secretary responds 

18 in a timely manner to an application for a permit for 

19 a filming or still photography activity required under 

20 subsection (a)(4). 

21 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—If a permit is required 

22 under this section for 2 or more Federal agencies or 

23 System units, the Secretary and the head of any 

24 other applicable Federal agency, as applicable, shall, 

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1 mit processing procedures, including through the use 

2 of identifying a lead agency or lead System unit— 

3 ‘‘(A) to review the application for the per4 mit; 

5 ‘‘(B) to issue the permit; and 

6 ‘‘(C) to collect any required fees.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec8 tions for chapter 1009 of title 54, United States 

9 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

10 section 100905 and inserting the following: 

‘‘100905. Filming and still photography in System units.’’. 

11 (b) FILMING ON OTHER FEDERAL LAND.—Public 

12 Law 106–206 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6d) is amended by striking 

13 section 1 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘SECTION 1. FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY. 

15 ‘‘(a) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

17 shall ensure that a filming or still photography activ18 ity or similar recording project at a Federal land 

19 management unit (referred to in this section as a 

20 ‘filming or still photography activity’) and the au21 thorizing or permitting of a filming or still photog22 raphy activity are carried out in accordance with— 

23 ‘‘(A) the laws and policies applicable to the 

24 Secretary concerned; 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the applicable general management 

2 plan; and 

3 ‘‘(C) this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) NO PERMITS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

5 concerned shall not require an authorization or a 

6 permit or assess a fee, if a fee for a filming or still 

7 photography activity is not otherwise required by 

8 law, for a filming or still photography activity that— 

9 ‘‘(A)(i) involves fewer than 6 individuals; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements de12 scribed in paragraph (5); 

13 ‘‘(B) is merely incidental to an activity or 

14 event that is allowed or authorized at the Fed15 eral land management unit, regardless of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals partici17 pating in the allowed or authorized activity 

18 or event; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) whether any individual receives 

20 compensation for any products of the film21 ing or still photography activity; or 

22 ‘‘(C) is a news-gathering activity, unless 

23 the news-gathering activity does not meet each 

24 of the requirements described in paragraph (5). 


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1 ‘‘(3) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AU2 THORIZATIONS FOR DE MINIMIS USE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con4 cerned shall establish a de minimis use author5 ization for filming or still photography activities 

6 that meets the requirements described in sub7 paragraph (F). 

8 ‘‘(B) POLICY.—For a filming or still pho9 tography activity that meets the requirements 

10 described in subparagraph (F), the Secretary 

11 concerned— 

12 ‘‘(i) may require a de minimis use au13 thorization; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) shall not require a permit. 

15 ‘‘(C) NO FEE.—The Secretary concerned 

16 shall not charge a fee for a de minimis use au17 thorization under this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—The Secretary con19 cerned shall provide for a person to apply for 

20 and obtain a de minimis use authorization 

21 under this paragraph— 

22 ‘‘(i) through the website of the De23 partment of the Interior or the Forest 

24 Service, as applicable; and 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) in person at the field office for 

2 the Federal land management unit. 

3 ‘‘(E) ISSUANCES.—The Secretary con4 cerned shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) establish a procedure— 

6 ‘‘(I) to automate the approval of 

7 an application submitted through the 

8 website of the Department of the In9 terior or the Forest Service, as appli10 cable, under subparagraph (D)(i); and 

11 ‘‘(II) to issue a de minimis use 

12 authorization under this paragraph 

13 immediately on receipt of an applica14 tion that is submitted in person at the 

15 field office for the Federal land man16 agement unit under subparagraph 

17 (D)(ii); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) if an application submitted under 

19 subparagraph (D) meets the requirements 

20 of this paragraph, immediately on receipt 

21 of the application issue a de minimis use 

22 authorization for the filming or still pho23 tography activity. 

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•S 873 IS

1 ization under this paragraph if the filming or 

2 still photography activity— 

3 ‘‘(i) involves a group of not fewer than 

4 6 individuals and not more than 8 individ5 uals; 

6 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements 

7 described in paragraph (5); and 

8 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with subsection (c). 

9 ‘‘(G) CONTENTS.—A de minimis use au10 thorization issued under this paragraph shall 

11 list the requirements described in subparagraph 

12 (F). 

13 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED PERMITS.—Except as provided 

14 in paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary concerned may 

15 require a permit application and, if a permit is 

16 issued, assess a reasonable fee, as described in sub17 section (b)(1), for a filming or still photography ac18 tivity that— 

19 ‘‘(A) involves more than 8 individuals; or 

20 ‘‘(B) does not meet each of the require21 ments described in paragraph (5). 

22 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMING OR STILL

23 PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY.—The requirements re24 ferred to in paragraphs (2)(A)(ii), (3)(F)(ii), (4)(B), 

25 and (7)(C) are as follows: 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(A) A person conducts the filming or still 

2 photography activity in a manner that— 

3 ‘‘(i) does not impede or intrude on the 

4 experience of other visitors to the Federal 

5 land management unit; 

6 ‘‘(ii) except as otherwise authorized, 

7 does not disturb or negatively impact— 

8 ‘‘(I) a natural or cultural re9 source; or 

10 ‘‘(II) an environmental or scenic 

11 value; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) allows for equitable allocation or 

13 use of facilities of the Federal land man14 agement unit. 

15 ‘‘(B) The person conducts the filming or 

16 still photography activity at a location in which 

17 the public is allowed. 

18 ‘‘(C) The person conducting the filming or 

19 still photography activity does not require the 

20 exclusive use of a site or area. 

21 ‘‘(D) The person does not— 

22 ‘‘(i) conduct the filming or still pho23 tography activity in a localized area that 

24 receives a very high volume of visitation; 

25 and 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) in the discretion of the Secretary, 

2 negatively impact the experience of another 

3 visitor in the localized area. 

4 ‘‘(E) The person conducting the filming or 

5 still photography activity does not use a set or 

6 staging equipment, subject to the limitation 

7 that handheld equipment (such as a tripod, 

8 monopod, and handheld lighting equipment) 

9 shall not be considered staging equipment for 

10 the purposes of this subparagraph. 

11 ‘‘(F) The person conducting the filming or 

12 still photography activity complies with and ad13 heres to visitor use policies, practices, and regu14 lations applicable to the Federal land manage15 ment unit. 

16 ‘‘(G) The filming or still photography ac17 tivity is not likely to result in additional admin18 istrative costs being incurred by the Secretary 

19 concerned with respect to the filming or still 

20 photography activity, as determined by the Sec21 retary concerned. 

22 ‘‘(H) The person conducting the filming or 

23 still photography activity complies with other 

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•S 873 IS

1 cluding regulations), including laws relating to 

2 the use of unmanned aerial equipment. 

3 ‘‘(6) CONTENT CREATION.—Regardless of dis4 tribution platform, any video, still photograph, or 

5 audio recording for commercial or noncommercial 

6 content creation at a Federal land management unit 

7 shall be considered to be a filming or still photog8 raphy activity under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(7) EFFECT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) PERMITS REQUESTED THOUGH NOT

11 REQUIRED.—On the request of a person intend12 ing to carry out a filming or still photography 

13 activity, the Secretary concerned may issue a 

14 permit and assess a reasonable fee for the film15 ing or still photography activity, even if a per16 mit for the filming or still photography activity 

17 is not required under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) NO ADDITIONAL PERMITS, COMMER19 CIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS, OR FEES FOR

20 FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AT AU21 THORIZED EVENTS.—If an activity or event is 

22 allowed or authorized under a permit, such as 

23 a wedding, engagement party, family reunion, 

24 photography club outing, or celebration of a 

25 graduate, the activity or event organizers or 


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•S 873 IS

1 any relevant party to the activity or event shall 

2 not need a separate permit for the filming or 

3 still photography activity at the allowed or per4 mitted activity or event. 

5 ‘‘(C) MONETARY COMPENSATION.—The re6 ceipt of monetary compensation by the person 

7 conducting the filming or still photography ac8 tivity shall not affect the permissibility of the 

9 filming or still photography activity or the ap10 plication of the requirements under this section. 

11 ‘‘(D) WILDERNESS ACT APPLICABILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this 

13 subsection supersedes the provisions of the 

14 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 

15 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions 

16 of this section shall apply in a component 

17 of the National Wilderness Preservation 

18 System to the extent consistent with the 

19 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(b) FEES AND RECOVERY COSTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) FEES.—The reasonable fees referred to in 

22 paragraphs (4) and (7)(A) of subsection (a) shall 

23 meet each of the following criteria: 

24 ‘‘(A) The reasonable fee shall provide a 

25 fair return to the United States. 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(B) The reasonable fee shall be based on 

2 the following criteria: 

3 ‘‘(i) The number of days of the film4 ing or still photography activity. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The size of the film or still pho6 tography crew present at the Federal land 

7 management unit. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The quantity and type of film or 

9 still photography equipment present at the 

10 Federal land management unit. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Any other factors that the Sec12 retary concerned determines to be nec13 essary. 

14 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For any permit issued 

16 under subsection (a) and in addition to any fee 

17 assessed in accordance with paragraph (1), the 

18 Secretary concerned shall collect from the appli19 cant for the applicable permit any costs in20 curred by the Secretary concerned related to a 

21 filming or still photography activity subject to a 

22 permit under subsection (a)(4), including— 

23 ‘‘(i) the costs of the review or issuance 

24 of the permit; and 


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•S 873 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) related administrative and per2 sonnel costs. 

3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON FEES COLLECTED.—All 

4 costs recovered under subparagraph (A) shall 

5 be in addition to the fee described in paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FEES.—All fees collected under this 

9 section shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

11 the Secretary concerned, without further 

12 appropriation, in accordance with the for13 mula and purposes established in the Fed14 eral Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

15 (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

17 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—All costs recovered under 

18 paragraph (2)(A) shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

20 the Secretary concerned, without further 

21 appropriation, at the Federal land manage22 ment unit at which the costs are collected; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

2 concerned may create use limits on or require a person 

3 to cease, move, or modify a filming or still photography 

4 activity, whether or not the activity has been permitted, 

5 if the Secretary concerned determines that— 

6 ‘‘(1) there is a likelihood that the person would 

7 cause resource damage at the Federal land manage8 ment unit, except as otherwise authorized; 

9 ‘‘(2) the person would create an unreasonable 

10 disruption of the use and enjoyment by the public of 

11 the Federal land management unit; 

12 ‘‘(3) the activity would impede the routine, 

13 emergency, or otherwise necessary management and 

14 staff operations on the System unit; or 

15 ‘‘(4) the filming or still photography activity 

16 poses a health or safety risk to the public. 

17 ‘‘(d) PROCESSING OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

19 shall establish a process to ensure that the Secretary 

20 concerned responds in a timely manner to an appli21 cation for a permit for a filming or still photography 

22 activity required under subsection (a)(4). 

23 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—If a permit is required 

24 under this section for 2 or more Federal agencies or 

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•S 873 IS

1 cerned and the head of any other applicable Federal 

2 agency, as applicable, shall, to the maximum extent 

3 practicable, coordinate permit processing procedures, 

4 including through the use of identifying a lead agen5 cy or lead Federal land management unit— 

6 ‘‘(A) to review the application for the per7 mit; 

8 ‘‘(B) to issue the permit; and 

9 ‘‘(C) to collect any required fees. 

10 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT UNIT.—The 

12 term ‘Federal land management unit’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) Federal land (other than National 

14 Park System land) under the jurisdiction of the 

15 Secretary of the Interior; and 

16 ‘‘(B) National Forest System land. 

17 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘Sec18 retary concerned’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re20 spect to land described in paragraph (1)(A); 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re23 spect to land described in paragraph (1)(B).’’. 


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•S 873 IS

1 SEC. 402. VOLUNTEER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. 

2 The Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972 

3 (16 U.S.C. 558a et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking section 5; 

5 (2) by redesignating the first section and sec6 tions 2, 3, and 4 as sections 4, 5, 6, and 9, respec7 tively; 

8 (3) by inserting before section 4 (as so redesig9 nated) the following: 

10 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Volunteers in the Na12 tional Forests and Public Land Act’. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

14 ‘‘The purpose of this Act is to leverage volunteer en15 gagement to supplement projects that are carried out by 

16 the Secretaries to fulfill the missions of the Forest Service 

17 and the Bureau of Land Management and are accom18 plished with appropriated funds. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SECRETARIES. 

20 ‘‘In this Act, the term ‘Secretaries’ means each of— 

21 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

22 through the Chief of the Forest Service; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

24 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man25 agement.’’; 

26 (4) in section 4 (as so redesignated)— 


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•S 873 IS

1 (A) by striking the section designation and 

2 all that follows through ‘‘(hereinafter referred 

3 to as the ‘Secretary’) is’’ in the first sentence 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION. 

6 ‘‘The Secretaries are’’; 

7 (B) in the first sentence— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘civil 

9 service’’; 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘recreation access, 

11 trail construction or maintenance, facility 

12 construction or maintenance, educational 

13 uses (including outdoor classroom con14 struction or maintenance),’’ after ‘‘for or 

15 in aid of’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘Secretary through 

17 the Forest Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Secre18 taries’’; and 

19 (C) in the second sentence, by striking 

20 ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretaries’’; 

21 (5) in section 5 (as so redesignated)— 

22 (A) by striking the section designation and 

23 all that follows through ‘‘Secretary is’’ and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 5. INCIDENTAL EXPENSES. 

2 ‘‘The Secretaries are’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘training, equipment,’’ 

4 after ‘‘lodging,’’; 

5 (6) in section 6 (as so redesignated)— 

6 (A) by striking the section designation and 

7 all that follows through ‘‘(a) Except as’’ and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONSIDERATION AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEE. 

10 ‘‘(a) Except as’’; and 

11 (B) in subsection (e)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (1), by striking ‘‘the Secretary’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘either of the Secretaries’’; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 

16 ‘‘with the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘or co17 operative agreement with either of the Sec18 retaries’’; and 

19 (iii) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (I) in the matter preceding sub21 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘the Sec22 retary in the mutual benefit agree23 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘either of the 

24 Secretaries in the mutual benefit 

25 agreement or cooperative agreement’’; 


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1 (II) in subparagraph (A), by 

2 striking ‘‘to be performed by the vol3 unteers’’ and inserting ‘‘, including 

4 the geographic boundaries of the work 

5 to be performed by the volunteers,’’; 

6 (III) in subparagraph (B), by 

7 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (IV) in subparagraph (C)— 

9 (aa) by striking ‘‘the Sec10 retary, when feasible’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘either of the Secretaries, if 

12 feasible and only if necessary’’; 

13 and 

14 (bb) by striking the period 

15 at the end and inserting a semi16 colon; and 

17 (V) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(D) the equipment the volunteers are au20 thorized to use; 

21 ‘‘(E) the training the volunteers are re22 quired to complete; 

23 ‘‘(F) the actions the volunteers are author24 ized to take; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) any other terms and conditions that 

2 are determined to be necessary by the applica3 ble Secretary.’’; 

4 (7) by inserting before section 9 (as so redesig5 nated) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 7. PROMOTION OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. 

7 ‘‘The Secretaries shall promote volunteer opportuni8 ties in areas administered by the Secretaries. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 8. LIABILITY INSURANCE. 

10 ‘‘The Secretaries shall not require a cooperator or 

11 volunteer (as those terms are used in section 6) to have 

12 liability insurance to provide the volunteer services author13 ized under this Act.’’; and 

14 (8) in section 9 (as so redesignated), by striking 

15 the section designation and all that follows through 

16 ‘‘There are’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 ‘‘There are’’. 

19 SEC. 403. CAPE AND ANTLER PRESERVATION ENHANCE20 MENT. 

21 Section 104909(c) of title 54, United States Code, 

22 is amended by striking ‘‘meat from’’ and inserting ‘‘meat 

23 and any other part of an animal removed pursuant to’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. FEDERAL LAND AND WATER AQUATIC RESOURCE 

2 ACTIVITIES ASSISTANCE. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES TASK

5 FORCE.—The term ‘‘Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

6 Force’’ means the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

7 Force established by section 1201(a) of the Non8 indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control 

9 Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4721(a)). 

10 (2) FEDERAL LAND AND WATER.—The term 

11 ‘‘Federal land and water’’ means Federal land and 

12 water operated and maintained by the Bureau of 

13 Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest 

14 Service, or National Park Service, as applicable. 

15 (3) INSPECTION.—The term ‘‘inspection’’ 

16 means an inspection to prevent and respond to bio17 logical invasions of an aquatic ecosystem. 

18 (4) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means— 

19 (A) a Reclamation State; 

20 (B) an Indian Tribe in a Reclamation 

21 State; 

22 (C) an applicable nonprofit organization in 

23 a Reclamation State; or 

24 (D) a unit of local government in a Rec25 lamation State. 


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1 (5) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec2 lamation State’’ includes any of the States of— 

3 (A) Alaska; 

4 (B) Arizona; 

5 (C) California; 

6 (D) Colorado; 

7 (E) Idaho; 

8 (F) Kansas; 

9 (G) Montana; 

10 (H) Nebraska; 

11 (I) Nevada; 

12 (J) New Mexico; 

13 (K) North Dakota; 

14 (L) Oklahoma; 

15 (M) Oregon; 

16 (N) South Dakota; 

17 (O) Texas; 

18 (P) Utah; 

19 (Q) Washington; and 

20 (R) Wyoming. 

21 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

22 means each of— 

23 (A) the Secretary, acting through the Di24 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, the 


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1 Commissioner of Reclamation, and the Director 

2 of the National Park Service; and 

3 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

4 through the Chief of the Forest Service. 

5 (b) AUTHORITY OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE6 MENT, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, NATIONAL PARK

7 SERVICE, AND FOREST SERVICE WITH RESPECT TO CER8 TAIN AQUATIC RESOURCE ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND

9 AND WATER.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may inspect 

11 and decontaminate vessels entering or leaving Fed12 eral land and water located within a river basin that 

13 contains a Bureau of Reclamation water project. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretaries shall— 

15 (A) in carrying out an inspection under 

16 paragraph (1), coordinate with 1 or more part17 ners; 

18 (B) consult with the Aquatic Nuisance 

19 Species Task Force to identify potential im20 provements and efficiencies in the detection and 

21 management of invasive species on Federal land 

22 and water; and 

23 (C) to the maximum extent practicable, in24 spect vessels in a manner that minimizes disVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 ruptions to public access for boating and recre2 ation in noncontaminated vessels. 

3 (3) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries may 

4 enter into a partnership to provide technical assist5 ance to a partner— 

6 (A) to carry out an inspection or decon7 tamination of vessels; or 

8 (B) to establish an inspection and decon9 tamination station for vessels. 

10 (4) LIMITATION.—The Secretaries shall not 

11 prohibit access to Federal land and water for vessels 

12 under this subsection in the absence of an inspector. 

13 (5) DATA SHARING.—The Secretaries shall 

14 make available to a Reclamation State any data 

15 gathered related to inspections carried out in the 

16 Reclamation State under this subsection. 

17 (c) GRANT PROGRAM FOR RECLAMATION STATES

18 FOR VESSEL INSPECTION AND DECONTAMINATION STA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) VESSELS INSPECTIONS IN RECLAMATION

21 STATES.—Subject to the availability of appropria22 tions, the Secretary, acting through the Commis23 sioner of Reclamation, shall establish a competitive 

24 grant program to provide grants to partners to con25 duct inspections and decontamination of vessels opVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00155 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S873.IS S873

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1 erating in reservoirs operated and maintained by the 

2 Secretary, including to purchase, establish, operate, 

3 or maintain a vessel inspection and decontamination 

4 station. 

5 (2) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

6 cost of a grant under paragraph (1), including per7 sonnel costs, shall not exceed 75 percent. 

8 (3) STANDARDS.—Before awarding a grant 

9 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine 

10 that the project is technically and financially fea11 sible. 

12 (4) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sub13 section, the Secretary shall coordinate with— 

14 (A) each of the Reclamation States; 

15 (B) affected Indian Tribes; and 

16 (C) the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

17 Force. 

18 SEC. 405. AMENDMENTS TO THE MODERNIZING ACCESS TO 

19 OUR PUBLIC LAND ACT. 

20 The Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 6851 et seq.) is amended— 

22 (1) in section 3(1) (16 U.S.C. 6852(1)), by 

23 striking ‘‘public outdoor recreational use’’ and in24 serting ‘‘recreation sites’’; 


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1 (2) in section 5(a)(4) (16 U.S.C. 6854(a)(4)), 

2 by striking ‘‘permanently restricted or prohibited’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘regulated or closed’’; and 

4 (3) in section 6(b) (16 U.S.C. 6855(b))— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘shall’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary of the Inte8 rior’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretaries’’. 

9 SEC. 406. OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGACY PARTNERSHIP 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti13 ty’’ means an entity that represents or otherwise 

14 serves a qualifying area. 

15 (2) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘eligible nonprofit organization’’ means an or17 ganization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of 

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt 

19 from taxation under section 501(a) of such code. 

20 (3) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means— 

21 (A) a State; 

22 (B) a political subdivision of a State, in23 cluding— 

24 (i) a city; 

25 (ii) a county; and 


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1 (iii) a special purpose district that 

2 manages open space, including a park dis3 trict; and 

4 (C) an Indian Tribe, urban Indian organi5 zation, or Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 

6 community or organization. 

7 (4) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low8 income community’’ means any census block group 

9 in which 30 percent or more of the population are 

10 individuals with an annual household income equal 

11 to, or less than, the greater of— 

12 (A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 

13 median income of the area in which the house14 hold is located, as reported by the Department 

15 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

16 (B) an amount equal to 200 percent of the 

17 Federal poverty line. 

18 (5) OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGACY PARTNER19 SHIP PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Outdoor Recreation 

20 Legacy Partnership Program’’ means the program 

21 established under subsection (b)(1). 

22 (6) QUALIFYING AREA.—The term ‘‘qualifying 

23 area’’ means— 


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1 (A) an urbanized area or urban cluster 

2 that has a population of 25,000 or more in the 

3 most recent census; 

4 (B) 2 or more adjacent urban clusters with 

5 a combined population of 25,000 or more in the 

6 most recent census; or 

7 (C) an area administered by an Indian 

8 Tribe or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 

9 community organization. 

10 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

11 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

12 each territory of the United States. 

13 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es16 tablish an outdoor recreation legacy partnership 

17 program under which the Secretary may award 

18 grants to eligible entities for projects— 

19 (i) to acquire land and water for 

20 parks and other outdoor recreation pur21 poses in qualifying areas; and 

22 (ii) to develop new or renovate exist23 ing outdoor recreation facilities that pro24 vide outdoor recreation opportunities to the 

25 public in qualifying areas. 


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1 (B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants to eli2 gible entities under subparagraph (A), the Sec3 retary shall give priority to projects that— 

4 (i) create or significantly enhance ac5 cess to park and recreational opportunities 

6 in an urban neighborhood or community; 

7 (ii) engage and empower underserved 

8 communities and youth; 

9 (iii) provide employment or job train10 ing opportunities for youth or underserved 

11 communities; 

12 (iv) establish or expand public-private 

13 partnerships, with a focus on leveraging re14 sources; and 

15 (v) take advantage of coordination 

16 among various levels of government. 

17 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re19 ceiving a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible 

20 entity shall provide matching funds in the form 

21 of cash or an in-kind contribution in an amount 

22 equal to not less than 100 percent of the 

23 amounts made available under the grant. 

24 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

25 all or part of the matching requirement under 


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1 subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines 

2 that— 

3 (i) no reasonable means are available 

4 through which the eligible entity can meet 

5 the matching requirement; and 

6 (ii) the probable benefit of the project 

7 outweighs the public interest in the match8 ing requirement. 

9 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not 

10 more than 10 percent of funds provided to an 

11 eligible entity under a grant awarded under 

12 paragraph (1) may be used for administrative 

13 expenses. 

14 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants to 

15 eligible entities under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

16 shall consider the extent to which a project would— 

17 (A) provide recreation opportunities in un18 derserved communities in which access to parks 

19 is not adequate to meet local needs; 

20 (B) provide opportunities for outdoor 

21 recreation and public land volunteerism; 

22 (C) support innovative or cost-effective 

23 ways to enhance parks and other recreation— 

24 (i) opportunities; or 

25 (ii) delivery of services; 


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1 (D) support park and recreation program2 ming provided by cities, including cooperative 

3 agreements with community-based eligible non4 profit organizations; 

5 (E) develop Native American event sites 

6 and cultural gathering spaces; and 

7 (F) provide benefits such as community re8 silience, reduction of urban heat islands, en9 hanced water or air quality, or habitat for fish 

10 or wildlife. 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), a grant recipient may use a grant 

14 awarded under paragraph (1) for a project de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of that 

16 paragraph. 

17 (B) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—A grant recipi18 ent may not use grant funds for— 

19 (i) incidental costs related to land ac20 quisition, including appraisal and titling; 

21 (ii) operation and maintenance activi22 ties; 

23 (iii) facilities that support 

24 semiprofessional or professional athletics; 


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1 (iv) indoor facilities, such as recre2 ation centers or facilities that support pri3 marily non-outdoor purposes; or 

4 (v) acquisition of land or interests in 

5 land that restrict access to specific per6 sons. 

7 (c) REVIEW AND EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS.—In 

8 carrying out the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership 

9 Program, the Secretary shall— 

10 (1) conduct an initial screening and technical 

11 review of applications received; 

12 (2) evaluate and score all qualifying applica13 tions; and 

14 (3) provide culturally and linguistically appro15 priate information to eligible entities (including low16 income communities and eligible entities serving low17 income communities) on— 

18 (A) the opportunity to apply for grants 

19 under this section; 

20 (B) the application procedures by which el21 igible entities may apply for grants under this 

22 section; and 

23 (C) eligible uses for grants under this sec24 tion. 

25 (d) REPORTING.— 


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1 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the last day of each report period, each State 

3 lead agency that receives a grant under this section 

4 shall annually submit to the Secretary performance 

5 and financial reports that— 

6 (A) summarize project activities conducted 

7 during the report period; and 

8 (B) provide the status of the project. 

9 (2) FINAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 

10 after the earlier of the date of expiration of a project 

11 period or the completion of a project, each State 

12 lead agency that receives a grant under this section 

13 shall submit to the Secretary a final report con14 taining such information as the Secretary may re15 quire. 

16 SEC. 407. RECREATION BUDGET CROSSCUT. 

17 Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal 

18 year, beginning with fiscal year 2025, the Director of the 

19 Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Con20 gress and make public online a report that describes and 

21 itemizes the total amount of funding relating to outdoor 

22 recreation that was obligated in the preceding fiscal year 

23 in accounts in the Treasury for the Department of the 

24 Interior and the Department of Agriculture. 

Æ 


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