II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4553 

To ensure access to certain public land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To ensure access to certain 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Outdoor Americans 

5 with Disabilities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DISABILITY-ACCESSIBLE LAND.—The term 

9 ‘‘disability-accessible land’’ means each square mile 

10 of public land assessed, as of the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, to have not less than 2.5 miles of auVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Aug 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4553.IS S4553

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1 thorized road accessible to motorized vehicles or off2 road vehicles. 

3 (2) OFF-ROAD VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘off-road 

4 vehicle’’ means any motorized vehicle capable of, or 

5 designed for, travel on or immediately over land, 

6 water, or other natural terrain. 

7 (3) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

8 means— 

9 (A) National Forest System land; and 

10 (B) land under the jurisdiction of the Sec11 retary of the Interior. 

12 (4) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec13 retary concerned’’ means— 

14 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

15 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 

16 respect to National Forest System land; and 

17 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re18 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Sec19 retary of the Interior. 

20 SEC. 3. UPDATES TO TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLANS AND 

21 MOTOR VEHICLE USE PLANS. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law (includ23 ing regulations), the Secretaries concerned shall prioritize 

24 updating travel management plans and motor vehicle use 


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1 plans of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

2 Service. 

3 SEC. 4. MOTOR VEHICLE USE MAPS AND DESIGNATION OF 

4 CERTAIN PUBLIC LAND AS OPEN, LIMITED, 

5 OR CLOSED TO OFF-ROAD VEHICLES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law (including regulations), the Secretary of Agri8 culture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service), 

9 for purposes of developing motor vehicle use maps under 

10 section 212.56 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations 

11 (or a successor regulation), and the Secretary of the Inte12 rior, for purposes of designating public land under the ju13 risdiction of the Secretary of the Interior as open, limited, 

14 or closed to off-road vehicles under section 8342.3 of title 

15 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula16 tion), shall— 

17 (1) account for the total length of traversable, 

18 approved roads in each square mile of public land 

19 managed by the applicable Secretary concerned; 

20 (2) for purposes of closing roads under the ju21 risdiction of the Secretary concerned, comply with 

22 the requirements established under subsection (b); 

23 (3) prioritize the inclusion and approval of 

24 roads on public land that provide access to diverse 

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1 ing, visiting cultural and natural sites, birdwatching, 

2 hiking, picnicking, camping, boating, mountain 

3 biking, and the use of motorized vehicles or off-road 

4 vehicles (including electric bicycles and over-snow ve5 hicles); 

6 (4) coordinate with appropriate Federal agen7 cies, State, county, and other local governmental en8 tities, and Tribal governments for purposes of iden9 tifying routes on public land that are considered to 

10 be desirable for recreation to ensure the public land 

11 is disability-accessible land; 

12 (5) have the authority to revise a route on pub13 lic land as the Secretary concerned determines to be 

14 necessary to address changes to conditions occurring 

15 after the date of the designation of the route; and 

16 (6) ensure that any road that is subject to a 

17 claim under section 2477 of the Revised Statutes 

18 (43 U.S.C. 932) (repealed by section 706 of the 

19 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

20 (Public Law 94–579; 90 Stat. 2793)) that has not 

21 been adjudicated or litigated shall remain open until 

22 the adjudication or litigation has been completed. 

23 (b) ROAD CLOSURES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

25 (a)(2)— 


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1 (A) in the case of disability-accessible land, 

2 the Secretary concerned shall not close roads 

3 that would result in a net decrease of author4 ized road accessible to motorized vehicles or off5 road vehicles to the extent that the public land 

6 would no longer be designated as disability-ac7 cessible land, unless— 

8 (i) the road on public land being 

9 closed was established during the 1-year 

10 period ending on the date of the closure to 

11 address a temporary need or emergency; or 

12 (ii) the Secretary concerned— 

13 (I) determines that the road on 

14 public land being closed poses a direct 

15 threat to the health or safety of per16 sonnel or visitors to the public land; 

17 and 

18 (II) complies with the require19 ments of paragraphs (3) and (4) with 

20 respect to the closure; and 

21 (B) in the case of public land that is not 

22 considered to be disability-accessible land— 

23 (i) the Secretary concerned shall con24 sider opening any road on public land that 


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1 was closed during the 10-year period end2 ing on the date of enactment of this Act; 

3 (ii) the Secretary concerned shall not 

4 close any additional roads on public land, 

5 unless the Secretary concerned— 

6 (I) determines that the road 

7 poses a direct threat to the health or 

8 safety of personnel or visitors to the 

9 public land; and 

10 (II) complies with the require11 ments of paragraphs (3) and (4) with 

12 respect to the closure; and 

13 (iii) the Secretary concerned shall not 

14 close any roads on public land that the 

15 Secretary concerned determines are bene16 ficial for fuels reduction treatments, wild17 fire response, or search and rescue activi18 ties. 

19 (2) NOTICE AND HEARING.—For purposes of a 

20 road closure under subparagraph (A) or (B) of para21 graph (1), the Secretary concerned shall— 

22 (A) provide notice of the proposed closure 

23 to allow for public comment, which may be pro24 vided after the closure if the Secretary con25 cerned determines that there is an immediate 


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1 threat to the health or safety of personnel or 

2 visitors to the public land; and 

3 (B) conduct a public hearing with respect 

4 to the closure, which may be held after the clo5 sure if the Secretary concerned makes a deter6 mination in the affirmative under subparagraph 

7 (A). 

8 (3) NEW ROADS.—For purposes of a road clo9 sure under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

10 (1), the Secretary concerned shall— 

11 (A) provide for the nomination of new 

12 roads on public land to be added to a motor ve13 hicle use plan or travel management plan of the 

14 Secretary concerned; and 

15 (B) establish an appropriate new road on 

16 public land not later than 1 year after the date 

17 on which the road is closed under that para18 graph. 

19 (4) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A road closure 

20 that the Secretary concerned determines to be nec21 essary under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

22 (1) or the establishment of a new road nominated 

23 for establishment under subparagraph (A) of para24 graph (3) shall be categorically excluded from the 

25 requirements of the National Environmental Policy 


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1 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), subject to any 

2 regulations requiring a determination that there are 

3 no extraordinary circumstances that warrant the 

4 preparation of an environmental assessment or an 

5 environmental impact statement with respect to the 

6 proposed road closure or establishment of the new 

7 road. 

8 (5) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—For pur9 poses of the review of a road closure under subpara10 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), there shall be a 

11 rebuttable presumption that roads shall remain open 

12 for public use, which may only be rebutted by clear 

13 and compelling evidence demonstrating that the clo14 sure of the road is necessary in accordance with this 

15 Act. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretaries concerned may 

17 issue or revise regulations to carry out this section. 

18 SEC. 5. EFFECT OF ACT. 

19 Nothing in this Act— 

20 (1) prohibits the Secretary concerned from de21 veloping new roads or trails on public land for the 

22 use of motorized vehicles or off-road vehicles; or 

23 (2) establishes new roads or trails in a compo24 nent of the National Wilderness System, inventoried 

25 roadless area, congressionally designated primitive 


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1 area, or unit of the National Park System (other 

2 than a National Recreation Area). 

Æ 


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