I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6492 

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

Federal public land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 29, 2023 

Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 

LAMBORN, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. MOYLAN, Mrs. PELTOLA, Mr. CARL, Ms. 

LEE of Nevada, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. 

SABLAN, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. COLLINS, Ms. 

LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. CASE) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 ‘‘Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experi6 ences Act’’ or the ‘‘EXPLORE Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—OUTDOOR RECREATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

Subtitle A—Outdoor Recreation Policy 

Sec. 111. Congressional declaration of policy. 

Sec. 112. Identifying opportunities for recreation. 

Sec. 113. Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation. 

Sec. 114. Recreation budget crosscut. 

Subtitle B—Public Recreation on Federal Recreational Lands and Waters 

Sec. 121. Biking on long-distance trails. 

Sec. 122. Protecting America’s rock climbing. 

Sec. 123. Range access. 

Sec. 124. Restoration of overnight campsites. 

Sec. 125. Federal interior land media. 

Sec. 126. Cape and antler preservation enhancement. 

Sec. 127. Motorized and nonmotorized access. 

Sec. 128. Aquatic resource activities assistance. 

Subtitle C—Supporting Gateway Communities and Addressing Park 

Overcrowding 

Sec. 131. Gateway communities. 

Sec. 132. Improved recreation visitation data. 

Sec. 133. Monitoring for improved recreation decision making. 

Subtitle D—Broadband Connectivity on Federal Recreational Lands and 

Waters 

Sec. 141. Connect Our Parks. 

Sec. 142. Broadband internet connectivity at developed recreation sites. 

Subtitle E—Public–Private Parks Partnerships 

Sec. 151. Lodging options developed for Government employees. 

Sec. 152. Partnership agreements creating tangible savings. 

Sec. 153. Partnership agreements to modernize federally owned campgrounds, 

resorts, cabins, and visitor centers on Federal recreational 

lands and waters. 

Sec. 154. Parking opportunities for Federal recreational lands and waters. 

Sec. 155. Pay-for-performance projects. 

Sec. 156. Outdoor recreation legacy partnership program. 

TITLE II—ACCESS AMERICA 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Subtitle A—Access for People With Disabilities 

Sec. 211. Accessible recreation inventory. 


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Sec. 212. Trail inventory. 

Sec. 213. Trail pilot program. 

Sec. 214. Accessible trails. 

Sec. 215. Accessible recreation opportunities. 

Sec. 216. Assistive technology. 

Sec. 217. Savings clause. 

Subtitle B—Military and Veterans in Parks 

Sec. 221. Promotion of outdoor recreation for military servicemembers and veterans. 

Sec. 222. Military Veterans Outdoor Recreation Liaisons. 

Sec. 223. Partnerships to promote military and veteran recreation. 

Sec. 224. National strategy for military and veteran recreation. 

Sec. 225. Recreation resource advisory committees. 

Sec. 226. Career and volunteer opportunities for veterans. 

Subtitle C—Youth Access 

Sec. 231. Increasing youth recreation visits to Federal land. 

Sec. 232. Every Kid Outdoors Act extension. 

TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING OUTDOOR ACCESS FOR RECREATION 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Subtitle A—Modernizing Recreation Permitting 

Sec. 311. Special recreation permit and fee. 

Sec. 312. Permitting process improvements. 

Sec. 313. Permit flexibility. 

Sec. 314. Permit administration. 

Sec. 315. Service First Initiative; Permits for multijurisdictional trips. 

Sec. 316. Forest service and bureau of land management transitional special 

recreation permits for outfitting and guiding. 

Sec. 317. Reviews for transitional permits and long-term permits. 

Sec. 318. Adjustment of allocated visitor-use days. 

Sec. 319. Liability. 

Sec. 320. Cost recovery reform. 

Sec. 321. Availability of Federal, State, and local recreation passes. 

Sec. 322. Online purchases and establishment of a digital version of America 

the Beautiful—The National Parks and Federal Recreational 

Lands Passes. 

Sec. 323. Savings provision. 

Subtitle B—Making Recreation a Priority 

Sec. 331. Extension of seasonal recreation opportunities. 

Subtitle C—Maintenance of Public Land 

Sec. 341. Volunteers in the National Forests and Public Land Act. 

Sec. 342. Reference. 

Subtitle D—Recreation Not Red Tape 

Sec. 351. Good neighbor authority for recreation. 

Sec. 352. Permit relief for picnic areas. 


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Sec. 353. Interagency report on special recreation permits for underserved communities. 

Sec. 354. Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act amendments. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

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

5 the meaning given the term in section 802 of the 

6 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 6801). 

8 (2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND

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

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

11 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

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

13 (3) GATEWAY COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘gate14 way community’’ means a community that serves as 

15 an entry point, or is adjacent, to a recreation des16 tination on Federal recreational lands and waters or 

17 non-Federal land at which there is consistently high, 

18 in the determination of the Secretaries, seasonal or 

19 year-round visitation. 

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

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

22 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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


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1 (5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

2 means each of— 

3 (A) the Secretary; and 

4 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (7) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec8 retary concerned’’ means— 

9 (A) the Secretary, with respect to land 

10 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; or 

11 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re12 spect to land managed by the Forest Service. 

13 TITLE I—OUTDOOR RECRE14 ATION AND INFRASTRUC15 TURE 

16 Subtitle A—Outdoor Recreation 

17 Policy 

18 SEC. 111. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

19 Congress declares that it is the policy of the Federal 

20 Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal 

21 recreational lands and waters, to the extent consistent 

22 with the laws applicable to specific areas of Federal rec23 reational lands and waters, including multiple-use man24 dates and land management planning requirements. 


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1 SEC. 112. IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION. 

2 (a) DEFINITION OF LAND USE PLAN.—In this sec3 tion, the term ‘‘land use plan’’ means— 

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

5 pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

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

7 and 

8 (2) a land management plan prepared by the 

9 Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest 

10 Service pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and 

11 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

12 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

13 (b) INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENTS.— 

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

15 (A) conduct a single inventory and assess16 ment of recreation resources for Federal rec17 reational lands and waters; and 

18 (B) publish the inventory and assessment 

19 conducted under subparagraph (A) for public 

20 comment. 

21 (2) UNIQUE RECREATION VALUES.—An inven22 tory and assessment conducted under paragraph (1) 

23 shall— 

24 (A) recognize— 

25 (i) any unique recreation values and 

26 recreation opportunities; and 


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1 (ii) areas of concentrated recreational 

2 use; and 

3 (B) identify, list, and map recreation re4 sources by— 

5 (i) type of recreation opportunity and 

6 type of natural or artificial recreation in7 frastructure; 

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

9 use of the recreation resource as of the 

10 date of the inventory; 

11 (iii) location; and 

12 (iv) identify, to the extent practicable, 

13 any trend relating to recreation opportuni14 ties or use at a recreation resource identi15 fied under subparagraph (A). 

16 (3) ASSESSMENTS.—For any recreation re17 source inventoried under paragraph (1), the Sec18 retary concerned shall assess— 

19 (A) the level of demand for the recreation 

20 resource; 

21 (B) the maintenance needs of, and ex22 penses necessary to administer, the recreation 

23 resource; 


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1 (C) the benefits of current and projected 

2 future recreation use, including to the local 

3 economy; 

4 (D) the capacity of the recreation resource 

5 to meet the demand described in subparagraph 

6 (A), including the relationship of current and 

7 projected future recreation use on— 

8 (i) natural, cultural, and other re9 sources; 

10 (ii) other authorized uses and activi11 ties on the Federal recreational lands and 

12 waters subject to the applicable land use 

13 plan; and 

14 (iii) existing infrastructure; 

15 (E) the suitability for developing, expand16 ing, or enhancing the recreation resource; 

17 (F) technological developments and innova18 tion that affect recreation use; and 

19 (G) the adequacy of the current manage20 ment of the recreation resource. 

21 (c) FUTURE RECREATION NEEDS AND MANAGE22 MENT.— 

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

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

25 the Secretary concerned shall— 


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1 (A) estimate future recreation needs 

2 through a collaborative process; 

3 (B) identify underutilized locations that 

4 are suitable for developing, expanding, or en5 hancing recreation use; and 

6 (C) select additional high-value recreation 

7 resources at which to encourage recreation use, 

8 consistent with the applicable land use plan. 

9 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting a high10 value recreation resource under paragraph (1)(C), 

11 the Secretary concerned shall consider the following: 

12 (A) The future recreation needs estimated 

13 under paragraph (1)(A). 

14 (B) The maintenance needs of, and the ex15 penses necessary to administer, the high-value 

16 recreation resource. 

17 (C) The presence of partner organizations 

18 prepared to assist in the stewardship of the 

19 high-value recreation resource. 

20 (D) The benefits of recreation use, includ21 ing benefits to the local economy. 

22 (E) The impacts of recreation use on— 

23 (i) natural, cultural, or other re24 sources; 


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1 (ii) other authorized uses and activi2 ties on the Federal recreational lands and 

3 waters subject to any applicable land use 

4 plan; and 

5 (iii) adjacent landowners. 

6 (3) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

7 shall— 

8 (A) seek input from the public, including 

9 adjacent landowners and individuals or entities 

10 with existing land use authorizations, with re11 spect to the management of any high-value 

12 recreation resource identified under paragraph 

13 (1)(C); 

14 (B) maintain or enhance the recreation 

15 values and encourage recreation use of the 

16 high-value recreation resource identified, sub17 ject to the availability of appropriations and 

18 consistent with any applicable multiple-use 

19 mandates; and 

20 (C) manage a high-value recreation re21 source under this paragraph in a manner that 

22 is consistent with applicable law. 

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

24 the Secretary concerned shall use or incorporate existing 


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1 applicable research and planning decisions and processes 

2 in carrying out this section. 

3 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 200103 of 

4 title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

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

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

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

8 respectively. 

9 SEC. 113. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON OUTDOOR 

10 RECREATION. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 200102 of title 54, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

14 paragraphs (4) and (5) respectively; and 

15 (2) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so re16 designated, the following: 

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

18 Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation 

19 established under section 200104. 

20 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

21 The term ‘Federal land management agency’ means 

22 the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Manage23 ment, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bu24 reau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, ForVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 est Service, Corps of Engineers, and the National 

2 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

3 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND

4 WATERS.—The term ‘Federal recreational lands and 

5 waters’ has the meaning given the term in section 

6 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) and also includes Federal 

8 waters managed by the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration and Federal lands and 

10 waters managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.’’. 

11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL.—Section 200104 

12 of title 54, United States Code, is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 200104. Federal interagency council on outdoor 

15 recreation 

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish an interagency council, to be known as the ‘Federal 

18 Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation’. 

19 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com21 posed of representatives of each of the following 

22 agencies, to be appointed by the head of the respec23 tive agency: 

24 ‘‘(A) The National Park Service. 

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


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

2 Service. 

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

4 ‘‘(E) The Bureau of Reclamation. 

5 ‘‘(F) The Forest Service. 

6 ‘‘(G) The Army Corps of Engineers. 

7 ‘‘(H) The National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration. 

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

10 to the members of the Council appointed under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary may invite participa12 tion in the Council’s meetings or other activities 

13 from representatives of the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) The Council on Environmental Qual15 ity. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Natural Resources Conservation 

17 Service. 

18 ‘‘(C) Rural development programs of the 

19 Department of Agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(D) The National Center for Chronic Dis21 ease Prevention and Health Promotion. 

22 ‘‘(E) The Environmental Protection Agen23 cy. 

24 ‘‘(F) The Department of Transportation, 

25 including the Federal Highway Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The Tennessee Valley Authority. 

2 ‘‘(H) The Department of Commerce, in3 cluding— 

4 ‘‘(i) the Bureau of Economic Analysis; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the National Travel and Tourism 

6 Office; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the Economic Development Ad8 ministration. 

9 ‘‘(I) The Federal Energy Regulatory Com10 mission. 

11 ‘‘(J) An applicable State agency or office. 

12 ‘‘(K) An applicable agency or office of a 

13 local government. 

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

15 additional participants under this subsection, the 

16 Secretary shall seek to ensure that States are invited 

17 and represented in the Council’s meetings or other 

18 activities. 

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

20 Council shall rotate annually among the Council 

21 members appointed under paragraph (1), or as oth22 erwise determined by the Secretary in consultation 

23 with the Secretaries of Agriculture, Defense, and 

24 Commerce. 


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

2 of title VII of division E of the Consolidated Appro3 priations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328), the 

4 Council members appointed under paragraph (1) 

5 may enter into agreements to share the management 

6 and operational costs of the Council. 

7 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The Council shall meet as fre8 quently as appropriate for the purposes of coordinating— 

9 ‘‘(1) recreation management policies across 

10 Federal agencies, including implementation of the 

11 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

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

13 ‘‘(2) the response by Federal land management 

14 agencies to public health emergencies or other emer15 gencies that result in disruptions to, or closures of, 

16 Federal recreational lands and waters; 

17 ‘‘(3) the expenditure of funds relating to out18 door recreation on Federal recreational lands and 

19 waters, including funds made available under section 

20 40804(b)(7) of the Infrastructure Investment and 

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

22 ‘‘(4) the adoption and expansion of emerging 

23 technologies on Federal recreational lands and 

24 waters; 


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1 ‘‘(5) research activities, including quantifying 

2 the economic impacts of recreation; 

3 ‘‘(6) dissemination to the public of recreation4 related information (including information relating 

5 to opportunities, reservations, accessibility, and clo6 sures), in a manner that ensures the recreation-re7 lated information is easily accessible with modern 

8 communication devices; 

9 ‘‘(7) the improvement of access to Federal rec10 reational lands and waters; and 

11 ‘‘(8) the identification and engagement of part12 ners outside the Federal Government— 

13 ‘‘(A) to promote outdoor recreation; 

14 ‘‘(B) to facilitate collaborative management 

15 of outdoor recreation; and 

16 ‘‘(C) to provide additional resources relat17 ing to enhancing outdoor recreation opportuni18 ties; and 

19 ‘‘(9) any other outdoor recreation-related issues 

20 that the Council determines necessary. 

21 ‘‘(d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the 

22 authorities, regulations, or policies of any Federal agency 

23 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b).’’. 

24 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

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


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1 amended by striking the item relating to section 200104 

2 and inserting the following: 

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

3 SEC. 114. RECREATION BUDGET CROSSCUT. 

4 Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal 

5 year, beginning with fiscal year 2025, the Director of the 

6 Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Con7 gress and make public online a report that describes and 

8 itemizes the total amount of funding relating to outdoor 

9 recreation that was obligated in the preceding fiscal year 

10 in accounts in the Treasury for the Department of the 

11 Interior and the Department of Agriculture. 

12 Subtitle B—Public Recreation on 

13 Federal Recreational Lands and 

14 Waters 

15 SEC. 121. BIKING ON LONG-DISTANCE TRAILS. 

16 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF LONG-DISTANCE TRAILS.— 

17 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment 

18 of this title, the Secretaries shall identify— 

19 (1) not fewer than 10 long-distance bike trails 

20 that make use of trails and roads in existence on the 

21 date of the enactment of this title; and 

22 (2) not fewer than 10 areas in which there is 

23 an opportunity to develop or complete a trail that 

24 would qualify as a long-distance bike trail. 

25 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretaries shall— 


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1 (1) develop a process to allow members of the 

2 public to comment regarding the identification of 

3 trails and areas under subsection (a); and 

4 (2) consider the identification, development, 

5 and completion of long-distance bike trails in a geo6 graphically equitable manner. 

7 (c) MAPS, SIGNAGE, AND PROMOTIONAL MATE8 RIALS.—For any long-distance bike trail identified under 

9 subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may— 

10 (1) publish and distribute maps, install signage, 

11 and issue promotional materials; and 

12 (2) coordinate with stakeholders to leverage any 

13 non-Federal resources necessary for the stewardship, 

14 development, or completion of trails. 

15 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

16 of the enactment of this title, the Secretaries, in partner17 ship with interested organizations, shall prepare and pub18 lish a report that lists the trails identified under sub19 section (a), including a summary of public comments re20 ceived in accordance with the process developed under sub21 section (b). 

22 (e) CONFLICT AVOIDANCE WITH OTHER USES.—The 

23 Secretary concerned shall ensure that each long-distance 

24 bike trail or area identified under subsection (a)— 

25 (1) does not conflict with— 


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1 (A) the uses, before the date of the enact2 ment of this title, of any trail or road that is 

3 part of that long-distance bike trail; 

4 (B) multiple-use areas where biking, hik5 ing, horseback riding, or use by pack and sad6 dle stock are existing uses on the date of the 

7 enactment of this title; 

8 (C) the purposes for which any trail was or 

9 is established under the National Trails System 

10 Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.); and 

11 (D) any area managed under the Wilder12 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 

13 (2) complies with land use and management 

14 plans of the Federal recreational lands and waters 

15 that are part of that long-distance bike trail. 

16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) LONG-DISTANCE BIKE TRAIL.—The term 

18 ‘‘long-distance bike trail’’ means a continuous route, 

19 consisting of 1 or more trails or rights-of-way, 

20 that— 

21 (A) is not less than 80 miles in length; 

22 (B) primarily makes use of dirt or natural 

23 surface trails; 

24 (C) may require connections along paved 

25 or other improved roads; 


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1 (D) does not include Federal recreational 

2 lands where mountain biking or related activi3 ties are not consistent with management re4 quirements for those Federal recreational lands; 

5 and 

6 (E) to the maximum extent practicable, 

7 makes use of trails and roads that were on Fed8 eral recreational lands on or before the date of 

9 the enactment of this title. 

10 (2) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

11 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec12 retary of Agriculture, acting jointly. 

13 SEC. 122. PROTECTING AMERICA’S ROCK CLIMBING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

15 the date of the enactment of this title, each Secretary con16 cerned shall issue guidance for recreational climbing ac17 tivities on covered Federal land. 

18 (b) APPLICABLE LAW.—The guidance issued under 

19 subsection (a) shall ensure that recreational climbing ac20 tivities comply with the laws (including regulations) appli21 cable to the covered Federal land. 

22 (c) WILDERNESS AREAS.—The guidance issued 

23 under subsection (a) shall recognize that recreational 

24 climbing (including the use, placement, and maintenance 

25 of fixed anchors) is an appropriate use within a component 


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1 of the National Wilderness Preservation System, if under2 taken— 

3 (1) in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and other applicable laws (in5 cluding regulations); and 

6 (2) subject to any terms and conditions deter7 mined by the Secretary concerned to be appropriate. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—The guidance issued under 

9 subsection (a) shall describe the requirements, if any, for 

10 the placement and maintenance of fixed anchors for rec11 reational climbing in a component of the National Wilder12 ness Preservation System, including any terms and condi13 tions determined by the Secretary concerned to be appro14 priate, which may be issued programmatically or on a 

15 case-by-case basis. 

16 (e) EXISTING ROUTES.—The guidance issued under 

17 subsection (a) shall include direction providing for the con18 tinued use and maintenance of recreational climbing 

19 routes (including fixed anchors along the routes) in exist20 ence as of the date of the enactment of this title, in accord21 ance with this Act. 

22 (f) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before finalizing the guid23 ance issued under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned 

24 shall provide opportunities for public comment with re25 spect to the guidance. 


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1 (g) COVERED FEDERAL LAND DEFINED.—In this 

2 section, the term ‘‘covered Federal land’’— 

3 (1) means the lands described in subparagraphs 

4 (A) and (B) of paragraph (2); and 

5 (2) includes components of the National Wilder6 ness Preservation System. 

7 SEC. 123. RANGE ACCESS. 

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

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

10 developed and managed area that is authorized or oper11 ated by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Manage12 ment specifically for the purposeful discharge by the public 

13 of legal firearms, firearms training, archery, or other asso14 ciated activities. 

15 (b) ASSESSMENT; IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET

16 SHOOTING RANGE LOCATIONS.— 

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

18 the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary 

19 concerned shall make available to the public a list 

20 that— 

21 (A) identifies each National Forest and 

22 each Bureau of Land Management district that 

23 has a target shooting range that meets the re24 quirements described in paragraph (3)(B); 


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1 (B) identifies each National Forest and 

2 each Bureau of Land Management district that 

3 does not have a target shooting range that 

4 meets the requirements described in paragraph 

5 (3)(B); and 

6 (C) for each National Forest and each Bu7 reau of Land Management district identified 

8 under subparagraph (B), provides a determina9 tion of whether applicable law or the applicable 

10 land use plan prevents the establishment of a 

11 target shooting range that meets the require12 ments described in paragraph (3)(B). 

13 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET SHOOTING

14 RANGE LOCATIONS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con16 cerned shall identify at least 1 suitable location 

17 for a target shooting range that meets the re18 quirements described in paragraph (3)(B) with19 in each National Forest and each Bureau of 

20 Land Management district with respect to 

21 which the Secretary concerned has determined 

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

23 of a target shooting range is not prevented by 

24 applicable law or the applicable land use plan. 


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1 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretaries, in 

2 consultation with the entities described in sub3 section (d), shall, for purposes of identifying a 

4 suitable location for a target shooting range 

5 under subparagraph (A)— 

6 (i) consider the proximity of areas fre7 quently used by recreational shooters; 

8 (ii) ensure that the target shooting 

9 range would not adversely impact a shoot10 ing range operated or maintained by a 

11 non-Federal entity, including a shooting 

12 range located on private land; and 

13 (iii) consider other nearby recreational 

14 uses, including proximity to units of the 

15 National Park System, to minimize poten16 tial conflict and prioritize visitor safety. 

17 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW TARGET SHOOT18 ING RANGES.— 

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

20 after the date of the enactment of this title, at 

21 1 or more suitable locations identified on each 

22 eligible National Forest and each Bureau of 

23 Land Management district under paragraph 

24 (2)(A), the Secretary concerned shall— 


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1 (i) subject to the availability of appro2 priations, construct a target shooting 

3 range that meets the requirements de4 scribed in subparagraph (B) or modify an 

5 existing target shooting range to meet the 

6 requirements described in subparagraph 

7 (B); or 

8 (ii) enter into an agreement with an 

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

10 which the entity shall establish or maintain 

11 a target shooting range that meets the re12 quirements described in subparagraph (B). 

13 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A target shooting 

14 range established under this paragraph— 

15 (i)(I) shall be able to accommodate ri16 fles, pistols, and shotguns; and 

17 (II) may accommodate archery; 

18 (ii) shall include appropriate public 

19 safety designs and features, including— 

20 (I) significantly modified land21 scapes, including berms, buffer dis22 tances, or other public safety designs 

23 or features; 

24 (II) a designated firing line; and 

25 (III) benches; 


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1 (iii) may include— 

2 (I) shade structures; 

3 (II) trash containers; 

4 (III) restrooms; and 

5 (IV) any other features that the 

6 Secretary concerned determines to be 

7 necessary; and 

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

9 fee to use the target shooting range. 

10 (C) RECREATION AND PUBLIC PURPOSES

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

12 Secretary concerned may consider a target 

13 shooting range that is located on land trans14 ferred pursuant to the Act of June 14, 1926 

15 (commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation and Pub16 lic Purposes Act’’) (44 Stat. 741, chapter 578; 

17 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), as a target shooting 

18 range that meets the requirements described in 

19 subparagraph (B). 

20 (c) RESTRICTIONS.— 

21 (1) MANAGEMENT.—The management of a tar22 get shooting range shall be subject to such condi23 tions as the Secretary concerned determines are nec24 essary for the safe, responsible use of— 

25 (A) the target shooting range; and 


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1 (B) the adjacent land and resources. 

2 (2) CLOSURES.—Except in emergency situa3 tions, the Secretary concerned shall seek to ensure 

4 that a target shooting range that meets the require5 ments described in subsection (b)(3)(B), or an 

6 equivalent shooting range adjacent to a National 

7 Forest or Bureau of Land Management district, is 

8 available to the public prior to closing Federal rec9 reational lands and waters administered by the Chief 

10 of the Forest Service or the Director of the Bureau 

11 of Land Management to recreational shooting, in ac12 cordance with section 4103 of the John D. Dingell, 

13 Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act 

14 (16 U.S.C. 7913). 

15 (d) CONSULTATIONS.— 

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

17 the Secretaries shall consult, as applicable, with— 

18 (A) local and Tribal Governments; 

19 (B) nonprofit or nongovernmental organi20 zations, including organizations that are sig21 natories to the memorandum of understanding 

22 entitled ‘‘Federal Lands Hunting, Fishing, and 

23 Shooting Sports Roundtable Memorandum of 

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1 ice and the Bureau of Land Management on 

2 August 17, 2006; 

3 (C) State fish and wildlife agencies; 

4 (D) shooting clubs; 

5 (E) Federal advisory councils relating to 

6 hunting and shooting sports; 

7 (F) individuals or entities with authorized 

8 leases or permits in an area under consideration 

9 for a target shooting range; 

10 (G) State and local offices of outdoor 

11 recreation; 

12 (H) State and local public safety agencies; 

13 and 

14 (I) the public. 

15 (2) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries may— 

16 (A) coordinate with an entity described in 

17 paragraph (1) to assist with the construction, 

18 modification, operation, or maintenance of a 

19 target shooting range; and 

20 (B) explore opportunities to leverage fund21 ing to maximize non-Federal investment in the 

22 construction, modification, operation, or main23 tenance of a target shooting range. 

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

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1 after through fiscal year 2033, the Secretaries shall sub2 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

3 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources 

4 of the House of Representatives a report describing the 

5 progress made with respect to the implementation of this 

6 section. 

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

8 the authority of the Secretary concerned to administer a 

9 target shooting range that is in addition to the target 

10 shooting ranges that meet the requirements described in 

11 subsection (b)(3)(B) on Federal recreational lands and 

12 waters administered by the Secretary concerned. 

13 SEC. 124. RESTORATION OF OVERNIGHT CAMPSITES. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recreation 

16 Area’’ means the recreation area and grounds asso17 ciated with the recreation area located in the 

18 Ouachita National Forest, approximately six miles 

19 north of Langley, Arkansas, in southern Mont20 gomery County, Arkansas. 

21 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

23 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

24 (1) not later than 6 months after the date of 

25 the enactment of this title, identify 54 areas within 


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1 the Recreation Area that may be suitable for over2 night camping; and 

3 (2) not later than 2 years after the date of the 

4 enactment of this title— 

5 (A) review each area identified under para6 graph (1); and 

7 (B) from the areas so identified, select and 

8 establish at least 27 campsites and related fa9 cilities within the Recreation Area for public 

10 use. 

11 (c) REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO CAMPSITES AND

12 RELATED FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall— 

13 (1) ensure that at least 27 campsites are avail14 able under subsection (b), of which not less than 8 

15 shall have electric and water hookups; and 

16 (2) ensure that each campsite and related facil17 ity identified or established under subsection (b) is 

18 located outside of the 1 percent annual exceedance 

19 probability flood elevation. 

20 (d) REOPENING OF CERTAIN SITES.—Not later than 

21 30 days after the date of the enactment of this title, the 

22 Secretary shall open each campsite within the Recreation 

23 Area that— 

24 (1) exists on the date of the enactment of this 

25 title; 


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1 (2) is located outside of the 1 percent annual 

2 exceedance probability flood elevation; 

3 (3) was in operation on June 1, 2010; and 

4 (4) would not interfere with any current (as of 

5 the date of the enactment of this title) day use 

6 areas. 

7 (e) DAY USE AREAS.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary shall 

9 take such actions as are necessary to rehabilitate and 

10 make publicly accessible the areas in the Recreation Area 

11 identified for year-round day use, including the following: 

12 (1) Loop A. 

13 (2) Loop B. 

14 (3) The covered, large-group picnic pavilion in 

15 Loop D. 

16 (4) The parking lot in Loop D. 

17 SEC. 125. FEDERAL INTERIOR LAND MEDIA. 

18 (a) FILMING IN NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM UNITS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1009 of title 54, 

20 United States Code, is amended by striking section 

21 100905 and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 100905. Filming and still photography in System 

23 units 

24 ‘‘(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 project in a System unit (referred to in this section 

4 as a ‘filming or still photography activity’) and the 

5 authorizing or permitting of a filming or still pho6 tography activity are carried out consistent with— 

7 ‘‘(A) the laws and policies applicable to the 

8 Service; and 

9 ‘‘(B) an applicable general management 

10 plan. 

11 ‘‘(2) NO PERMITS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

12 shall not require an authorization or a permit or as13 sess a fee, if a fee for a filming or still photography 

14 activity is not otherwise required by law, for a film15 ing or still photography activity that— 

16 ‘‘(A)(i) involves fewer than 6 individuals; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements de19 scribed in paragraph (5); or 

20 ‘‘(B) is merely incidental to, or docu21 menting, an activity or event that is allowed or 

22 authorized at the System unit, regardless of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals partici24 pating in the allowed or authorized activity 

25 or event; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) whether any individual receives 

2 compensation for any products of the film3 ing or still photography activity. 

4 ‘‘(3) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AU5 THORIZATIONS FOR DE MINIMIS USE.— 

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

7 establish a de minimis use authorization for 

8 certain filming or still photography activities 

9 that meets the requirements described in sub10 paragraph (F). 

11 ‘‘(B) POLICY.—For a filming or still pho12 tography activity that meets the requirements 

13 described in subparagraph (F), the Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(i) may require a de minimis use au15 thorization; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall not require a permit. 

17 ‘‘(C) NO FEE.—The Secretary shall not 

18 charge a fee for a de minimis use authorization 

19 under this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(D) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall enable 

21 members of the public to apply for and obtain 

22 a de minimis use authorization under this para23 graph— 

24 ‘‘(i) through the website of the Serv25 ice; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in person at the field office of 

2 the applicable System unit. 

3 ‘‘(E) ISSUANCES.—The Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) establish a procedure— 

5 ‘‘(I) to automate the approval of 

6 an application submitted through the 

7 website of the Service under subpara8 graph (D)(i); and 

9 ‘‘(II) to issue a de minimis use 

10 authorization under this paragraph 

11 immediately on receipt of an applica12 tion that is submitted in person at the 

13 field office of the applicable System 

14 unit under subparagraph (D)(ii); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) if an application submitted under 

16 subparagraph (D) meets the requirements 

17 of this paragraph, immediately on receipt 

18 of the application issue a de minimis use 

19 authorization for the filming or still pho20 tography activity. 

21 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

22 shall only issue a de minimis use authorization 

23 under this paragraph if the filming or still pho24 tography activity— 


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1 ‘‘(i) involves a group of not fewer than 

2 6 individuals and not more than 8 individ3 uals; 

4 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements 

5 described in paragraph (5); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(G) CONTENTS.—A de minimis use au8 thorization issued under this paragraph shall 

9 list the requirements described in subparagraph 

10 (F). 

11 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED PERMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary may require a 

14 permit application and, if a permit is issued, as15 sess a reasonable fee, as described in subsection 

16 (b)(1), for a filming or still photography activ17 ity that— 

18 ‘‘(i) involves more than 8 individuals; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(ii) does not meet each of the re21 quirements described in paragraph (5). 

22 ‘‘(B) WILDERNESS ACT CLARIFICATION.— 

23 No provision of this subsection is intended to or 

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1 sions of the Wilderness Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1131 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMING OR STILL

4 PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY.—The requirements re5 ferred to in paragraphs (2)(A)(ii), (3)(F)(ii), (4)(B), 

6 and (7)(C) are as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) A person conducts the filming or still 

8 photography activity in a manner that— 

9 ‘‘(i) does not impede or intrude on the 

10 experience of other visitors to the applica11 ble System unit; 

12 ‘‘(ii) except as otherwise authorized, 

13 does not disturb or negatively impact— 

14 ‘‘(I) a natural or cultural re15 source; or 

16 ‘‘(II) an environmental or scenic 

17 value; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) allows for equitable allocation or 

19 use of facilities of the applicable System 

20 unit. 

21 ‘‘(B) The person conducts the filming or 

22 still photography activity at a location in which 

23 the public is allowed. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The person conducting the filming or 

2 still photography activity does not require the 

3 exclusive use of a site or area. 

4 ‘‘(D) The person does not conduct the 

5 filming or still photography activity in a local6 ized area that receives a very high volume of 

7 visitation. 

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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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 in 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 for 

15 the filming or still photography activity, even if 

16 a permit for the filming or still photography ac17 tivity 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.—A filming or still photog22 raphy activity at an activity or event that is al23 lowed or authorized, including a wedding, en24 gagement party, family reunion, or celebration 


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1 of a graduate, shall be considered merely inci2 dental for the purposes of paragraph (2)(B). 

3 ‘‘(C) MONETARY COMPENSATION.—The re4 ceipt of monetary compensation by the person 

5 conducting the filming or still photography ac6 tivity shall not affect the permissibility of the 

7 filming or still photography activity. 

8 ‘‘(b) FEES AND RECOVERY COSTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) FEES.—The reasonable fees referred to in 

10 subsection (a)(4) shall meet each of the following 

11 criteria: 

12 ‘‘(A) The reasonable fee shall provide a 

13 fair return to the United States. 

14 ‘‘(B) The reasonable fee shall be based on 

15 the following criteria: 

16 ‘‘(i) The number of days of the film17 ing or still photography activity. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The size of the film or still pho19 tography crew present in the System unit. 

20 ‘‘(iii) The quantity and type of film or 

21 still photography equipment present in the 

22 System unit. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Any other factors that the Sec24 retary determines to be necessary. 

25 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 


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

2 collect from the applicant for the applicable per3 mit any costs incurred by the Secretary related 

4 to a filming or still photography activity subject 

5 to a permit under subsection (a)(4), including— 

6 ‘‘(i) the costs of the review or issuance 

7 of the permit; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) related administrative and per9 sonnel costs. 

10 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON FEES COLLECTED.—All 

11 costs recovered under subparagraph (A) shall 

12 be in addition to the fee described in paragraph 

13 (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) FEES.—All fees collected under this 

16 section shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

18 the Secretary, without further appropria19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

21 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—All costs recovered under 

22 paragraph (2)(A) shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

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1 tion, at the System unit at which the costs 

2 are collected; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

5 shall not allow a person to undertake a filming or still 

6 photography activity if the Secretary determines that— 

7 ‘‘(1) there is a likelihood that the person would 

8 cause resource damage at the System unit, except as 

9 otherwise authorized; 

10 ‘‘(2) the person would create an unreasonable 

11 disruption of the use and enjoyment by the public of 

12 the System unit; or 

13 ‘‘(3) 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 ‘‘SEC. 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 project at a Federal land management 

19 unit (referred to in this section as a ‘filming or still 

20 photography activity’) and the authorizing or per21 mitting of a filming or still photography activity are 

22 carried out consistent with— 

23 ‘‘(A) the laws and policies applicable to the 

24 Secretary concerned; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an applicable general management 

2 plan. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO PERMITS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

4 concerned shall not require an authorization or a 

5 permit or assess a fee, if a fee for a filming or still 

6 photography activity is not otherwise required by 

7 law, for a filming or still photography activity that— 

8 ‘‘(A)(i) involves fewer than 6 individuals; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements de11 scribed in paragraph (5); or 

12 ‘‘(B) is merely incidental to, or docu13 menting, an activity or event that is allowed or 

14 authorized at the Federal land management 

15 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. 

22 ‘‘(3) FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AU23 THORIZATIONS FOR DE MINIMIS USE.— 

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1 ization for certain filming or still photography 

2 activities that meets the requirements described 

3 in subparagraph (F). 

4 ‘‘(B) POLICY.—For a filming or still pho5 tography activity that meets the requirements 

6 described in subparagraph (F), the Secretary 

7 concerned— 

8 ‘‘(i) may require a de minimis use au9 thorization; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) shall not require a permit. 

11 ‘‘(C) NO FEE.—The Secretary concerned 

12 shall not charge a fee for a de minimis use au13 thorization under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(D) ACCESS.—The Secretary concerned 

15 shall enable members of the public to apply for 

16 and obtain a de minimis use authorization 

17 under this paragraph— 

18 ‘‘(i) through the website of the De19 partment of the Interior or the Forest 

20 Service, as applicable; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) in person at the field office for 

22 the Federal land management unit. 

23 ‘‘(E) ISSUANCES.—The Secretary con24 cerned shall— 

25 ‘‘(i) establish a procedure— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to automate the approval of 

2 an application submitted through the 

3 website of the Department of the In4 terior or the Forest Service, as appli5 cable, under subparagraph (D)(i); and 

6 ‘‘(II) to issue a de minimis use 

7 authorization under this paragraph 

8 immediately on receipt of an applica9 tion that is submitted in person at the 

10 field office for the Federal land man11 agement unit under subparagraph 

12 (D)(ii); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) if an application submitted under 

14 subparagraph (D) meets the requirements 

15 of this paragraph, immediately on receipt 

16 of the application issue a de minimis use 

17 authorization for the filming or still pho18 tography activity. 

19 ‘‘(F) TERMS.—The Secretary concerned 

20 shall only issue a de minimis use authorization 

21 under this paragraph if the filming or still pho22 tography activity— 

23 ‘‘(i) involves a group of not fewer than 

24 6 individuals and not more than 8 individ25 uals; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) meets each of the requirements 

2 described in paragraph (5); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with subsection (c). 

4 ‘‘(G) CONTENTS.—A de minimis use au5 thorization issued under this paragraph shall 

6 list the requirements described in subparagraph 

7 (F). 

8 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED PERMITS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary concerned may 

11 require a permit application and, if a permit is 

12 issued, assess a reasonable fee, as described in 

13 subsection (b)(1), for a filming or still photog14 raphy activity that— 

15 ‘‘(i) involves more than 8 individuals; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(ii) does not meet each of the re18 quirements described in paragraph (5). 

19 ‘‘(B) WILDERNESS ACT CLARIFICATION.— 

20 No provision of this subsection is intended to or 

21 shall be construed to conflict with the provi22 sions of the Wilderness Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 

23 1131 et seq.). 

24 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMING OR STILL

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1 ferred to in paragraphs (2)(A)(ii), (3)(F)(ii), (4)(B), 

2 and (7)(C) are as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) A person conducts the filming or still 

4 photography activity in a manner that— 

5 ‘‘(i) does not impede or intrude on the 

6 experience of other visitors to the Federal 

7 land management unit; 

8 ‘‘(ii) except as otherwise authorized, 

9 does not disturb or negatively impact— 

10 ‘‘(I) a natural or cultural re11 source; or 

12 ‘‘(II) an environmental or scenic 

13 value; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) allows for equitable allocation or 

15 use of facilities of the Federal land man16 agement unit. 

17 ‘‘(B) The person conducts the filming or 

18 still photography activity at a location in which 

19 the public is allowed. 

20 ‘‘(C) The person conducting the filming or 

21 still photography activity does not require the 

22 exclusive use of a site or area. 

23 ‘‘(D) The person does not conduct the 

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1 ized area that receives a very high volume of 

2 visitation. 

3 ‘‘(E) The person conducting the filming or 

4 still photography activity does not use a set or 

5 staging equipment, subject to the limitation 

6 that handheld equipment (such as a tripod, 

7 monopod, and handheld lighting equipment) 

8 shall not be considered staging equipment for 

9 the purposes of this subparagraph. 

10 ‘‘(F) The person conducting the filming or 

11 still photography activity complies with and ad12 heres to visitor use policies, practices, and regu13 lations applicable to the Federal land manage14 ment unit. 

15 ‘‘(G) The filming or still photography ac16 tivity is not likely to result in additional admin17 istrative costs being incurred by the Secretary 

18 concerned with respect to the filming or still 

19 photography activity, as determined by the Sec20 retary concerned. 

21 ‘‘(H) The person conducting the filming or 

22 still photography activity complies with other 

23 applicable Federal, State, and local laws (in24 cluding regulations), including laws relating to 

25 the use of unmanned aerial equipment. 


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1 ‘‘(6) CONTENT CREATION.—Regardless of dis2 tribution platform, any video, still photograph, or 

3 audio recording for commercial or noncommercial 

4 content creation at a Federal land management unit 

5 shall be considered to be a filming or still photog6 raphy activity under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(7) EFFECT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) PERMITS REQUESTED THOUGH NOT

9 REQUIRED.—On the request of a person intend10 ing to carry out a filming or still photography 

11 activity, the Secretary concerned may issue a 

12 permit for the filming or still photography ac13 tivity, even if a permit for the filming or still 

14 photography activity is not required under this 

15 section. 

16 ‘‘(B) NO ADDITIONAL PERMITS, COMMER17 CIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS, OR FEES FOR

18 FILMING AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AT AU19 THORIZED EVENTS.—A filming or still photog20 raphy activity at an activity or event that is al21 lowed or authorized, including a wedding, en22 gagement party, family reunion, or celebration 

23 of a graduate, shall be considered merely inci24 dental for the purposes of paragraph (2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(C) MONETARY COMPENSATION.—The re2 ceipt of monetary compensation by the person 

3 engaged in the filming or still photography ac4 tivity shall not affect the permissibility of the 

5 filming or still photography activity. 

6 ‘‘(b) FEES AND RECOVERY COSTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) FEES.—The reasonable fees referred to in 

8 subsection (a)(4) shall meet each of the following 

9 criteria: 

10 ‘‘(A) The reasonable fee shall provide a 

11 fair return to the United States. 

12 ‘‘(B) The reasonable fee shall be based on 

13 the following criteria: 

14 ‘‘(i) The number of days of the film15 ing or still photography activity. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The size of the film or still pho17 tography crew present at the Federal land 

18 management unit. 

19 ‘‘(iii) The quantity and type of film or 

20 still photography equipment present at the 

21 Federal land management unit. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Any other factors that the Sec23 retary concerned determines to be nec24 essary. 

25 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con2 cerned shall collect from the applicant for the 

3 applicable permit any costs incurred by the Sec4 retary concerned related to a filming or still 

5 photography activity subject to a permit under 

6 subsection (a)(4), including— 

7 ‘‘(i) the costs of the review or issuance 

8 of the permit; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) related administrative and per10 sonnel costs. 

11 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON FEES COLLECTED.—All 

12 costs recovered under subparagraph (A) shall 

13 be in addition to the fee described in paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 ‘‘(3) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) FEES.—All fees collected under this 

17 section shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

19 the Secretary concerned, without further 

20 appropriation; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

22 ‘‘(B) COSTS.—All costs recovered under 

23 paragraph (2)(A) shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) be available for expenditure by 

25 the Secretary concerned, without further 


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1 appropriation, at the Federal land manage2 ment unit at which the costs are collected; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) remain available until expended. 

5 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

6 concerned shall not allow a person to undertake a filming 

7 or still photography activity if the Secretary concerned de8 termines that— 

9 ‘‘(1) there is a likelihood that the person would 

10 cause resource damage at the Federal land manage11 ment unit, except as otherwise authorized; 

12 ‘‘(2) the person would create an unreasonable 

13 disruption of the use and enjoyment by the public of 

14 the Federal land management unit; or 

15 ‘‘(3) 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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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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1 SEC. 126. CAPE AND ANTLER PRESERVATION ENHANCE2 MENT. 

3 Section 104909(c) of title 54, United States Code, 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘meat from’’ and inserting ‘‘meat 

5 and any other part of an animal removed pursuant to’’. 

6 SEC. 127. MOTORIZED AND NONMOTORIZED ACCESS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 

8 seek to have, not later than 5 years after the date of the 

9 enactment of this title, in a printed and publicly available 

10 format that is compliant with the format for geographic 

11 information systems— 

12 (1) for each district administered by the Direc13 tor of the Bureau of Land Management, a ground 

14 transportation linear feature authorized for public 

15 use or administrative use; and 

16 (2) for each unit of the National Forest Sys17 tem, a motor vehicle use map. 

18 (b) OVER-SNOW VEHICLE-USE MAPS.—The Sec19 retary concerned shall seek to have, not later than 10 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this title, in a 

21 printed and publicly available format that is compliant 

22 with the format for geographic information systems, an 

23 over-snow vehicle-use map for each unit of Federal rec24 reational lands and waters administered by the Chief of 

25 the Forest Service or Director of the Bureau of Land 


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1 Management on which over-snow vehicle-use occurs, in ac2 cordance with existing law. 

3 (c) OUT-OF-DATE MAPS.—Not later than 20 years 

4 after the date on which the Secretary concerned adopted 

5 or reviewed, through public notice and comment, a map 

6 described in subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary concerned 

7 shall seek to review, through public notice and comment, 

8 and update, as necessary, the applicable map. 

9 (d) MOTORIZED AND NONMOTORIZED ACCESS.—The 

10 Secretaries shall seek to create additional opportunities, 

11 as appropriate, for motorized and nonmotorized access 

12 and opportunities on Federal recreational lands and 

13 waters administered by the Chief of the Forest Service or 

14 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 

15 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section pro16 hibits a lawful use, including a motorized or nonmotorized 

17 use, on Federal recreational lands and waters adminis18 tered by the Chief of the Forest Service or the Director 

19 of the Bureau of Land Management, if the Secretary con20 cerned fails to meet a timeline established under this sec21 tion. 

22 SEC. 128. AQUATIC RESOURCE ACTIVITIES ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES TASK

25 FORCE.—The term ‘‘Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 


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1 Force’’ means the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

2 Force established by section 1201(a) of the Non3 indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control 

4 Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4721(a)). 

5 (2) FEDERAL LAND AND WATER.—The term 

6 ‘‘Federal land and water’’ means Federal land and 

7 water operated and maintained by the Bureau of 

8 Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest 

9 Service, or National Park Service, as applicable. 

10 (3) INSPECTION.—The term ‘‘inspection’’ 

11 means an inspection to prevent and respond to bio12 logical invasions of an aquatic ecosystem. 

13 (4) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means— 

14 (A) a Reclamation State; 

15 (B) an Indian Tribe in a Reclamation 

16 State; 

17 (C) an applicable nonprofit organization in 

18 a Reclamation State; or 

19 (D) a unit of local government in a Rec20 lamation State. 

21 (5) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec22 lamation State’’ includes any of the States of— 

23 (A) Alaska; 

24 (B) Arizona; 

25 (C) California; 


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1 (D) Colorado; 

2 (E) Idaho; 

3 (F) Kansas; 

4 (G) Montana; 

5 (H) Nebraska; 

6 (I) Nevada; 

7 (J) New Mexico; 

8 (K) North Dakota; 

9 (L) Oklahoma; 

10 (M) Oregon; 

11 (N) South Dakota; 

12 (O) Texas; 

13 (P) Utah; 

14 (Q) Washington; and 

15 (R) Wyoming. 

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

17 means each of— 

18 (A) the Secretary, acting through the Di19 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, the 

20 Commissioner of Reclamation, and the Director 

21 of the National Park Service; and 

22 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

23 through the Chief of the Forest Service. 

24 (7) RECLAMATION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘rec25 lamation project’’ has the meaning given such term 


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1 in section 2803(3) of the Reclamation Projects Au2 thorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C. 

3 460l-32(3)). 

4 (b) AUTHORITY OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE5 MENT, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, NATIONAL PARK

6 SERVICE, AND FOREST SERVICE WITH RESPECT TO CER7 TAIN AQUATIC RESOURCE ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND

8 AND WATER.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 

10 land management agency shall have the authority to 

11 carry out inspections and decontamination of 

12 watercraft entering or leaving Federal land and 

13 waters under the jurisdiction of the respective Fed14 eral land management agency. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretaries shall— 

16 (A) in carrying out an inspection under 

17 paragraph (1), coordinate with 1 or more part18 ners; 

19 (B) consult with the Aquatic Nuisance 

20 Species Task Force to identify potential im21 provements and efficiencies in the detection and 

22 management of invasive species on Federal land 

23 and water; and 

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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 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 erating in Reclamation projects, including to pur2 chase, establish, operate, or maintain a vessel in3 spection and decontamination station. 

4 (2) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

5 cost of a grant under paragraph (1), including per6 sonnel costs, shall not exceed 75 percent. 

7 (3) STANDARDS.—Before awarding a grant 

8 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine 

9 that the project is technically and financially fea10 sible. 

11 (4) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sub12 section, the Secretary shall coordinate with— 

13 (A) each of the Reclamation States; 

14 (B) affected Indian Tribes; and 

15 (C) the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

16 Force. 

17 Subtitle C—Supporting Gateway 

18 Communities and Addressing 

19 Park Overcrowding 

20 SEC. 131. GATEWAY COMMUNITIES. 

21 (a) ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS AND NEEDS IN GATE22 WAY COMMUNITIES.—Using existing funds available to 

23 the Secretaries, the Secretaries— 

24 (1) shall collaborate with State and local gov25 ernments, Indian Tribes, housing authorities, appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 cable trade associations, nonprofit organizations, 

2 and other relevant stakeholders to identify needs and 

3 economic impacts in gateway communities, includ4 ing— 

5 (A) housing shortages; 

6 (B) demands on existing municipal infra7 structure; 

8 (C) accommodation and management of 

9 sustainable visitation; and 

10 (D) the expansion and diversification of 

11 visitor experiences by bolstering the visitation 

12 at— 

13 (i) underutilized locations on nearby 

14 Federal recreational lands and waters that 

15 are suitable for developing, expanding, or 

16 enhancing recreation use, as identified by 

17 the Secretaries; or 

18 (ii) lesser-known recreation sites, as 

19 identified under section 5(b)(1)(B), on 

20 nearby land managed by a State agency or 

21 a local agency; and 

22 (2) may address a need identified under para23 graph (1) by— 


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1 (A) providing financial or technical assist2 ance to a gateway community under an existing 

3 program; 

4 (B) entering into a lease, right-of-way, or 

5 easement, in accordance with applicable laws; or 

6 (C) issuing an entity referred to in para7 graph (1) a special use permit (other than a 

8 special recreation permit (as defined in section 

9 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhance10 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)), in accordance 

11 with applicable laws. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO

13 BUSINESSES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

15 (acting through the Administrator of the Rural 

16 Business-Cooperative Service), in coordination with 

17 the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce, shall 

18 provide to businesses in gateway communities the 

19 assistance described in paragraph (2) to establish, 

20 operate, or expand infrastructure to accommodate 

21 and manage sustainable visitation, including hotels, 

22 campgrounds, and restaurants. 

23 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

24 may provide assistance under paragraph (1) through 

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1 trepreneur and vocational training programs, tech2 nical assistance programs, low-interest business loan 

3 programs, and loan guarantee programs. 

4 (c) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out this section, the 

5 Secretaries may, in accordance with applicable laws, enter 

6 into a public-private partnership, cooperative agreement, 

7 memorandum of understanding, or similar agreement with 

8 a gateway community or a business in a gateway commu9 nity. 

10 SEC. 132. 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 the enactment of this title, 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 recreation sites 

6 located near the unit of Federal recreational 

7 lands and waters (including recreation sites 

8 managed by any other Federal agency, a State 

9 agency, or a local agency), in an effort to en10 courage 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.—Not later than 5 years 

24 after the date of the enactment of this title, the 

25 Secretaries shall expand the Pilot Program by 


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1 selecting 80 additional units of Federal rec2 reational lands and waters managed by the Sec3 retaries for participation in the Pilot Program, 

4 not fewer than 50 of which shall be units man5 aged by the Secretary. 

6 (C) FEEDBACK; SUPPORT OF GATEWAY

7 COMMUNITIES.—The Secretaries shall— 

8 (i) solicit feedback regarding partici9 pation in the Pilot Program from commu10 nities adjacent to units of Federal rec11 reational lands and waters and the public; 

12 and 

13 (ii) in carrying out subparagraphs (A) 

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

15 lands and waters to participate in the Pilot 

16 Program only if the community adjacent to 

17 the unit of Federal recreational lands and 

18 waters is supportive of the participation of 

19 the unit of Federal recreational lands and 

20 waters in the Pilot Program. 

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 (c) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THIRD-PARTY PRO2 VIDERS.—For purposes of carrying out this section, the 

3 Secretary concerned may— 

4 (1) coordinate and partner with— 

5 (A) communities adjacent to units of Fed6 eral recreational lands and waters; 

7 (B) State and local outdoor recreation and 

8 tourism offices; 

9 (C) local governments; 

10 (D) Indian Tribes; 

11 (E) trade associations; 

12 (F) local outdoor recreation marketing or13 ganizations; 

14 (G) permitted facilitated recreation pro15 viders; or 

16 (H) other relevant stakeholders; and 

17 (2) coordinate or enter into agreements, as ap18 propriate, with private sector and nonprofit part19 ners, including— 

20 (A) technology companies; 

21 (B) geospatial data companies; 

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

23 operations research; or 

24 (D) data companies. 


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

2 existing programs or products of the Secretaries to carry 

3 out this section. 

4 (e) PRIVACY CLAUSES.—Nothing in this section pro5 vides authority to the Secretaries— 

6 (1) to monitor or record the movements of a 

7 visitor to a unit of Federal recreational lands and 

8 waters; 

9 (2) to restrict, interfere with, or monitor a pri10 vate communication of a visitor to a unit of Federal 

11 recreational lands and waters; or 

12 (3) to collect— 

13 (A) information from owners of land adja14 cent to a unit of Federal recreational lands and 

15 waters; or 

16 (B) information on non-Federal land. 

17 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2024, and 

18 annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall publish on a 

19 website of the Secretaries a report that describes the an20 nual visitation of each unit of Federal recreational lands 

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

22 visitation categorized by recreational activity. 


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1 SEC. 133. MONITORING FOR IMPROVED RECREATION DECI2 SION MAKING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall seek to cap4 ture comprehensive recreation use data to better under5 stand and inform decision making by the Secretaries. 

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

7 the date of the enactment of this title, and after public 

8 notice and comment, the Secretaries shall establish pilot 

9 protocols at not fewer than 10 land management units 

10 under the jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to model 

11 recreation use patterns (including low-use recreation ac12 tivities and dispersed recreation activities) that may not 

13 be effectively measured by existing general and opportun14 istic survey and monitoring protocols. 

15 Subtitle D—Broadband 

16 Connectivity on Federal Rec17 reational Lands and Waters 

18 SEC. 141. CONNECT OUR PARKS. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON21 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con22 gress’’ means— 

23 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

24 Resources of the Senate; 

25 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

26 and Transportation of the Senate; 


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1 (C) the Committee on Natural Resources 

2 of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives. 

5 (2) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 

6 The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ has 

7 the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 

8 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor reg9 ulation). 

10 (3) CELLULAR SERVICE.—The term ‘‘cellular 

11 service’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 22.99 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 

13 successor regulation). 

14 (4) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘‘National 

15 Park’’ means a unit of the National Park System. 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di18 rector of the National Park Service. 

19 (b) ASSESSMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary 

22 shall complete an assessment of National Parks to 

23 identify— 

24 (A) locations in National Parks in which 

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1 net access service, based on the considerations 

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

3 (B) areas in National Parks in which there 

4 is the greatest need for cellular service, based 

5 on the considerations described in paragraph 

6 (2)(B). 

7 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.— 

8 (A) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERV9 ICE.—For purposes of identifying locations in 

10 National Parks under paragraph (1)(A), the 

11 Secretary shall consider, with respect to each 

12 National Park, the availability of broadband 

13 internet access service in— 

14 (i) housing; 

15 (ii) administrative facilities and re16 lated structures; 

17 (iii) lodging; 

18 (iv) developed campgrounds; and 

19 (v) any other location within the Na20 tional Park in which broadband internet 

21 access service is determined to be nec22 essary by the superintendent of the Na23 tional Park. 

24 (B) CELLULAR SERVICE.—For purposes of 

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1 graph (1)(B), the Secretary shall consider, with 

2 respect to each National Park, the availability 

3 of cellular service in any developed area within 

4 the National Park that would increase— 

5 (i) the access of the public to emer6 gency services and traveler information 

7 technologies; or 

8 (ii) the communications capabilities of 

9 National Park Service employees. 

10 (3) REPORT.—On completion of the assessment 

11 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to 

12 the appropriate committees of Congress, and make 

13 available on the website of the Department of the 

14 Interior, a report describing the results of the as15 sessment. 

16 (c) PLAN.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

18 the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary 

19 shall develop a plan, based on the results of the as20 sessment completed under subsection (b) and subject 

21 to paragraph (4)— 

22 (A) to install broadband internet access 

23 service infrastructure in certain locations in Na24 tional Parks; and 


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1 (B) to install cellular service equipment 

2 and infrastructure in certain areas of National 

3 Parks. 

4 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan 

5 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 

6 with— 

7 (A) affected Indian Tribes; and 

8 (B) local stakeholders that the super9 intendent of the applicable National Park deter10 mines to be appropriate. 

11 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan developed 

12 under paragraph (1) shall— 

13 (A) provide for avoiding or minimizing im14 pacts to— 

15 (i) National Park viewsheds; 

16 (ii) cultural and natural resources; 

17 (iii) the visitor experience; 

18 (iv) other resources or values of the 

19 National Park; and 

20 (v) historic properties and the 

21 viewsheds of historic properties; 

22 (B) provide for infrastructure providing 

23 broadband internet access service or cellular 

24 service to be located in— 


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1 (i) previously disturbed or developed 

2 areas; or 

3 (ii) areas zoned for uses that would 

4 support the infrastructure; 

5 (C) provide for the use of public-private 

6 partnerships— 

7 (i) to install broadband internet ac8 cess service or cellular service equipment; 

9 and 

10 (ii) to provide broadband internet ac11 cess service or cellular service; 

12 (D) be technology neutral; and 

13 (E) in the case of broadband internet ac14 cess service, provide for broadband internet ac15 cess service of at least— 

16 (i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans17 mission capacity; and 

18 (ii) a 20–Mbps upstream transmission 

19 capacity. 

20 (4) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

21 (1), a plan developed under that paragraph shall not 

22 be required to address broadband internet access 

23 service or cellular service in any National Park with 

24 respect to which the superintendent of the National 

25 Park determines that there is adequate access to 


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1 broadband internet access service or cellular service, 

2 as applicable. 

3 SEC. 142. BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AT DE4 VELOPED RECREATION SITES. 

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

6 the Forest Service shall enter into an agreement with the 

7 Secretary of Commerce to foster the installation or con8 struction of broadband internet infrastructure at devel9 oped recreation sites on Federal recreational lands and 

10 waters to establish broadband internet connectivity— 

11 (1) subject to the availability of appropriations; 

12 and 

13 (2) in accordance with applicable law. 

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

15 the date of the enactment of this title, and annually there16 after through fiscal year 2031, the Secretary and the 

17 Chief of the Forest Service, in coordination with States 

18 and local communities, shall make publicly available— 

19 (1) a list of the highest priority developed recre20 ation sites, as determined under subsection (c), on 

21 Federal recreational lands and waters that lack 

22 broadband internet; 

23 (2) an estimate of— 

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

25 with broadband internet infrastructure; and 


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1 (B) the annual cost to operate that infra2 structure; and 

3 (3) a list of potential— 

4 (A) barriers to operating the infrastructure 

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

6 (B) methods to recover the costs of that 

7 operation. 

8 (c) PRIORITIES.—In selecting developed recreation 

9 sites for the list described in subsection (b)(1), the Sec10 retary and the Chief of the Forest Service shall give pri11 ority to developed recreation sites— 

12 (1) at which broadband internet infrastructure 

13 has not been constructed due to— 

14 (A) geographic challenges; or 

15 (B) the location having an insufficient 

16 number of nearby permanent residents, despite 

17 high seasonal or daily visitation levels; or 

18 (2) that are located in an economically dis19 tressed county that could benefit significantly from 

20 developing the outdoor recreation economy of the 

21 county. 


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1 Subtitle E—Public–Private Parks 

2 Partnerships 

3 SEC. 151. LODGING OPTIONS DEVELOPED FOR GOVERN4 MENT EMPLOYEES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 1013 

6 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by amending section 101331 to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘§ 101331. Definitions 

10 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

11 ‘‘(1) FIELD EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘field em12 ployee’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) an employee of the Service who is ex14 clusively assigned by the Service to perform du15 ties at a System unit, and the members of the 

16 employee’s family; 

17 ‘‘(B) an individual performing duties at 

18 the System unit who is employed by a Service 

19 concession, partnership, educational, or con20 servation organization, whose work supports the 

21 mission of the System unit, and the members of 

22 the individual’s family; 

23 ‘‘(C) an individual who is authorized to oc24 cupy Federal Government quarters under sec25 tion 5911 of title 5 in the vicinity of the System 


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1 unit, including individuals who are employees of 

2 other Federal agencies, and the members of the 

3 individual’s family; or 

4 ‘‘(D) an employee of the Federal Govern5 ment who is— 

6 ‘‘(i) eligible to live in government 

7 housing; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) not an employee of the Service. 

9 ‘‘(2) FUNDAMENTAL RESOURCES.—The term 

10 ‘fundamental resources’ means resources essential to 

11 achieving the purposes of the System unit and main12 taining its significance, as identified by the agency 

13 in planning documents, including Foundation Docu14 ments. 

15 ‘‘(3) HOUSING ACCOMMODATION PROJECT.— 

16 The term ‘housing accommodation project’ means a 

17 project for the development, construction, rehabilita18 tion, repair, maintenance, operation, or management 

19 of housing accommodations, including related facili20 ties and infrastructure, pursuant to an agreement 

21 entered into under section 101334. 

22 ‘‘(4) HOUSING PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 

23 The term ‘housing partnership agreement’ means an 

24 agreement for a housing accommodation project en25 tered into under section 101334. 


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1 ‘‘(5) HOUSING UNITS.—The term ‘housing 

2 units’ means housing units occupied by members of 

3 the public in housing accommodations developed or 

4 leased on non-Federal lands under this subchapter. 

5 ‘‘(6) MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC.—The term 

6 ‘member of the public’ means an individual, and the 

7 members of the individual’s family, who is not a 

8 Federal Government employee. 

9 ‘‘(7) PRIMARY RESOURCE VALUES.—The term 

10 ‘primary resource values’ means resources that are 

11 specifically mentioned in the enabling legislation for 

12 that field unit or other resource value recognized 

13 under Federal statute. 

14 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘public lands’ 

15 means lands under the administrative jurisdiction of 

16 the Federal Government. 

17 ‘‘(9) QUARTERS.—The term ‘quarters’ means 

18 quarters occupied by field employees and are, for 

19 such purpose— 

20 ‘‘(A) provided by the Federal Government; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(B) developed or leased by the Federal 

23 Government in accordance with a housing part24 nership agreement, lease, or contract under this 

25 subchapter.’’; 


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1 (2) in section 101332— 

2 (A) in subsection (a)(2), by— 

3 (i) striking ‘‘rates’’ and inserting ‘‘af4 fordable rates’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, unless otherwise 

6 authorized,’’ after ‘‘based’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (c)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘under the adminis9 trative jurisdiction of the Service’’ after 

10 ‘‘any land’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or fundamental re12 sources’’ after ‘‘primary resource value’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, un15 less otherwise authorized,’’ after ‘‘that are 

16 based’’; 

17 (3) in section 101333, by inserting ‘‘or afford18 ability’’ after ‘‘lack of availability’’; 

19 (4) by amending section 101334 to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘§ 101334. Authorization for housing accommodation 

22 projects 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, pursuant to 

24 the authorities contained in this subchapter and subject 

25 to the appropriation of necessary funds in advance, enter 


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1 into housing partnership agreements with other Federal 

2 agencies, State or local governments, Tribal Governments, 

3 housing entities, or other public or private organizations, 

4 for the purposes of facilitating housing accommodation 

5 projects for rent to field employees and members of the 

6 public— 

7 ‘‘(1) on public lands, including System units; 

8 ‘‘(2) off public lands in the vicinity of System 

9 units; or 

10 ‘‘(3) a combination of public lands described in 

11 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

12 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL PARK LANDS.—For any hous14 ing partnership agreements for housing accommoda15 tion projects on lands under the administrative juris16 diction of the Service, the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) ensure the housing accommodation 

18 project and the use thereof are in conformity 

19 with the approved plans, including housing 

20 management plans, for the System unit and Di21 rector’s Orders and reference manuals related 

22 to Service housing; 

23 ‘‘(B) ensure that the location of the hous24 ing accommodation project will avoid degrada25 tion to the primary resource values and fundaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 mental resources within the System unit, and 

2 will not adversely affect the mission of the Serv3 ice; 

4 ‘‘(C) ensure the entities responsible for the 

5 housing accommodation project comply with ap6 plicable law and policies, including the provi7 sions of this subchapter; 

8 ‘‘(D) identify the funding to be used in 

9 performing the housing accommodation project; 

10 ‘‘(E) provide standards that must be met, 

11 as applicable, to ensure that the housing accom12 modation project, including related facilities 

13 and infrastructure, is kept in good condition 

14 and repair; and 

15 ‘‘(F) ensure that the agreements include 

16 any other terms and conditions the Secretary 

17 may consider advisable to protect the interests 

18 of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(2) OTHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LANDS.—For 

20 any housing partnership agreements for housing ac21 commodation projects on other public or private 

22 lands located in the vicinity of the relevant System 

23 unit and not under the administrative jurisdiction of 

24 the Service, the Secretary shall ensure the agree25 ments— 


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1 ‘‘(A) have received the approval of each ap2 propriate State or local government, Tribal 

3 Government, or other public or private entity 

4 involved; 

5 ‘‘(B) identify both the Federal and non6 Federal funding to be used in completing the 

7 housing and related facilities; and 

8 ‘‘(C) include any other terms and condi9 tions the Secretary may consider advisable to 

10 protect the interests of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(c) HOUSING OCCUPANCY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may allow 

13 field employees and members of the public to occupy 

14 and lease housing accommodation project quarters. 

15 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—Members of the public oc16 cupying quarters shall be subject to the same laws 

17 and policies with which field employees are required 

18 to comply, as applicable. 

19 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—Field employees and mem20 bers of the public shall be prohibited from subleasing 

21 housing units or quarters developed or leased in ac22 cordance with a housing partnership agreement 

23 under this section, including all forms of short-term 

24 rentals. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PREFERENCE.—To the maximum extent 

2 practicable, priority for occupancy in project quar3 ters shall be given to field employees. 

4 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTING PROCEDURES.—Each housing 

5 partnership agreement awarded pursuant to this section 

6 shall be awarded through the use of publicly advertised, 

7 competitively bid, or competitively negotiated procedures, 

8 unless the Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(1) determines that it is in the public interest 

10 to use procedures other than competitive procedures 

11 with respect to the particular housing partnership 

12 agreement concerned; and 

13 ‘‘(2) notifies, in writing, the Committee on En14 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

15 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

16 Representatives of such determinations and the ra17 tionale for such determination. 

18 ‘‘(e) RENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION.—The Secretary may collect, 

20 or may authorize entities who have entered into 

21 partnership housing agreements under this section 

22 to collect, rents directly from field employees and 

23 members of the public occupying housing units or 

24 quarters. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RATES.—For field employees, rent col2 lected under this subsection may not exceed the 

3 rates determined pursuant to guidance in the docu4 ment entitled ‘Circular No. A–45 Revised’ and dated 

5 November 25, 2019 (or subsequent guidance). 

6 ‘‘(f) EXPIRATION OF AGREEMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) WITHIN SYSTEM UNITS.—The Secretary 

8 may allow long-term leases or term-limited owner9 ship of housing units or quarters on public lands, as 

10 appropriate, to facilitate the ability of an entity with 

11 whom a housing partnership agreement has been en12 tered into under subsection (b) to secure financing. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXPIRATION OF TERM ON PUBLIC

14 LANDS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon expiration of a 

16 term of ownership under paragraph (1), the 

17 Secretary may— 

18 ‘‘(i) renew the housing partnership 

19 agreement for terms not to exceed 10 

20 years; 

21 ‘‘(ii) require the entity with whom a 

22 housing partnership agreement has been 

23 entered into under subsection (a) to demol24 ish the housing accommodations and re25 lated facilities and infrastructure, and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 store the land to conditions generally exist2 ing before construction on the lands upon 

3 which the housing accommodation project 

4 is located without any cost to the Federal 

5 Government; 

6 ‘‘(iii) take ownership of the housing 

7 accommodations and related facilities and 

8 infrastructure, including fixtures and per9 sonal property necessary for the operation 

10 of the property; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) enter into a new housing part12 nership agreement. 

13 ‘‘(B) COVERING COSTS.—If taking owner14 ship of buildings under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

15 the Secretary may require the owner whose 

16 term of ownership is expiring to cover costs as17 sociated with preparing the building site for 

18 new or continued use. 

19 ‘‘(3) ON NON-FEDERAL LANDS.—Upon expira20 tion of a housing partnership agreement for housing 

21 accommodations on non-Federal lands, the Secretary 

22 may extend the housing partnership agreement for 

23 terms not to exceed 10 years.’’; 

24 (5) in section 101335— 

25 (A) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

2 ‘‘50’’ and inserting ‘‘60’’; 

3 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘procedures.’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘procedures, unless—’’; and 

6 (II) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) the lease is awarded to a nonprofit or 

9 government entity; or 

10 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that it is in 

11 the public interest to use procedures other than 

12 competitive procedures in the particular lease 

13 concerned and notifies, in writing, the Com14 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

15 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re16 sources of the House of Representatives of such 

17 determination and the rationale for such deter18 mination.’’; and 

19 (iii) in paragraph (3)(D), by inserting 

20 ‘‘, affordability,’’ after ‘‘improve the qual21 ity’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (b)— 

23 (i) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 

24 and 


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1 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any arrange4 ment made pursuant to this subsection shall contain 

5 such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers 

6 necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of 

7 the United States and ensure that necessary quar8 ters are available to field employees.’’; and 

9 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

10 paragraph (3); 

11 (6) in section 101336, by inserting ‘‘rehabilita12 tion,’’ after ‘‘repair,’’; 

13 (7) by amending section 101338 to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘§ 101338. General provisions 

16 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTIONS.—The following provisions shall 

17 not apply to lease contracts, or housing partnership agree18 ments, awarded by the Secretary under this subchapter: 

19 ‘‘(1) Sections 102102 and 102901 of this title. 

20 ‘‘(2) Section 1302 of title 40. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROCEEDS FROM LEASES.—The proceeds from 

22 any lease or housing partnership agreement under this 

23 subchapter from which the Service directly collects the 

24 proceeds shall be retained by the Service and deposited 

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1 habilitation, and operations of housing units and quarters 

2 and associated facilities and infrastructure.’’; and 

3 (8) in section 101340— 

4 (A) by amending subsection (a), by strik5 ing ‘‘, in sequential order,’’; and 

6 (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL BUDGET SUBMITTAL.—Each fiscal 

9 year, the President’s proposed budget to Congress shall 

10 include— 

11 ‘‘(1) identification of nonconstruction funds to 

12 be spent for Service housing maintenance and oper13 ations that are in addition to rental receipts col14 lected; 

15 ‘‘(2) the use of each of the authorities provided 

16 to the Service under this subchapter; 

17 ‘‘(3) the number of additional housing units 

18 needed within the National Park System; 

19 ‘‘(4) any barriers that have been identified to 

20 providing the needed housing; and 

21 ‘‘(5) any recommendations for changes to exist22 ing authorities that would help to remove those bar23 riers.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 1013 of title 54, United States Code, is 

3 amended as follows: 

4 (1) By striking the item related to section 

5 101334 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 101334. Authorization for housing accommodation projects’’. 

6 (2) By striking the item related to section 

7 101338 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 101338. General provisions’’. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION FOR LEASE OF FOREST SERV9 ICE SITES.—Section 8623 of the Agriculture Improvement 

10 Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 580d note; Public Law 115–334) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘dwell13 ing;’’ and inserting ‘‘dwelling or multiunit dwell14 ing;’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (e)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)— 

17 (i) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘such 

18 as housing,’’ after ‘‘improvements,’’; 

19 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (iii) in subclause (III), by striking 

22 ‘‘or’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

23 (iv) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(IV) services occurring off of 

2 the administrative site— 

3 ‘‘(aa) that— 

4 ‘‘(AA) occur on the unit 

5 of the National Forest Sys6 tem in which the administra7 tive site is located; or 

8 ‘‘(BB) benefit the Na9 tional Forest System; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) that support activities 

11 occurring within the unit of the 

12 National Forest System in which 

13 the administrative site is located; 

14 or’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(6) LEASE TERM.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term of a lease of 

18 an administrative site under this section shall 

19 be not more than 100 years. 

20 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—A lease of an adminis21 trative site under this section shall include a 

22 provision for renewal of the lease if the use of 

23 the administrative site, at the time of renewal, 

24 is in accordance with this section.’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

3 SEC. 152. PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS CREATING TAN4 GIBLE SAVINGS. 

5 Section 101703 of title 54, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘agreement with a State or 

9 local government agency to provide for the co10 operative management of the Federal and State 

11 or local park areas where a System unit is lo12 cated adjacent to or near a State or local park 

13 area, and’’ and inserting ‘‘agreement with a 

14 State or local agency, Tribal Government, pub15 lic university, public utility, or quasi-govern16 mental entity to provide for the cooperative 

17 management of Federal, State, local, or Tribal 

18 park areas where’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘between the Service and 

20 a State or local government agency of a portion 

21 of either the System unit or State or local park 

22 will allow for more effective and efficient man23 agement of the System unit and State or local 

24 park’’ and inserting ‘‘between the Service and a 

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1 lic university, public utility, or quasi-govern2 mental entity of a portion of either the System 

3 unit or State, local, Tribal, or quasi-govern4 mental entity land will allow for more effective 

5 and efficient management of such System unit 

6 or such land’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘provide to a 

8 State’’ and all that follows through ‘‘land’’ and in9 serting ‘‘provide to a State or local agency, Tribal 

10 Government, public university, public utility, or 

11 quasi-governmental entity goods and services to be 

12 used by the Secretary and the State or local agency, 

13 Tribal Government, public university, public utility, 

14 or quasi-governmental entity in the cooperative man15 agement of lands and waters’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (c)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘a Federal, State, or local 

18 employee for work on any Federal, State, or 

19 local’’ and inserting ‘‘an employee of a Federal, 

20 State, or local agency, Tribal Government, pub21 lic university, public utility, or quasi-govern22 mental entity, for work on any Federal, State, 

23 local, Tribal, or quasi-governmental entity’’; 

24 and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘by the Secretary and the 

2 State or local agency’’ and inserting ‘‘by the 

3 Secretary and the State or local agency, Tribal 

4 Government, public university, public utility, or 

5 quasi-governmental entity’’. 

6 SEC. 153. PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS TO MODERNIZE 

7 FEDERALLY OWNED CAMPGROUNDS, RE8 SORTS, CABINS, AND VISITOR CENTERS ON 

9 FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 

10 WATERS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

13 activity’’ means— 

14 (A) a capital improvement, including the 

15 construction, reconstruction, and nonroutine 

16 maintenance of any structure, infrastructure, or 

17 improvement, relating to the operation of, or 

18 access to, a covered recreation facility; and 

19 (B) any activity necessary to operate or 

20 maintain a covered recreation facility. 

21 (2) COVERED RECREATION FACILITY.—The 

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

23 owned campground, resort, cabin, or visitor center 

24 that is— 


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1 (A) in existence on the date of the enact2 ment of this title; and 

3 (B) located on Federal recreational lands 

4 and waters administered by— 

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

6 (ii) the Director of the Bureau of 

7 Land Management. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) a unit of State, Tribal, or local govern11 ment; 

12 (B) a nonprofit organization; and 

13 (C) a private entity. 

14 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretaries shall estab15 lish a pilot program under which the Secretary concerned 

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

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

18 eligible entity to carry out covered activities relating to 

19 a covered recreation facility, subject to the requirements 

20 of this section and the terms of any relevant land use au21 thorization, regardless of whether the eligible entity holds, 

22 on the date of the enactment of this title, an authorization 

23 to be a concessionaire for the covered recreation facility. 

24 (c) MINIMUM NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS OR LAND

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


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1 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary con2 cerned, with the consent of each affected holder of an au3 thorization to be a concessionaire for a covered recreation 

4 facility, if applicable, shall enter into at least 1 agreement 

5 or land use authorization under subsection (b) in— 

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

7 each region of the National Forest System; and 

8 (2) Federal recreational lands and waters ad9 ministered by the Director of the Bureau of Land 

10 Management in not fewer than 5 States in which the 

11 Bureau of Land Management administers Federal 

12 recreational lands and waters. 

13 (d) REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Before entering 

15 into an agreement or issuing a land use authoriza16 tion under subsection (b), an eligible entity shall 

17 submit to the Secretary concerned a development 

18 plan that— 

19 (A) describes investments in the covered 

20 recreation facility to be made by the eligible en21 tity during the first 3 years of the agreement 

22 or land use authorization; 

23 (B) describes annual maintenance spend24 ing for each year of the agreement or land use 

25 authorization; and 


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1 (C) includes any other terms and condi2 tions determined to be necessary or appropriate 

3 by the Secretary concerned. 

4 (2) AGREEMENTS AND LAND USE AUTHORIZA5 TIONS.—An agreement or land use authorization 

6 under subsection (b) shall— 

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

8 years, commensurate with the level of invest9 ment; 

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

11 after the date on which the Secretary concerned 

12 enters into the agreement or issues or amends 

13 the land use authorization, the applicable eligi14 ble entity shall expend, place in an escrow ac15 count for the eligible entity to expend, or de16 posit in a special account in the Treasury for 

17 expenditure by the Secretary concerned, without 

18 further appropriation, for covered activities re19 lating to the applicable covered recreation facil20 ity, an amount or specified percentage, as de21 termined by the Secretary concerned, which 

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

23 the anticipated receipts for the term of the 

24 agreement or land use authorization; 


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1 (C) require the eligible entity to operate 

2 and maintain the covered recreation facility and 

3 any associated infrastructure designated by the 

4 Secretary concerned in a manner acceptable to 

5 the Secretary concerned and the eligible entity; 

6 (D) include any terms and conditions that 

7 the Secretary concerned determines to be nec8 essary for a special use permit issued under 

9 section 7 of the Act of April 24, 1950 (com10 monly known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye Act’’) (64 

11 Stat. 84, chapter 97; 16 U.S.C. 580d), includ12 ing the payment described in subparagraph (E) 

13 or the Federal Land Policy and Management 

14 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as appli15 cable; 

16 (E) provide for payment to the Federal 

17 Government of a fee or a sharing of revenue— 

18 (i) consistent with— 

19 (I) the land use fee for a special 

20 use permit authorized under section 7 

21 of the Act of April 24, 1950 (com22 monly known as the ‘‘Granger-Thye 

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

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


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1 (II) the value to the eligible enti2 ty of the rights provided by the agree3 ment or land use authorization, taking 

4 into account the capital invested by, 

5 and obligations of, the eligible entity 

6 under the agreement or land use au7 thorization; and 

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

9 by the work to be performed at the ex10 pense of the eligible entity that is separate 

11 from the routine costs of operating and 

12 maintaining the applicable covered recre13 ation facility and any associated infrastruc14 ture designated by the Secretary con15 cerned, as determined to be appropriate by 

16 the Secretary concerned; 

17 (F) include provisions stating that— 

18 (i) the eligible entity shall obtain no 

19 property interest in the covered recreation 

20 facility pursuant to the expenditures of the 

21 eligible entity, as required by the agree22 ment or land use authorization; 

23 (ii) all structures and other improve24 ments constructed, reconstructed, or non25 routinely maintained by that entity under 


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1 the agreement or land use authorization on 

2 land owned by the United States shall be 

3 the property of the United States; and 

4 (iii) the eligible entity shall be solely 

5 responsible for any cost associated with the 

6 decommissioning or removal of a capital 

7 improvement, if needed, at the conclusion 

8 of the agreement or land use authorization; 

9 and 

10 (G) be subject to any other terms and con11 ditions determined to be necessary or appro12 priate by the Secretary concerned. 

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

14 paid or revenue shared with the Secretary concerned 

15 under an agreement or land use authorization under this 

16 section shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary 

17 concerned for recreation-related purposes on the unit of 

18 Federal recreational lands and waters at which the land 

19 use fee or revenue is collected, without further appropria20 tion. 

21 SEC. 154. PARKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL REC22 REATIONAL LANDS AND WATERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall seek to in24 crease parking opportunities for persons recreating on 

25 Federal recreational lands and waters— 


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1 (1) in accordance with existing laws and appli2 cable land use plans; 

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

4 maintenance obligations on Federal recreational 

5 lands and waters; and 

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

7 habitat that is critical to the mission of a Federal 

8 agency responsible for managing Federal rec9 reational lands and waters. 

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

11 parking spaces available at units of Federal recreational 

12 lands and waters on the date of the enactment of this title, 

13 the Secretaries may— 

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

15 parking opportunities on non-Federal land; 

16 (2) lease non-Federal land for parking opportu17 nities; or 

18 (3) provide alternative transportation systems 

19 for a unit of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

20 SEC. 155. PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECTS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.—The term 

23 ‘‘independent evaluator’’ means an individual or en24 tity, including an institution of higher education, 

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1 ficiary and pay-for-performance investor, as applica2 ble, or by the pay-for-performance project developer, 

3 in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to 

4 make the determinations and prepare the reports re5 quired under subsection (e). 

6 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The 

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

8 the National Forest System (as defined in section 

9 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re10 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))). 

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

12 term ‘‘pay-for-performance agreement’’ means a mu13 tual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 

14 contract, grant agreement, or cooperative agreement 

15 described in chapter 63 of title 31, United States 

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

17 (A) with a term of— 

18 (i) not less than 1 year; and 

19 (ii) not more than 20 years; and 

20 (B) that is executed, in accordance with 

21 applicable law, by— 

22 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

23 (ii) a pay-for-performance beneficiary 

24 or pay-for-performance project developer. 


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

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

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

4 nonprofit or for-profit organization that— 

5 (A) repays capital loaned upfront by a pay6 for-performance investor, based on a project 

7 outcome specified in a pay-for-performance 

8 agreement; or 

9 (B) provides capital directly for costs asso10 ciated with a pay-for-performance project. 

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

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

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

14 or for-profit organization that provides upfront 

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

16 the expectation of a financial return dependent on a 

17 project outcome. 

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

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

20 that— 

21 (A) would provide or enhance a rec22 reational opportunity; 

23 (B) is conducted on— 

24 (i) National Forest System land; or 


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1 (ii) other land, if the activities would 

2 benefit National Forest System land (in3 cluding a recreational use of National For4 est System land); and 

5 (C) would use an innovative funding or fi6 nancing model that leverages— 

7 (i) loaned capital from a pay-for-per8 formance investor to cover upfront costs 

9 associated with a pay-for-performance 

10 project, with the loaned capital repaid by a 

11 pay-for-performance beneficiary at a rate 

12 of return dependent on a project outcome, 

13 as measured by an independent evaluator; 

14 or 

15 (ii) capital directly from a pay-for-per16 formance beneficiary to support costs asso17 ciated with a pay-for-performance project 

18 in an amount based on an anticipated 

19 project outcome. 

20 (7) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECT DEVEL21 OPER.—The term ‘‘pay-for-performance project de22 veloper’’ means a nonprofit or for-profit organization 

23 that serves as an intermediary to assist in devel24 oping or implementing a pay-for-performance agree25 ment or a pay-for-performance project. 


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

2 outcome’’ means a measurable, beneficial result 

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

4 attributable to a pay-for-performance project and de5 scribed in a pay-for-performance agreement. 

6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The Sec7 retary of Agriculture shall establish a pilot program in ac8 cordance with this section to carry out 1 or more pay9 for-performance projects. 

10 (c) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECTS.— 

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

12 through a pay-for-performance agreement or appro13 priations, all or any portion of a pay-for-perform14 ance project may be implemented by— 

15 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; or 

16 (B) a pay-for-performance project devel17 oper or a third party, subject to the conditions 

18 that— 

19 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

20 approve the implementation by the pay-for21 performance project developer or third 

22 party; and 

23 (ii) the implementation is in accord24 ance with applicable law. 


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1 (2) RELATION TO LAND MANAGEMENT

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

3 under this section shall be consistent with any appli4 cable land management plan developed under section 

5 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

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

7 (3) OWNERSHIP.— 

8 (A) NEW IMPROVEMENTS.—The United 

9 States shall have title to any improvements in10 stalled on National Forest System land as part 

11 of a pay-for-performance project. 

12 (B) EXISTING IMPROVEMENTS.—Investing 

13 in, conducting, or completing a pay-for-perform14 ance project on National Forest System land 

15 shall not affect the title of the United States 

16 to— 

17 (i) any federally owned improvements 

18 involved in the pay-for-performance 

19 project; or 

20 (ii) the underlying land. 

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

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

23 provide any right to any party to a pay-for-perform24 ance agreement. 


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1 (5) POTENTIAL CONFLICTS.—Before approving 

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

3 Secretary of Agriculture shall consider and seek to 

4 avoid potential conflicts (including economic com5 petition) with any existing written authorized use. 

6 (d) PROJECT AGREEMENTS.— 

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

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

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

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

11 out the pilot program under this section, the Sec12 retary of Agriculture may enter into a pay-for-per13 formance agreement under which a pay-for-perform14 ance beneficiary, pay-for-performance investor, or 

15 pay-for-performance project developer agrees to pay 

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

17 project. 

18 (2) SIZE LIMITATION.—The Secretary of Agri19 culture may not enter into a pay-for-performance 

20 agreement under the pilot program under this sec21 tion for a pay-for-performance project valued at 

22 more than $15,000,000. 

23 (3) FINANCING.— 

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

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1 for-performance beneficiary or a pay-for-per2 formance project developer agrees to pay to a 

3 pay-for-performance investor or a pay-for-per4 formance project developer, as appropriate, in 

5 the event of an independent evaluator deter6 mining pursuant to subsection (e) the degree to 

7 which a project outcome has been achieved. 

8 (B) ELIGIBLE PAYMENTS.—An amount de9 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be— 

10 (i) based on— 

11 (I) the respective contributions of 

12 the parties under the pay-for-perform13 ance agreement; and 

14 (II) the economic, environmental, 

15 or social benefits derived from the 

16 project outcomes; and 

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

18 value of a project outcome; 

19 (II) a percentage of the estimated cost 

20 savings to the pay-for-performance bene21 ficiary or the Secretary of Agriculture de22 rived from a project outcome; 

23 (III) a percentage of the enhanced 

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1 ficiary or the Secretary of Agriculture de2 rived from a project outcome; or 

3 (IV) a percentage of the cost of the 

4 pay-for-performance project. 

5 (C) FOREST SERVICE FINANCIAL ASSIST6 ANCE.—Subject to the availability of appropria7 tions, the Secretary of Agriculture may only 

8 contribute funding for a pay-for-performance 

9 project if— 

10 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture dem11 onstrates that— 

12 (I) the pay-for-performance 

13 project will provide a cost savings to 

14 the United States; or 

15 (II) the funding would accelerate 

16 the pace of implementation of an ac17 tivity previously planned to be com18 pleted by the Secretary of Agriculture; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the contribution of the Secretary 

21 of Agriculture has a value that is not more 

22 than 50 percent of the total cost of the 

23 pay-for-performance project. 


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1 (D) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Any funds re2 ceived by the Secretary of Agriculture under 

3 subsection (c)(1)— 

4 (i) shall be retained in a separate 

5 fund in the Treasury to be used solely for 

6 pay-for-performance projects; and 

7 (ii) shall remain available until ex8 pended and without further appropriation. 

9 (4) MAINTENANCE AND DECOMMISSIONING OF

10 PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE PROJECT IMPROVE11 MENTS.—A pay-for-performance agreement shall— 

12 (A) include a plan for maintaining any 

13 capital improvement constructed as part of a 

14 pay-for-performance project after the date on 

15 which the pay-for-performance project is com16 pleted; and 

17 (B) specify the party that will be respon18 sible for decommissioning the improvements as19 sociated with the pay-for-performance project— 

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

21 improvements; 

22 (ii) if the improvements no longer 

23 serve the purpose for which the improve24 ments were developed; or 


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

2 fails. 

3 (5) TERMINATION OF PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE

4 PROJECT AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of Agri5 culture may unilaterally terminate a pay-for-per6 formance agreement, in whole or in part, for any 

7 program year beginning after the program year dur8 ing which the Secretary of Agriculture provides to 

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

10 notice of the termination. 

11 (e) INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS.— 

12 (1) PROGRESS REPORTS.—An independent eval13 uator shall submit to the Secretary of Agriculture 

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

15 agreement— 

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

17 date on which the pay-for-performance agree18 ment is executed, and at least once every 2 

19 years thereafter, a written report that summa20 rizes the progress that has been made in achiev21 ing each project outcome; and 

22 (B) before the first scheduled date for a 

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

24 each subsequent date for payment, a written re25 port that— 


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1 (i) summarizes the results of the eval2 uation conducted by the independent eval3 uator to determine whether a payment 

4 should be made pursuant to the pay-for5 performance agreement; and 

6 (ii) analyzes the reasons why a project 

7 outcome was achieved or was not achieved. 

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

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

10 project is completed, the independent evaluator shall 

11 submit to the Secretary of Agriculture and each 

12 party to the pay-for-performance agreement a writ13 ten report that includes, with respect to the period 

14 covered by the report— 

15 (A) an evaluation of the effects of the pay16 for-performance project with respect to each 

17 project outcome; 

18 (B) a determination of whether the pay19 for-performance project has met each project 

20 outcome; and 

21 (C) the amount of the payments made for 

22 the pay-for-performance project pursuant to 

23 subsection (d)(3)(A). 

24 (f) ADDITIONAL FOREST SERVICE-PROVIDED AS25 SISTANCE.— 


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1 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

2 Agriculture may provide technical assistance to fa3 cilitate pay-for-performance project development, 

4 such as planning, permitting, site preparation, and 

5 design work. 

6 (2) CONSULTANTS.—Subject to the availability 

7 of appropriations, the Secretary of Agriculture may 

8 hire a contractor— 

9 (A) to conduct a feasibility analysis of a 

10 proposed pay-for-performance project; 

11 (B) to assist in the development, imple12 mentation, or evaluation of a proposed pay-for13 performance project or a pay-for-performance 

14 agreement; or 

15 (C) to assist with an environmental anal16 ysis of a proposed pay-for-performance project. 

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

18 shall approve a record of decision, decision notice, or deci19 sion memo for any activities to be carried out on National 

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

21 project before the Secretary of Agriculture may enter into 

22 a pay-for-performance agreement involving the applicable 

23 pay-for-performance project. 

24 (h) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 


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

2 pay-for-performance agreement under this section 

3 terminates on the date that is 7 years after the date 

4 of the enactment of this title. 

5 (2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in paragraph 

6 (1) affects any pay-for-performance project agree7 ment entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture 

8 under this section before the date described in that 

9 paragraph. 

10 SEC. 156. OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGACY PARTNERSHIP 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti14 ty’’ means an entity or combination of entities that 

15 represents or otherwise serves a qualifying area. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘eligible nonprofit organization’’ means an or18 ganization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt 

20 from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 

21 (3) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means— 

22 (A) a State; 

23 (B) a political subdivision of a State, in24 cluding— 

25 (i) a city; 


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1 (ii) a county; and 

2 (iii) a special purpose district that 

3 manages open space, including a park dis4 trict; and 

5 (C) an Indian Tribe, urban Indian organi6 zation, or Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 

7 community or organization. 

8 (4) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low9 income community’’ has the same meaning given 

10 that term in 26 U.S.C. 45D(e)(1). 

11 (5) OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGACY PARTNER12 SHIP PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Outdoor Recreation 

13 Legacy Partnership Program’’ means the program 

14 codified under subsection (b)(1). 

15 (6) QUALIFYING AREA.—The term ‘‘qualifying 

16 area’’ means— 

17 (A) an urbanized area or urban cluster 

18 that has a population of 25,000 or more in the 

19 most recent census; 

20 (B) 2 or more adjacent urban clusters with 

21 a combined population of 25,000 or more in the 

22 most recent census; or 

23 (C) an area administered by an Indian 

24 Tribe or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 

25 community organization. 


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1 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

3 each territory of the United States. 

4 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) CODIFICATION OF PROGRAM.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

7 existing program, to be known as the ‘‘Outdoor 

8 Recreation Legacy Partnership Program’’, 

9 under which the Secretary may award grants to 

10 eligible entities for projects— 

11 (i) to acquire land and water for 

12 parks and other outdoor recreation pur13 poses in qualifying areas; and 

14 (ii) to develop new or renovate exist15 ing outdoor recreation facilities that pro16 vide outdoor recreation opportunities to the 

17 public in qualifying areas. 

18 (B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants to eli19 gible entities under subparagraph (A), the Sec20 retary shall give priority to projects that— 

21 (i) create or significantly enhance ac22 cess to park and recreational opportunities 

23 in a qualifying area; 

24 (ii) engage and empower low-income 

25 communities and youth; 


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1 (iii) provide employment or job train2 ing opportunities for youth or low-income 

3 communities; 

4 (iv) establish or expand public-private 

5 partnerships, with a focus on leveraging re6 sources; and 

7 (v) take advantage of coordination 

8 among various levels of government. 

9 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re11 ceiving a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible 

12 entity shall provide matching funds in the form 

13 of cash or an in-kind contribution in an amount 

14 equal to not less than 100 percent of the 

15 amounts made available under the grant. 

16 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not 

17 more than 7 percent of funds provided to an eli18 gible entity under a grant awarded under para19 graph (1) may be used for administrative ex20 penses. 

21 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants to 

22 eligible entities under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

23 shall consider the extent to which a project would— 


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1 (A) provide recreation opportunities in low2 income communities in which access to parks is 

3 not adequate to meet local needs; 

4 (B) provide opportunities for outdoor 

5 recreation and public land volunteerism; 

6 (C) support innovative or cost-effective 

7 ways to enhance parks and other recreation— 

8 (i) opportunities; or 

9 (ii) delivery of services; 

10 (D) support park and recreation program11 ming provided by local governments, including 

12 cooperative agreements with community-based 

13 eligible nonprofit organizations; 

14 (E) develop Native American event sites 

15 and cultural gathering spaces; 

16 (F) provide benefits such as community re17 silience, reduction of urban heat islands, en18 hanced water or air quality, or habitat for fish 

19 or wildlife; and 

20 (G) facilitate any combination of purposes 

21 listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F). 

22 (4) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), an eligible entity may use a grant 

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of that 

2 paragraph. 

3 (B) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—An eligible en4 tity may not use grant funds for— 

5 (i) incidental costs related to land ac6 quisition, including appraisal and titling; 

7 (ii) operation and maintenance activi8 ties; 

9 (iii) facilities that support 

10 semiprofessional or professional athletics; 

11 (iv) indoor facilities, such as recre12 ation centers or facilities that support pri13 marily nonoutdoor purposes; or 

14 (v) acquisition of land or interests in 

15 land that restrict public access. 

16 (c) REVIEW AND EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS.—In 

17 carrying out the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership 

18 Program, the Secretary shall— 

19 (1) conduct an initial screening and technical 

20 review of applications received; 

21 (2) evaluate and score all qualifying applica22 tions; and 

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1 income communities and eligible entities serving low2 income communities) on— 

3 (A) the opportunity to apply for grants 

4 under this section; 

5 (B) the application procedures by which el6 igible entities may apply for grants under this 

7 section; and 

8 (C) eligible uses for grants under this sec9 tion. 

10 (d) REPORTING.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days 

12 after the last day of each report period, each State13 lead agency that receives a grant under this section 

14 shall annually submit to the Secretary performance 

15 and financial reports that— 

16 (A) summarize project activities conducted 

17 during the report period; and 

18 (B) provide the status of the project. 

19 (2) FINAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the earlier of the date of expiration of a project 

21 period or the completion of a project, each State22 lead agency that receives a grant under this section 

23 shall submit to the Secretary a final report con24 taining such information as the Secretary may re25 quire. 


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1 TITLE II—ACCESS AMERICA 

2 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this title: 

4 (1) ACCESSIBLE TRAIL.—The term ‘‘accessible 

5 trail’’ means a trail that meets the requirements for 

6 a trail under the Architectural Barriers Act accessi7 bility guidelines. 

8 (2) ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT ACCESSI9 BILITY GUIDELINES.—The term ‘‘Architectural Bar10 riers Act accessibility guidelines’’ means the accessi11 bility guidelines set forth in appendices C and D to 

12 part 1191 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations 

13 (or successor regulations). 

14 (3) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘as15 sistive technology’’ means any item, piece of equip16 ment, or product system, whether acquired commer17 cially, modified, or customized, that is used to in18 crease, maintain, or improve functional capabilities 

19 of individuals with disabilities, particularly with par20 ticipating in outdoor recreation activities. 

21 (4) GOLD STAR FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

22 ‘‘Gold Star Family member’’ means an individual 

23 described in section 3.3 of Department of Defense 

24 Instruction 1348.36. 


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1 (5) OUTDOOR CONSTRUCTED FEATURE.—The 

2 term ‘‘outdoor constructed feature’’ has the meaning 

3 given such term in appendix C to part 1191 of title 

4 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu5 lations). 

6 (6) VETERANS ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘vet7 erans organization’’ means a service provider with 

8 outdoor recreation experience that serves members 

9 of the Armed Forces, veterans, or Gold Star Family 

10 members. 

11 Subtitle A—Access for People With 

12 Disabilities 

13 SEC. 211. ACCESSIBLE RECREATION INVENTORY. 

14 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

15 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary concerned 

16 shall— 

17 (1) carry out a comprehensive assessment of 

18 outdoor recreation facilities on Federal recreational 

19 lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the re20 spective Secretary concerned to determine the acces21 sibility of such outdoor recreation facilities, con22 sistent with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 

23 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.), including— 

24 (A) camp shelters, camping facilities, and 

25 camping units; 


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1 (B) boat launch ramps; 

2 (C) hunting, fishing, shooting, or archery 

3 ranges or locations; 

4 (D) outdoor constructed features; 

5 (E) picnic facilities and picnic units; and 

6 (F) any other outdoor recreation facilities, 

7 as determined by the Secretary concerned; and 

8 (2) make information about such opportunities 

9 available (including through the use of prominently 

10 displayed links) on public websites of— 

11 (A) each of the Federal land management 

12 agencies; and 

13 (B) each relevant unit and subunit of the 

14 Federal land management agencies. 

15 (b) INCLUSION OF CURRENT ASSESSMENTS.—As 

16 part of the comprehensive assessment required under sub17 section (a)(1), to the extent practicable, the Secretary con18 cerned may rely on assessments completed or data gath19 ered prior to the date of the enactment of this title. 

20 (c) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—Not later than 7 years 

21 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary 

22 concerned shall identify opportunities to create, update, or 

23 replace signage and other publicly available information, 

24 including web page information, related to accessibility 

25 and consistent with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) at outdoor recreation facilities 

2 covered by the assessment required under subsection 

3 (a)(1). 

4 SEC. 212. TRAIL INVENTORY. 

5 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 7 years after the 

6 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary concerned 

7 shall— 

8 (1) conduct a comprehensive assessment of 

9 trails on Federal recreational lands and waters 

10 under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary 

11 concerned, including measuring each trail’s— 

12 (A) surface; 

13 (B) clear tread width; 

14 (C) passing spaces; 

15 (D) size; 

16 (E) tread obstacles; 

17 (F) openings; 

18 (G) slopes, including cross slope; 

19 (H) maximum running slope and segment 

20 length; 

21 (I) resting intervals; 

22 (J) length; 

23 (K) width; 

24 (L) turning space; 

25 (M) protruding objects; and 


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1 (N) trailhead signs; and 

2 (2) make information about such trails avail3 able (including through the use of prominently dis4 played links) on public websites of— 

5 (A) each of the Federal land management 

6 agencies; and 

7 (B) each relevant unit and subunit of the 

8 Federal land management agencies. 

9 (b) INCLUSION OF CURRENT ASSESSMENTS.—As 

10 part of the assessment required under subsection (a)(1), 

11 the Secretary concerned may, to the extent practicable, 

12 rely on assessments completed or data gathered prior to 

13 the date of the enactment of this title. 

14 (c) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—Not later than 7 years 

15 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary 

16 concerned shall identify opportunities to replace signage 

17 and other publicly available information, including web 

18 page information, related to such trails and consistent 

19 with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4151 et seq.) at trails covered by the assessment required 

21 under subsection (a)(1). 

22 (d) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary concerned shall 

23 consult with stakeholders, including veterans organiza24 tions and organizations with expertise or experience pro25 viding outdoor recreation opportunities to individuals with 


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1 disabilities, in selecting priority trails to measure under 

2 subsection (a)(1). 

3 (e) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICATION.—In 

4 publishing information about each trail under this sub5 section, the Secretary concerned shall make public infor6 mation about trails that do not meet the Architectural 

7 Barriers Act accessibility guidelines but could otherwise 

8 provide outdoor recreation opportunities to individuals 

9 with disabilities through the use of certain assistive tech10 nology. 

11 SEC. 213. TRAIL PILOT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

13 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary concerned 

14 shall carry out a pilot program to enter into partnerships 

15 with eligible entities to— 

16 (1) measure trails as part of the assessment re17 quired under section 212; 

18 (2) develop accessible trails under section 214; 

19 and 

20 (3) make minor modifications to existing trails 

21 to enhance recreational experiences for individuals 

22 with disabilities using assistive technology— 

23 (A) in compliance with all applicable land 

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1 reational lands and waters on which the acces2 sible trail is located; and 

3 (B) in consultation with stakeholders, in4 cluding veterans organizations and organiza5 tions with expertise or experience providing out6 door recreation opportunities to individuals with 

7 disabilities. 

8 (b) LOCATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

10 shall select no fewer than 5 units or subunits under 

11 the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary concerned 

12 to carry out the pilot program established under 

13 subsection (a). 

14 (2) SPECIAL RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR THE

15 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—In selecting the 

16 locations of the pilot programs, the Secretary shall 

17 ensure that at least one pilot program is carried out 

18 in a unit managed by the— 

19 (A) National Park Service; 

20 (B) Bureau of Land Management; and 

21 (C) United States Fish and Wildlife Serv22 ice. 

23 (c) SUNSET.—The pilot program established under 

24 this subsection shall terminate on the date that is 7 years 

25 after the date of the enactment of this title. 


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1 SEC. 214. ACCESSIBLE TRAILS. 

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

3 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary concerned 

4 shall select a location or locations to develop at least 3 

5 new accessible trails— 

6 (1) on National Forest System lands in each re7 gion of the Forest Service; 

8 (2) on land managed by the National Park 

9 Service in each region of the National Park Service; 

10 (3) on land managed by the Bureau of Land 

11 Management in each region of the Bureau of Land 

12 Management; and 

13 (4) on land managed by the United States Fish 

14 and Wildlife Service in each region of the United 

15 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

16 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing an accessible 

17 trail under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned— 

18 (1) may— 

19 (A) create a new accessible trail; 

20 (B) modify an existing trail into an acces21 sible trail; or 

22 (C) create an accessible trail from a com23 bination of new and existing trails; and 

24 (2) shall— 


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1 (A) consult with stakeholders with respect 

2 to the feasibility and resources necessary for 

3 completing the accessible trail; 

4 (B) ensure the accessible trail complies 

5 with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 

6 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.); and 

7 (C) to the extent practicable, ensure that 

8 outdoor constructed features supporting the ac9 cessible trail, including parking spaces and rest10 room facilities, meet the requirements of the 

11 Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. 

12 (c) COMPLETION.—Not later than 7 years after the 

13 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary con14 cerned, in coordination with stakeholders consulted with 

15 under subsection (b)(2), shall complete each accessible 

16 trail developed under subsection (a). 

17 (d) MAPS, SIGNAGE, AND PROMOTIONAL MATE18 RIALS.—For each accessible trail developed under sub19 section (a), the Secretary concerned shall— 

20 (1) publish and distribute maps and install 

21 signage, consistent with Architectural Barriers Act 

22 accessibility guidelines; and 

23 (2) coordinate with stakeholders to leverage any 

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1 ment, stewardship, completion, or promotion of the 

2 accessible trail. 

3 (e) CONFLICT AVOIDANCE WITH OTHER USES.—In 

4 developing each accessible trail under subsection (a), the 

5 Secretary concerned shall ensure that the accessible 

6 trail— 

7 (1) minimizes conflict with— 

8 (A) the uses in effect before the date of the 

9 enactment of this title with respect to any trail 

10 or road that is part of that accessible trail; 

11 (B) multiple-use areas where biking, hik12 ing, horseback riding, off-highway vehicle recre13 ation, or use by pack and saddle stock are ex14 isting uses on the date of the enactment of this 

15 title; or 

16 (C) the purposes for which any trail is es17 tablished under the National Trails System Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.); and 

19 (2) complies with all applicable land use and 

20 management plans of the Federal recreational lands 

21 and waters on which the accessible trail is located. 

22 (f) REPORTS.— 

23 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

24 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec25 retary concerned, in partnership with stakeholders 


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1 and other interested organizations, shall prepare and 

2 publish an interim report that lists the accessible 

3 trails developed under this section during the pre4 vious 3 years. 

5 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 7 years 

6 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec7 retary concerned, in partnership with stakeholders 

8 and other interested organizations, shall prepare and 

9 publish a final report that lists the accessible trails 

10 developed under this section. 

11 SEC. 215. ACCESSIBLE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES. 

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

13 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary concerned 

14 shall select a location to develop at least 2 new accessible 

15 recreation opportunities— 

16 (1) on National Forest System lands in each re17 gion of the Forest Service; 

18 (2) on land managed by the National Park 

19 Service in each region of the National Park Service; 

20 (3) on land managed by the Bureau of Land 

21 Management in each region of the Bureau of Land 

22 Management; and 

23 (4) on land managed by the United States Fish 

24 and Wildlife Service in each region of the United 

25 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 


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1 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing an accessible 

2 recreation opportunity under subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 concerned— 

4 (1) may— 

5 (A) create a new accessible recreation op6 portunity; or 

7 (B) modify an existing recreation oppor8 tunity into an accessible recreation opportunity; 

9 and 

10 (2) shall— 

11 (A) consult with stakeholders with respect 

12 to the feasibility and resources necessary for 

13 completing the accessible recreation oppor14 tunity; 

15 (B) ensure the accessible recreation oppor16 tunity complies with the Architectural Barriers 

17 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.); and 

18 (C) to the extent practicable, ensure that 

19 outdoor constructed features supporting the ac20 cessible recreation opportunity, including park21 ing spaces and restroom facilities, meet the re22 quirements of the Architectural Barriers Act of 

23 1968. 

24 (c) ACCESSIBLE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES.— 

25 The accessible recreation opportunities developed under 


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1 subsection (a) may include improving accessibility or ac2 cess to— 

3 (1) camp shelters, camping facilities, and camp4 ing units; 

5 (2) hunting, fishing, shooting, or archery 

6 ranges or locations; 

7 (3) snow activities, including skiing and 

8 snowboarding; 

9 (4) water activities, including kayaking, pad10 dling, canoeing, and boat launch ramps; 

11 (5) rock climbing; 

12 (6) biking; 

13 (7) off-highway vehicle recreation; 

14 (8) picnic facilities and picnic units; 

15 (9) outdoor constructed features; and 

16 (10) any other new or existing recreation oppor17 tunities identified in consultation with stakeholders 

18 under subsection (b)(2) and consistent with the ap19 plicable land management plan. 

20 (d) COMPLETION.—Not later than 7 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary con22 cerned, in coordination with stakeholders consulted with 

23 under subsection (b)(2), shall complete each accessible 

24 recreation opportunity developed under subsection (a). 


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1 (e) MAPS, SIGNAGE, AND PROMOTIONAL MATE2 RIALS.—For each accessible recreation opportunity devel3 oped under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall— 

4 (1) publish and distribute maps and install 

5 signage, consistent with Architectural Barriers Act 

6 accessibility guidelines; and 

7 (2) coordinate with stakeholders to leverage any 

8 non-Federal resources necessary for the develop9 ment, stewardship, completion, or promotion of the 

10 accessible trail. 

11 (f) CONFLICT AVOIDANCE WITH OTHER USES.—In 

12 developing each accessible recreation opportunity under 

13 subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall ensure that 

14 the accessible recreation opportunity— 

15 (1) minimizes conflict with— 

16 (A) the uses in effect before the date of the 

17 enactment of this title with respect to any Fed18 eral recreational lands and waters on which the 

19 accessible recreation opportunity is located; or 

20 (B) multiple-use areas in existence on the 

21 date of the enactment of this title; and 

22 (2) complies with all applicable land use and 

23 management plans of the Federal recreational lands 

24 and waters on which the accessible recreational op25 portunity is located. 


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1 (g) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

3 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec4 retary concerned, in partnership with stakeholders 

5 and other interested organizations, shall prepare and 

6 publish an interim report that lists the accessible 

7 trails developed under this section during the pre8 vious 3 years. 

9 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 7 years 

10 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec11 retary concerned, in partnership with stakeholders 

12 and other interested organizations, shall prepare and 

13 publish a final report that lists the accessible trails 

14 developed under this section. 

15 SEC. 216. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. 

16 In carrying out this subtitle, the Secretary concerned 

17 may enter into partnerships, contracts, or agreements with 

18 other Federal, State, Tribal, local, or private entities, in19 cluding existing outfitting and guiding services, to make 

20 assistive technology available on Federal recreational 

21 lands and waters. 

22 SEC. 217. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

23 Nothing in the subtitle shall be construed to create 

24 any conflicting standards with the Architectural Barriers 

25 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.). 


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1 Subtitle B—Military and Veterans 

2 in Parks 

3 SEC. 221. PROMOTION OF OUTDOOR RECREATION FOR 

4 MILITARY SERVICEMEMBERS AND VET5 ERANS. 

6 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact7 ment of this title, the Secretary concerned, in coordination 

8 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary 

9 of Defense, shall develop educational and public awareness 

10 materials to disseminate to members of the Armed Forces 

11 and veterans, including through preseparation counseling 

12 of the Transition Assistance Program under chapter 1142 

13 of title 10, United States Code, on— 

14 (1) opportunities for members of the Armed 

15 Forces and veterans to access Federal recreational 

16 lands and waters free of charge under section 805 

17 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 6804); 

19 (2) the availability and location of accessible 

20 trails, including new accessible trails developed and 

21 completed under section 214; 

22 (3) the availability and location of accessible 

23 recreation opportunities, including new accessible 

24 recreation opportunities developed and completed 

25 under section 215; 


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1 (4) access to, and assistance with, assistive 

2 technology; 

3 (5) outdoor-related volunteer and wellness pro4 grams; 

5 (6) the benefits of outdoor recreation for phys6 ical and mental health; 

7 (7) resources to access guided outdoor trips and 

8 other outdoor programs connected to the Depart9 ment of Defense, the Department of Veterans Af10 fairs, the Department of the Interior, or the Depart11 ment of Agriculture; and 

12 (8) programs and jobs focused on continuing 

13 national service such as Public Land Corps, 

14 AmeriCorps, and conservation corps programs. 

15 SEC. 222. MILITARY VETERANS OUTDOOR RECREATION LI16 AISONS. 

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

18 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretaries and the 

19 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall each establish within 

20 their Departments the position of Military Veterans Out21 door Recreation Liaison. 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The Military Veterans Outdoor Recre23 ation Liaison shall— 

24 (1) coordinate the implementation of this sub25 title; 


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1 (2) implement recommendations identified by 

2 the Task Force on Outdoor Recreation for Veterans 

3 established under section 203 of the Veterans Com4 prehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treat5 ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–214), including 

6 recommendations related to— 

7 (A) identifying new opportunities to for8 malize coordination between the Department of 

9 Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, 

10 Department of the Interior, and partner organi11 zations regarding the use of Federal rec12 reational lands and waters for facilitating 

13 health and wellness for veterans; 

14 (B) addressing identified barriers that 

15 exist to providing veterans with opportunities to 

16 augment the delivery of services for health and 

17 wellness through the use of outdoor recreation 

18 on Federal recreational lands and waters; and 

19 (C) facilitating the use of Federal rec20 reational lands and waters for promoting 

21 wellness and facilitating the delivery of health 

22 care and therapeutic interventions for veterans; 

23 (3) coordinate with Military Veterans Outdoor 

24 Recreation Liaisons at other Federal agencies and 

25 veterans organizations; and 


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1 (4) promote outdoor recreation experiences for 

2 veterans on Federal recreational lands and waters 

3 through new and innovative approaches. 

4 SEC. 223. PARTNERSHIPS TO PROMOTE MILITARY AND VET5 ERAN RECREATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 

7 seek to enter into partnerships or agreements with State, 

8 Tribal, local, or private entities with expertise in outdoor 

9 recreation, volunteer, accessibility, and health and wellness 

10 programs for members of the Armed Forces or veterans. 

11 (b) PARTNERSHIPS.—As part of a partnership or 

12 agreement entered into under subsection (a), the Sec13 retary concerned may host events on Federal recreational 

14 lands and waters designed to promote outdoor recreation 

15 among members of the Armed Forces and veterans. 

16 (c) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 Under a partnership or agreement entered into pursuant 

18 to subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may provide fi19 nancial or technical assistance to the entity with which 

20 the respective Secretary concerned has entered into the 

21 partnership or agreement to assist with— 

22 (1) the planning, development, and execution of 

23 events, activities, or programs designed to promote 

24 outdoor recreation for members of the Armed Forces 

25 or veterans; or 


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1 (2) the acquisition of assistive technology to fa2 cilitate improved outdoor recreation opportunities for 

3 members of the Armed Forces or veterans. 

4 SEC. 224. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR MILITARY AND VET5 ERAN RECREATION. 

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

7 of the enactment of this title, the Secretaries, acting joint8 ly, shall develop and make public a strategy to increase 

9 visits to Federal recreational lands and waters by mem10 bers of the Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Family 

11 members. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A strategy developed under 

13 subsection (a)— 

14 (1) shall— 

15 (A) establish objectives and quantifiable 

16 targets for increasing visits to Federal rec17 reational lands and waters by members of the 

18 Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Family 

19 members; 

20 (B) include an opportunity for public no21 tice and comment; 

22 (C) emphasize increased recreation oppor23 tunities on Federal recreational lands and 

24 waters for members of the Armed Forces, vet25 erans, and Gold Star Family members; and 


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1 (D) provide the anticipated costs to achieve 

2 the objectives and meet the targets established 

3 under subparagraph (A); and 

4 (2) shall not establish any preference between 

5 similar recreation facilitated by noncommercial or 

6 commercial entities. 

7 (c) UPDATE TO STRATEGY.—Not later than 5 years 

8 after the date of the publication of the strategy required 

9 under subsection (a), and every 5 years thereafter, the 

10 Secretaries shall update the strategy and make public the 

11 update. 

12 SEC. 225. RECREATION RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMIT13 TEES. 

14 Section 804(d)(5) of the Federal Lands Recreation 

15 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6803(d)(5)), is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘11’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘12’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (D)(ii)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Three’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Four’’; and 

21 (B) after subclause (III), by inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(IV) Veterans organizations, as 

24 such term is defined in section 9 of 


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1 the Military and Veterans in Parks 

2 Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 226. CAREER AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR 

4 VETERANS. 

5 (a) VETERAN HIRING.—The Secretaries are strongly 

6 encouraged to hire veterans in all positions related to the 

7 management of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

8 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

11 Veterans’ Employment and Training and the Sec12 retary of Veterans Affairs, shall establish a pilot 

13 program under which veterans are employed by the 

14 Federal Government in positions that relate to the 

15 conservation and resource management activities of 

16 the Department of the Interior. 

17 (2) POSITIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

18 (A) identify vacant positions in the De19 partment of the Interior that are appropriate to 

20 fill using the pilot program; and 

21 (B) to the extent practicable, fill such posi22 tions using the pilot program. 

23 (3) APPLICATION OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—A 

24 veteran employed under the pilot program shall be 


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1 treated as an employee as defined by section 2105 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (4) BRIEFINGS AND REPORT.— 

4 (A) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this 

6 title, the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary 

7 of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Train8 ing shall jointly provide to the appropriate con9 gressional committees a briefing on the pilot 

10 program under this subsection, which shall in11 clude— 

12 (i) a description of how the pilot pro13 gram will be carried out in a manner to re14 duce the unemployment of veterans; and 

15 (ii) any recommendations for legisla16 tive actions to improve the pilot program. 

17 (B) IMPLEMENTATION BRIEFING.—Not 

18 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

19 pilot program under subsection (a) commences, 

20 the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary of 

21 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training 

22 shall jointly provide to the appropriate congres23 sional committees a briefing on the implementa24 tion of the pilot program. 


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1 (C) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 

2 days after the date on which the pilot program 

3 under subsection (a) terminates under para4 graph (5), the Secretary and the Assistant Sec5 retary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and 

6 Training shall jointly submit to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees a report on the pilot 

8 program that includes the following: 

9 (i) The number of veterans who ap10 plied to participate in the pilot program. 

11 (ii) The number of such veterans em12 ployed under the pilot program. 

13 (iii) The number of veterans identified 

14 in clause (ii) who transitioned to full-time 

15 positions with the Federal Government 

16 after participating in the pilot program. 

17 (iv) Any other information the Sec18 retary and the Assistant Secretary of 

19 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and 

20 Training determine appropriate with re21 spect to measuring the effectiveness of the 

22 pilot program. 

23 (5) DURATION.—The authority to carry out the 

24 pilot program under this subsection shall terminate 


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1 on the date that is 2 years after the date on which 

2 the pilot program commences. 

3 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres5 sional committees’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

7 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

8 Representatives; and 

9 (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

10 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

11 Senate. 

12 (d) OUTDOOR RECREATION PROGRAM ATTEND13 ANCE.—Each Secretary of a military department is en14 couraged to allow members of the Armed Forces on active 

15 duty status to participate in programs related to environ16 mental stewardship or guided outdoor recreation. 

17 Subtitle C—Youth Access 

18 SEC. 231. INCREASING YOUTH RECREATION VISITS TO FED19 ERAL LAND. 

20 (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

21 of the enactment of this title, the Secretaries, acting joint22 ly, shall develop and make public a strategy to increase 

23 visits to increase the number of youth recreation visits to 

24 Federal recreational lands and waters. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A strategy developed under 

2 subsection (a)— 

3 (1) shall— 

4 (A) emphasize increased recreation oppor5 tunities on Federal recreational lands and 

6 waters for underserved youth; 

7 (B) establish objectives and quantifiable 

8 targets for increasing youth recreation visits; 

9 and 

10 (C) provide the anticipated costs to achieve 

11 the objectives and meet the targets established 

12 under subparagraph (B); and 

13 (2) shall not establish any preference between 

14 similar recreation facilitated by noncommercial or 

15 commercial entities. 

16 (c) UPDATE TO STRATEGY.—Not later than 5 years 

17 after the date of the publication of the strategy required 

18 under subsection (a), and every 5 years thereafter, the 

19 Secretaries shall update the strategy and make public the 

20 update. 

21 (d) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretaries may enter into 

22 contracts or cost-share agreements (including contracts or 

23 agreements for the acquisition of vehicles) to carry out 

24 this section. 


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1 SEC. 232. EVERY KID OUTDOORS ACT EXTENSION. 

2 Section 9001(b)(5) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Con3 servation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 

4 116–9) is amended by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘the EXPLORE Act’’. 

6 TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING OUT7 DOOR ACCESS FOR RECRE8 ATION 

9 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

11 (1) COMMERCIAL USE AUTHORIZATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘commercial use authorization’’ means a com13 mercial use authorization to provide services to visi14 tors to units of the National Park System under 

15 subchapter II of chapter 1019 of title 54, United 

16 States Code. 

17 (2) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 

18 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 

19 (A) uses 2 or more units of Federal rec20 reational lands and waters; and 

21 (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 

22 Federal land management agencies. 

23 (3) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 

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

25 given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands 


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

2 amended by section 311). 

3 (4) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 

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

5 the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recre6 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as 

7 amended by section 311). 

8 (5) VISITOR-USE DAY.—The term ‘‘visitor-use 

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

10 other metric used by the Secretary concerned for 

11 purposes of authorizing use under a special recre12 ation permit. 

13 Subtitle A—Modernizing 

14 Recreation Permitting 

15 SEC. 311. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 

16 (a) SHORT TITLE.—The Federal Lands Recreation 

17 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) is amended 

18 by striking section 801 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

20 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Federal Lands Recre21 ation Enhancement Act’.’’. 

22 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Federal Lands 

23 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amend24 ed— 


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

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

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

4 and inserting ‘‘section 803(f)’’; 

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

6 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 

7 (4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 

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

10 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 

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

12 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 

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

14 3(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)(2)’’; 

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

16 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para17 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), 

18 (10), and (14), respectively, and arranging the para19 graphs (as so redesignated) to appear in numerical 

20 order; 

21 (9) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re22 designated) the following: 

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

24 term ‘recreation service provider’ means a person 

25 that provides recreational services to the public 


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1 under a special recreation permit under clause (iii) 

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

3 (10) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.— 

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

7 recreation permit’ means a permit issued by a 

8 Federal land management agency for the use of 

9 Federal recreational lands and waters— 

10 ‘‘(i) for a specialized recreational use 

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

12 such as— 

13 ‘‘(I) an organizational camp; 

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

15 require an entry or participation fee 

16 that is not strictly a sharing of ex17 penses for the purposes of the event; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(III) participation by the public 

20 in a recreation activity or recreation 

21 use of a specific area of Federal rec22 reational lands and waters in which 

23 use by the public is allocated; 

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

25 event of 75 participants or more; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) for— 

2 ‘‘(I) at the discretion of the Sec3 retary, a single organized group recre4 ation activity or event (including an 

5 activity or event in which motorized 

6 recreational vehicles are used or in 

7 which outfitting and guiding services 

8 are used) that— 

9 ‘‘(aa) is a structured or 

10 scheduled event or activity; 

11 ‘‘(bb) is not competitive and 

12 is for fewer than 75 participants; 

13 ‘‘(cc) may charge an entry 

14 or participation fee; 

15 ‘‘(dd) involves fewer than 

16 200 visitor-use days; and 

17 ‘‘(ee) is undertaken or pro18 vided by the recreation service 

19 provider at the same site not 

20 more frequently than 3 times a 

21 year; 

22 ‘‘(II) a single competitive event; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(III) at the discretion of the 

25 Secretary, a recurring organized 


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1 group recreation activity (including an 

2 outfitting and guiding activity) that— 

3 ‘‘(aa) is a structured or 

4 scheduled activity; 

5 ‘‘(bb) is not competitive; 

6 ‘‘(cc) may charge a partici7 pation fee; 

8 ‘‘(dd) occurs in a group size 

9 of fewer than 7 participants; 

10 ‘‘(ee) involves fewer than 40 

11 visitor-use days; and 

12 ‘‘(ff) is undertaken or pro13 vided by the recreation service 

14 provider for a term of not more 

15 than 180 days; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) for— 

17 ‘‘(I) a recurring outfitting, guid18 ing, or, at the discretion of the Sec19 retary, other recreation service, the 

20 authorization for which is for a term 

21 of not more than 10 years; or 

22 ‘‘(II) a recurring outfitting, guid23 ing, or, at the discretion of the Sec24 retary, other recreation service, that 

25 occurs under a transitional special 


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1 recreation permit authorized under 

2 section 316 of the EXPLORE Act. 

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

4 recreation permit’ does not include— 

5 ‘‘(i) a concession contract for the pro6 vision of accommodations, facilities, or 

7 services; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a commercial use authorization 

9 issued under section 101925 of title 54, 

10 United States Code; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) any other type of permit, includ12 ing a special use permit administered by 

13 the National Park Service.’’. 

14 (c) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS AND FEES.— 

15 Section 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhance16 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amended— 

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

18 and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

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

20 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 

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

22 following: 

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

24 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS.— 

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


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1 ‘‘(i) may develop and make available 

2 to the public an application to obtain a 

3 special recreation permit described in 

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

5 ‘‘(ii) shall develop and make available 

6 to the public an application to obtain a 

7 special recreation permit described in each 

8 of clauses (ii) through (iv) of section 

9 802(13)(A). 

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

11 of a completed application developed under sub12 paragraph (A), as applicable, and a determina13 tion by the Secretary that the applicant is eligi14 ble for the special recreation permit, the Sec15 retary may issue to the applicant a special 

16 recreation permit, subject to any terms and 

17 conditions that are determined to be necessary 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(C) INCIDENTAL SALES.—A special recre20 ation permit issued under this paragraph may 

21 include an authorization for sales that are inci22 dental in nature to the permitted use of the 

23 Federal recreational lands and waters. 

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


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

2 charge a special recreation permit fee for the 

3 issuance of a special recreation permit in ac4 cordance with this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(B) PREDETERMINED SPECIAL RECRE6 ATION PERMIT FEES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

8 subparagraphs (D) and (E) of this para9 graph, the Secretary shall establish and 

10 may charge a predetermined fee, described 

11 in clause (ii) of this subparagraph, for a 

12 special recreation permit described in 

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

14 for a specific type of use on a unit of Fed15 eral recreational lands and waters, con16 sistent with the criteria set forth in clause 

17 (iii) of this subparagraph. 

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

19 fee described in clause (i) shall be— 

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

21 per special recreation permit, includ22 ing a fee with an associated size limi23 tation or other criteria as determined 

24 to be appropriate by the Secretary; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) an amount assessed per vis2 itor-use day. 

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

4 under clause (i) shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) have been established before 

6 the date of the enactment of the EX7 PLORE Act; 

8 ‘‘(II) be established after the 

9 date of the enactment of the EX10 PLORE Act, in accordance with sub11 section (b); 

12 ‘‘(III)(aa) be established after 

13 the date of the enactment of the EX14 PLORE Act; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) be comparable to an 

16 amount described in subparagraph 

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

18 ‘‘(IV) beginning on the date that 

19 is 2 years after the date of the enact20 ment of the EXPLORE Act, be $6 

21 per visitor-use day in instances in 

22 which the Secretary has not estab23 lished a predetermined fee under sub24 clause (I), (II), or (III). 


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1 ‘‘(C) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR SPECIAL2 IZED RECREATIONAL USES AND LARGE-GROUP

3 ACTIVITIES OR EVENTS.—The Secretary may, 

4 at the discretion of the Secretary, establish and 

5 charge a fee for a special recreation permit de6 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of section 

7 802(13)(A). 

8 ‘‘(D) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR SINGLE

9 ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITIES OR

10 EVENTS, COMPETITIVE EVENTS, AND CERTAIN

11 RECURRING ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION

12 ACTIVITIES.—If the Secretary elects to charge a 

13 fee for a special recreation permit described in 

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

15 charge the recreation service provider, based on 

16 the election of the recreation service provider— 

17 ‘‘(i) the applicable predetermined fee 

18 established under subparagraph (B); or 

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

20 of, to be determined by the Secretary, but 

21 to not to exceed 5 percent of, adjusted 

22 gross receipts calculated under subpara23 graph (F). 

24 ‘‘(E) CALCULATION OF FEES FOR TRANSI25 TIONAL PERMITS AND LONG-TERM PERMITS.— 


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1 Subject to subparagraph (G), if the Secretary 

2 elects to charge a fee for a special recreation 

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

4 Secretary shall charge the recreation service 

5 provider, based on the election of the recreation 

6 service provider— 

7 ‘‘(i) the applicable predetermined fee 

8 established under subparagraph (B); or 

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

10 of, to be determined by the Secretary, but 

11 not to exceed 3 percent of, adjusted gross 

12 receipts calculated under subparagraph 

13 (F). 

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

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

16 (E)(ii), the Secretary shall calculate the ad17 justed gross receipts collected for each trip or 

18 event authorized under a special recreation per19 mit, using either of the following calculations, 

20 based on the election of the recreation service 

21 provider: 

22 ‘‘(i) The sum of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the product obtained by mul24 tiplying— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the general amount 

2 paid by participants of the trip or 

3 event to the recreation service 

4 provider for the applicable trip or 

5 event (excluding amounts related 

6 to goods, souvenirs, merchandise, 

7 gear, and additional food pro8 vided or sold by the recreation 

9 service provider); and 

10 ‘‘(bb) the quotient obtained 

11 by dividing— 

12 ‘‘(AA) the number of 

13 days of the trip or event 

14 that occurred on Federal 

15 recreational lands and 

16 waters covered by the special 

17 recreation permit, rounded 

18 to the nearest whole day; by 

19 ‘‘(BB) the total number 

20 of days of the trip or event; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) the amount of any addi23 tional revenue received by the recre24 ation service provider for an add-on 

25 activity or an optional excursion that 


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1 occurred on the Federal recreational 

2 lands and waters covered by the spe3 cial recreation permit. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The difference between— 

5 ‘‘(I) the total cost paid by the 

6 participants of the trip or event for 

7 the trip or event to the recreation 

8 service provider, including any addi9 tional revenue received by the recre10 ation service provider for an add-on 

11 activity or an optional excursion that 

12 occurred on the Federal recreational 

13 lands and waters covered by the spe14 cial recreation permit; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the amount of any 

17 revenues from goods, souvenirs, 

18 merchandise, gear, and additional 

19 food provided or sold by the 

20 recreation service provider to the 

21 participants of the applicable trip 

22 or event; 

23 ‘‘(bb) the amount of any 

24 costs or revenues from services 

25 and activities provided or sold by 


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1 the recreation service provider to 

2 the participants of the trip or 

3 event that occurred in a location 

4 other than the Federal rec5 reational lands and waters cov6 ered by the special recreation 

7 permit (including costs for travel 

8 and lodging outside the Federal 

9 recreational lands and waters 

10 covered by the special recreation 

11 permit); and 

12 ‘‘(cc) the amount of any rev13 enues from any service provided 

14 by a recreation service provider 

15 for an activity on Federal rec16 reational lands and waters that is 

17 not covered by the special recre18 ation permit. 

19 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub20 paragraph (E), the Secretary may charge a 

21 recreation service provider a minimum annual 

22 fee for a special recreation permit described in 

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

24 ‘‘(H) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) EFFECT.—Nothing in this para2 graph affects any fee for— 

3 ‘‘(I) a concession contract admin4 istered by the National Park Service 

5 for the provision of accommodations, 

6 facilities, or services; or 

7 ‘‘(II) a commercial use authoriza8 tion for use of Federal recreational 

9 lands and waters managed by the Na10 tional Park Service. 

11 ‘‘(ii) COST RECOVERY.—Nothing in 

12 this paragraph affects the ability of the 

13 Secretary to recover any administrative 

14 costs under section 320 of the EXPLORE 

15 Act. 

16 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT

17 FEES AND OTHER RECREATION FEES.— 

18 The collection of a special recreation per19 mit fee under this paragraph shall not af20 fect the authority of the Secretary to col21 lect an entrance fee, a standard amenity 

22 recreation fee, or an expanded amenity 

23 recreation fee authorized under subsections 

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


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

2 OF RECREATION FEES.— 

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

4 AMENITY RECREATION FEES, EXPANDED AMENITY

5 RECREATION FEES, AND AVAILABLE RECREATION

6 PASSES.— 

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

8 post clear notice of any entrance fee, standard 

9 amenity recreation fee, expanded amenity recre10 ation fee, and available recreation passes at ap11 propriate locations in each unit or area of Fed12 eral recreational land and waters at which an 

13 entrance fee, standard amenity recreation fee, 

14 or expanded amenity recreation fee is charged. 

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

16 include in publications distributed at a unit or 

17 area or described in subparagraph (A) the no18 tice described in that subparagraph. 

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

20 Beginning on January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall 

21 annually post, at the location at which a recreation 

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

23 notice of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the total recreation fees collected dur25 ing each of the 2 preceding fiscal years at the 


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1 respective unit or area of the Federal land man2 agement agency; and 

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

4 year of the applicable recreation fee or recre5 ation pass revenues collected under this section. 

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

7 To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall post 

8 clear notice at the location at which work is per9 formed using recreation fee and recreation pass rev10 enues collected under this section. 

11 ‘‘(4) CENTRALIZED REPORTING ON AGENCY

12 WEBSITES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Janu14 ary 1, 2025, and not later than 60 days after 

15 the beginning of each fiscal year thereafter, the 

16 Secretary shall post on the website of the appli17 cable Federal land management agency a 

18 searchable list of each use during the preceding 

19 fiscal year of the recreation fee or recreation 

20 pass revenues collected under this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) LIST COMPONENTS.—The list re22 quired under subparagraph (A) shall include, 

23 with respect to each use described in that sub24 paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a title and description of the over2 all project; 

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

4 component of the project; 

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

6 ‘‘(iv) the amount obligated for the 

7 project. 

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

9 service provider may inform a customer of the recre10 ation service provider of any fee charged by the Sec11 retary under this section.’’. 

12 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 804 of the 

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

14 6803) is amended by striking subsection (e). 

15 (e) USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT REV16 ENUE.—Section 808 of the Federal Lands Recreation En17 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6807) is amended— 

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

19 and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (a)(3)— 

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

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

24 or a visitor reservation service.’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘806(a) or a visitor reservation service;’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(G) the processing of special recreation 

3 permit applications and administration of spe4 cial recreation permits; and 

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

6 the special recreation permit program under 

7 section 803(h).’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (d)— 

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

10 5(a)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 805(a)(7)’’; and 

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

12 5(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 805(d)’’. 

13 (f) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 810 of the Federal 

14 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6809) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2031’’. 

16 SEC. 312. PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

18 issuance and or reissuance of special recreation permits 

19 and reduce the cost of administering special recreation 

20 permits under section 803(h) of the Federal Lands Recre21 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended 

22 by this title), the Secretaries shall each— 

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

24 2021, and ending on January 1, 2025— 


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1 (A) evaluate the process for issuing special 

2 recreation permits; and 

3 (B) based on the evaluation under sub4 paragraph (A), identify opportunities to— 

5 (i) eliminate duplicative processes with 

6 respect to issuing special recreation per7 mits; 

8 (ii) reduce costs for the issuance of 

9 special recreation permits; 

10 (iii) decrease processing times for spe11 cial recreation permits; and 

12 (iv) issue simplified special recreation 

13 permits, including special recreation per14 mits for an organized group recreation ac15 tivity or event under subsection (e); and 

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

17 which the Secretaries complete the evaluation and 

18 identification processes under paragraph (1), revise, 

19 as necessary, relevant agency regulations and guid20 ance documents, including regulations and guidance 

21 documents relating to the environmental review 

22 process, for special recreation permits to implement 

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

24 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

2 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, utilize 

3 available tools, including tiering to existing pro4 grammatic reviews, as appropriate, to facilitate an 

5 effective and efficient environmental review process 

6 for activities undertaken by the Secretary concerned 

7 relating to the issuance of special recreation permits. 

8 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.—Not later 

9 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

10 title, the Secretary concerned shall— 

11 (A) evaluate whether existing categorical 

12 exclusions available to the Secretary concerned 

13 on the date of the enactment of this title are 

14 consistent with the provisions of this title; 

15 (B) evaluate whether a modification of an 

16 existing categorical exclusion or the establish17 ment of 1 or more new categorical exclusions 

18 developed in compliance with the National Envi19 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

20 et seq.) is necessary to undertake an activity 

21 described in paragraph (1) in a manner con22 sistent with the authorities and requirements in 

23 this title; and 

24 (C) revise relevant agency regulations and 

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1 ing categorical exclusions or incorporate new 

2 categorical exclusions based on evaluations con3 ducted under this paragraph. 

4 (c) NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.—Except as required 

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

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

7 conduct a needs assessment as a condition of issuing a 

8 special recreation permit under section 803(h) of the Fed9 eral Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 6802) (as amended by this title). 

11 (d) ONLINE APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 3 years 

12 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secre13 taries shall make the application for a special recreation 

14 permit under section 803(h) of the Federal Lands Recre15 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended 

16 by this title), including a reissuance of a special recreation 

17 permit under that section, available for completion and 

18 submission— 

19 (1) online; 

20 (2) by mail or electronic mail; and 

21 (3) in person at the field office for the applica22 ble Federal recreational lands and waters. 

23 (e) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS FOR AN ORGA24 NIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITY OR EVENT.— 

25 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 (A) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FOR AN

2 ORGANIZED GROUP RECREATION ACTIVITY OR

3 EVENT.—The term ‘‘special recreation permit 

4 for an organized group recreation activity or 

5 event’’ means a special recreation permit de6 scribed in subclause (I) or (III) of paragraph 

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

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

9 (as amended by this title). 

10 (B) YOUTH GROUP.—The term ‘‘youth 

11 group’’ means a recreation service provider that 

12 predominantly serves individuals not older than 

13 25 years of age. 

14 (2) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN ALLOCATIONS

15 OF USE.—If the Secretary concerned allocates vis16 itor-use days available for an area or activity on 

17 Federal recreational lands and waters among recre18 ation service providers that hold a permit described 

19 in paragraph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Fed20 eral Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 6801) (as amended by this title), a special recreation 

22 permit for an organized group recreation activity or 

23 event shall not be subject to that allocation of vis24 itor-use days. 


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1 (3) ISSUANCE.—In accordance with paragraphs 

2 (5) and (6), if use by the general public is not sub3 ject to a limited entry permit system and if capacity 

4 is available for the times or days in which the pro5 posed activity or event would be undertaken, on re6 quest of a recreation service provider (including a 

7 youth group) to conduct an organized group recre8 ation activity or event described in subclause (I) or 

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

10 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

11 U.S.C. 6801) (as amended by this title), the Sec12 retary concerned— 

13 (A) shall make a nominal effects deter14 mination to determine whether the proposed ac15 tivity or event would have more than nominal 

16 effects on Federal recreational lands and 

17 waters, resources, and programs; and 

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

19 provider (including a youth group) to obtain a 

20 special recreation permit for an organized group 

21 recreation activity or event if the Secretary con22 cerned determines— 

23 (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 not necessary to protect or avoid 

6 conflict on or with Federal recreational 

7 lands and waters, resources, and programs; 

8 (ii) in the case of an organized group 

9 recreation activity or event described in section 

10 802(13)(A)(iii)(I) of that Act, may issue to a 

11 recreation service provider (including a youth 

12 group) a special recreation permit for an orga13 nized group recreation activity or event, subject 

14 to any terms and conditions as are determined 

15 to be appropriate by the Secretary concerned, if 

16 the Secretary concerned determines— 

17 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

18 be undertaken would have only nominal ef19 fects on Federal recreational lands and 

20 waters, resources, and programs; and 

21 (II) establishing additional terms and 

22 conditions for the proposed activity or 

23 event is necessary to protect or avoid con24 flict on or with Federal recreational lands 

25 and waters, resources, and programs; 


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1 (iii) in the case of an organized group 

2 recreation activity or event described in section 

3 802(13)(A)(iii)(III) of that Act, shall issue to a 

4 recreation service provider (including a youth 

5 group) a special recreation permit for an orga6 nized group recreation activity or event, subject 

7 to such terms and conditions determined to be 

8 appropriate by the Secretary concerned, if the 

9 Secretary concerned determines— 

10 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

11 be undertaken would have only nominal ef12 fects on Federal recreational lands and 

13 waters, resources, and programs; and 

14 (II) establishing additional terms and 

15 conditions for the proposed activity or 

16 event is necessary to protect or avoid con17 flict on or with Federal recreational lands 

18 and waters, resources, and programs; and 

19 (iv) may issue to a recreation service pro20 vider (including a youth group) a special recre21 ation permit for an organized group recreation 

22 activity or event, subject to any terms and con23 ditions determined to be appropriate by the 

24 Secretary concerned, if the Secretary concerned 

25 determines— 


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1 (I) the proposed activity or event to 

2 be undertaken may have more than nomi3 nal effects on Federal recreational lands 

4 and waters, resources, and programs; and 

5 (II) establishing additional terms and 

6 conditions for the proposed activity or 

7 event would be necessary to protect or 

8 avoid conflict on or with Federal rec9 reational lands and waters, resources, and 

10 programs. 

11 (4) FEES.—The Secretary concerned may elect 

12 not to charge a fee to a recreation service provider 

13 (including a youth group) for a special recreation 

14 permit for an organized group recreation activity or 

15 event. 

16 (5) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub17 section prevents the Secretary concerned from lim18 iting or abating the allowance of a proposed activity 

19 or event under paragraph (3)(B)(i) or the issuance 

20 of a special recreation permit for an organized group 

21 recreation activity or event, based on resource condi22 tions, administrative burdens, or safety issues. 

23 (6) QUALIFICATIONS.—A special recreation per24 mit for an organized group recreation activity or 

25 event issued under paragraph (3) shall be subject to 


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1 the health and safety standards required by the Sec2 retary concerned for a permit issued under para3 graph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Federal 

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

5 6801) (as amended by this title). 

6 SEC. 313. PERMIT FLEXIBILITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned shall es8 tablish guidelines to allow a holder of a special recreation 

9 permit under subsection (h) of section 803 of the Federal 

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

11 amended by this title), to engage in another recreational 

12 activity under the special recreation permit that is sub13 stantially similar to the specific activity authorized under 

14 the special recreation permit. 

15 (b) CRITERIA.—For the purposes of this section, a 

16 recreational activity shall be considered to be a substan17 tially similar recreational activity if the recreational activ18 ity— 

19 (1) is comparable in type, nature, scope, and 

20 ecological setting to the specific activity authorized 

21 under the special recreation permit; 

22 (2) does not result in a greater impact on nat23 ural and cultural resources than the impact of the 

24 authorized activity; 

25 (3) does not adversely affect— 


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1 (A) any other holder of a special recreation 

2 permit or other permit; or 

3 (B) any other authorized use of the Fed4 eral recreational lands and waters; and 

5 (4) is consistent with— 

6 (A) any applicable laws (including regula7 tions); and 

8 (B) the land management plan, resource 

9 management plan, or equivalent plan applicable 

10 to the Federal recreational lands and waters. 

11 (c) SURRENDER OF UNUSED VISITOR-USE DAYS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recreation service provider 

13 holding a special recreation permit described in 

14 paragraph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Federal 

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

16 6801) (as amended by this title) may— 

17 (A) notify the Secretary concerned of an 

18 inability to use visitor-use days annually allo19 cated to the recreation service provider under 

20 the special recreation permit; and 

21 (B) surrender to the Secretary concerned 

22 the unused visitor-use days for the applicable 

23 year for temporary reassignment under section 

24 318(b). 


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1 (2) DETERMINATION.—To ensure a recreation 

2 service provider described in paragraph (1) is able to 

3 make an informed decision before surrendering any 

4 unused visitor-use day under paragraph (1)(B), the 

5 Secretary concerned shall, on the request of the ap6 plicable recreation service provider, determine and 

7 notify the recreation service provider whether the 

8 unused visitor-use day meets the requirement de9 scribed in section 317(b)(3)(B) before the recreation 

10 service provider surrenders the unused visitor-use 

11 day. 

12 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects any au13 thority of, regulation issued by, or decision of the Sec14 retary concerned relating to the use of electric bicycles on 

15 Federal recreational lands and waters under any other 

16 Federal law. 

17 SEC. 314. 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 

25 Secretary concerned determines that visitor-use 


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1 days are available for allocation to recreation 

2 service providers or holders of a commercial use 

3 authorization for outfitting and guiding, the 

4 Secretary concerned shall publish that informa5 tion on the website of the agency that admin6 isters the applicable area of Federal rec7 reational 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 section 803(h)(1) of the Federal 


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

2 6802) (as amended by this title) or commercial use 

3 authorizations for outfitting and guiding. 

4 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION OR PROPOSAL ACKNOWL5 EDGMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the date on 

6 which the Secretary concerned receives a completed appli7 cation or a complete proposal for a special recreation per8 mit under section 803(h)(1) of the Federal Lands Recre9 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended 

10 by this title), the Secretary concerned shall— 

11 (1) provide to the applicant notice acknowl12 edging receipt of the application or proposal; and 

13 (2)(A) issue a final decision with respect to the 

14 application or proposal; or 

15 (B) provide to the applicant notice of a pro16 jected date for a final decision on the application or 

17 proposal. 

18 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section applies to a 

19 concession contract issued by the National Park Service 

20 for the provision of accommodations, facilities, or services. 

21 SEC. 315. SERVICE FIRST INITIATIVE; PERMITS FOR MULTI22 JURISDICTIONAL 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 2024, and 

5 each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretaries may carry 

6 out an initiative, to be known as the ‘‘Service First 

7 Initiative’’, under which the Secretaries may— 

8 (A) establish programs to conduct projects, 

9 planning, permitting, leasing, contracting, and 

10 other activities, either jointly or on behalf of 

11 one another; 

12 (B) co-locate in Federal offices and facili13 ties leased by an agency of the Department of 

14 the Interior or the Department of Agriculture; 

15 and 

16 (C) issue special rules to test the feasibility 

17 of issuing unified permits, applications, and 

18 leases. 

19 (2) DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY.—The Secre20 taries may make reciprocal delegations of the respec21 tive authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the 

22 Secretaries in support of the Service First Initiative 

23 agency-wide to promote customer service and effi24 ciency. 


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1 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section alters, 

2 expands, or limits the applicability of any law (in3 cluding regulations) to land administered by the Bu4 reau of Land Management, National Park Service, 

5 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the For6 est Service or matters under the jurisdiction of any 

7 other bureaus or offices of the Department of the 

8 Interior or the Department of Agriculture, as appli9 cable. 

10 (4) TRANSFERS OF FUNDING.—Subject to the 

11 availability of appropriations and to facilitate the 

12 sharing of resources under the Service First Initia13 tive, the Secretaries are authorized to mutually 

14 transfer funds between, or reimburse amounts ex15 pended from, appropriate accounts of either Depart16 ment on an annual basis, including transfers and re17 imbursements for multiyear projects, except that 

18 this authority may not be used in a manner that cir19 cumvents requirements or limitations imposed on the 

20 use of any of the funds so transferred or reim21 bursed. 

22 (5) REPORT.—The Secretaries shall submit an 

23 annual report to the Committee on Natural Re24 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

25 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 


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1 Senate describing the activities undertaken as part 

2 of the Service First Initiative in the prior year. 

3 (c) PILOT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL RECREATION PER4 MITS FOR MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIPS.— 

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

6 the date of the enactment of this title, the Secre7 taries shall establish a pilot program to offer to a 

8 person seeking an authorization for a multijuris9 dictional trip a single joint special recreation permit 

10 or commercial use authorization that authorizes the 

11 use of each unit of Federal recreational lands and 

12 waters on which the multijurisdictional trip occurs, 

13 subject to the authorities that apply to the applica14 ble unit of Federal recreational lands and waters. 

15 (2) MINIMUM NUMBER OF PERMITS.—Not later 

16 than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this 

17 title, the Secretaries shall issue not fewer than 10 

18 single joint special recreation permits described in 

19 paragraph (13)(A)(iv) of section 802 of the Federal 

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

21 6801) (as amended by this title) or commercial use 

22 authorizations under the pilot program established 

23 under paragraph (1). 


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1 (3) LEAD AGENCIES.—In carrying out the pilot 

2 program established under paragraph (1), the Secre3 taries shall— 

4 (A) designate a lead agency for issuing and 

5 administering a single joint special recreation 

6 permit or commercial use authorization; and 

7 (B) select not fewer than 4 offices at which 

8 a person shall be able to apply for a single joint 

9 special recreation permit or commercial use au10 thorization, of which— 

11 (i) not fewer than 2 offices are man12 aged by the Secretary; and 

13 (ii) not fewer than 2 offices are man14 aged by the Secretary of Agriculture, act15 ing through the Chief of the Forest Serv16 ice. 

17 (4) RETENTION OF AUTHORITY BY THE APPLI18 CABLE SECRETARY.—Each of the Secretaries shall 

19 retain the authority to enforce the terms, stipula20 tions, conditions, and agreements in a single joint 

21 special recreation permit or commercial use author22 ization issued under the pilot program established 

23 under paragraph (1) that apply specifically to the 

24 use occurring on the Federal recreational lands and 

25 waters managed by the applicable Secretary, under 


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1 the authorities that apply to the applicable Federal 

2 recreational lands and waters. 

3 (5) OPTION TO APPLY FOR SEPARATE SPECIAL

4 RECREATION PERMITS OR COMMERCIAL USE AU5 THORIZATIONS.—A person seeking the appropriate 

6 permits or authorizations for a multijurisdictional 

7 trip may apply for— 

8 (A) a separate special recreation permit or 

9 commercial use authorization for the use of 

10 each unit of Federal recreational lands and 

11 waters on which the multijurisdictional trip oc12 curs; or 

13 (B) a single joint special recreational per14 mit or commercial use authorization made 

15 available under the pilot program established 

16 under paragraph (1). 

17 (6) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection ap18 plies to a concession contract issued by the National 

19 Park Service for the provision of accommodations, 

20 facilities, or services. 


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1 SEC. 316. 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 the enactment of this title, 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 the enactment of this title; 

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 317(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 317(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 this title). 

21 SEC. 317. REVIEWS FOR TRANSITIONAL PERMITS AND 

22 LONG-TERM PERMITS. 

23 (a) MONITORING.—The Secretary concerned shall 

24 monitor each recreation service provider issued a special 


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1 recreation permit for compliance with the terms of the per2 mit— 

3 (1) annually, in the case of a transitional spe4 cial recreation permit for outfitting and guiding 

5 issued under section 316; 

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

7 recreation permit described in paragraph 

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

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

10 amended by this title) that is issued for a term of 

11 10 years; 

12 (3) in the case of a transitional special recre13 ation permit replaced under section 316 with a long14 term special recreation permit for outfitting and 

15 guiding with a term of 10 years, during each of the 

16 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th years in which the long-term 

17 special recreation permit is in effect; and 

18 (4) in the case of a transitional special recre19 ation permit replaced under section 316 with a long20 term special recreation permit for outfitting and 

21 guiding with a term of 5 years, during each of the 

22 4th and 5th years in which the long-term special 

23 recreation permit is in effect. 

24 (b) USE-OF-ALLOCATION REVIEWS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Agri2 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv3 ice, or the Secretary, as applicable, allocates visitor4 use days among special recreation permits for outfit5 ting and guiding, the Secretary of Agriculture, act6 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall, 

7 and the Secretary may, review the use by the recre8 ation service provider of the visitor-use days allo9 cated— 

10 (A) under a transitional special recreation 

11 permit issued under section 316, not later than 

12 90 days before the date on which the transi13 tional special recreation permit expires; and 

14 (B) under a long-term special recreation 

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

16 section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation 

17 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as amend18 ed by this title), once every 5 years. 

19 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF THE REVIEW.—In con20 ducting a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

21 concerned shall determine— 

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

23 recreation service provider used each year under 

24 the transitional special recreation permit or the 


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1 special recreation permit, in accordance with 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 (B) the year in which the recreation serv4 ice provider used the most visitor-use days 

5 under the transitional special recreation permit 

6 or the special recreation permit. 

7 (3) CONSIDERATION OF SURRENDERED, UN8 USED VISITOR-USE DAYS.—For the purposes of de9 termining the number of visitor-use days a recre10 ation service provider used in a specified year under 

11 paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary of Agriculture, act12 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the 

13 Secretary, as applicable, shall consider an unused 

14 visitor-use day that has been surrendered under sec15 tion 313(c)(1)(B) as— 

16 (A) 1/2 of a visitor-use day used; or 

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

18 concerned determines the use of the allocated 

19 visitor-use day had been or will be prevented by 

20 a circumstance beyond the control of the recre21 ation service provider. 

22 SEC. 318. ADJUSTMENT OF ALLOCATED VISITOR-USE DAYS. 

23 (a) ADJUSTMENTS FOLLOWING USE OF ALLOCATION

24 REVIEWS.—On the completion of a use-of-allocation re25 view conducted under section 317(b) for a special recreVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00191 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 ation permit described in paragraph (13)(A)(iv)(I) of sec2 tion 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

3 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) (as amended by this title), the Sec4 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the For5 est Service, or the Secretary, as applicable, shall adjust 

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

7 service provider under the special recreation permit as fol8 lows: 

9 (1) If the Secretary concerned determines that 

10 the performance of the recreation service provider 

11 was satisfactory during the most recent review con12 ducted under subsection (a) of section 317, the an13 nual number of visitor-use days allocated for each 

14 remaining year of the permit shall be equal to 125 

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

16 determined under subsection (b)(2)(A) of that sec17 tion, during the year identified under subsection 

18 (b)(2)(B) of that section, not to exceed the level allo19 cated to the recreation service provider on the date 

20 on which the special recreation permit was issued. 

21 (2) If the Secretary concerned determines the 

22 performance of the recreation service provider is less 

23 than satisfactory during the most recent perform24 ance review conducted under subsection (a) of sec25 tion 317, the annual number of visitor-use days alloVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00192 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6492.IH H6492

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1 cated for each remaining year of the special recre2 ation permit shall be equal to not more than 100 

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

4 determined under subsection (b)(2)(A) of that sec5 tion during the year identified under subsection 

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

7 (b) TEMPORARY REASSIGNMENT OF UNUSED VIS8 ITOR-USE DAYS.—The Secretary concerned may tempo9 rarily assign unused visitor-use days, made available under 

10 section 313(c)(1)(B), to— 

11 (1) any other existing or potential recreation 

12 service provider, notwithstanding the number of vis13 itor-use days allocated to the special recreation per14 mit holder under the special recreation permit held 

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

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

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

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

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

20 6801) (as amended by this title), including the pub21 lic. 

22 (c) ADDITIONAL CAPACITY.—If unallocated visitor23 use days are available, the Secretary concerned may, at 

24 any time, amend a special recreation permit to allocate 


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1 additional visitor-use days to a qualified recreation service 

2 provider. 

3 SEC. 319. LIABILITY. 

4 (a) INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), as a condition of issuing a special recre7 ation permit under subsection (h)(1)(B) of section 

8 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by this title) or 

10 a commercial use authorization, the Secretary con11 cerned may require the holder of the special recre12 ation permit or commercial use authorization to have 

13 a commercial general liability insurance policy 

14 that— 

15 (A) is commensurate with the level of risk 

16 of the activities to be conducted under the spe17 cial recreation permit or commercial use au18 thorization; and 

19 (B) includes the United States as an addi20 tional insured in an endorsement to the applica21 ble policy. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary concerned 

23 shall not require a holder of a special recreation per24 mit or commercial use authorization for low-risk ac25 tivities, as determined by the Secretary concerned, 


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1 including commemorative ceremonies and participa2 tion by the public in a recreation activity or recre3 ation use of a specific area of Federal recreational 

4 lands and waters in which use by the public is allo5 cated, to comply with the requirements of paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 (b) INDEMNIFICATION BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTI8 TIES.—The Secretary concerned shall not require a State, 

9 State agency, State institution, or political subdivision of 

10 a State to indemnify the United States for tort liability 

11 as a condition for issuing a special recreation permit or 

12 commercial use authorization to the extent the State, 

13 State agency, State institution, or political subdivision of 

14 a State is precluded by State law from providing indem15 nification to the United States for tort liability, if the 

16 State, State agency, State institution, or political subdivi17 sion of the State maintains the minimum amount of liabil18 ity insurance coverage required by the Federal land man19 agement agency for the activities conducted under the spe20 cial recreation permit or commercial use authorization in 

21 the form of— 

22 (1) a commercial general liability insurance pol23 icy, which includes the United States as an addi24 tional insured in an endorsement to the policy, if the 


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1 State is authorized to obtain commercial general li2 ability insurance by State law; 

3 (2) self-insurance, which covers the United 

4 States as an additional insured, if authorized by 

5 State law; or 

6 (3) a combination of the coverage described in 

7 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

8 (c) EXCULPATORY AGREEMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), a Federal land management agency shall 

11 not implement, administer, or enforce any regula12 tion, guidance, or policy prohibiting the use of an ex13 culpatory agreement between a recreation service 

14 provider or a holder of a commercial use authoriza15 tion and a customer relating to services provided 

16 under a special recreation permit or a commercial 

17 use authorization. 

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any exculpatory agree19 ment used by a recreation service provider or holder 

20 of a commercial use authorization for an activity au21 thorized under a special recreation permit or com22 mercial use authorization— 

23 (A) shall shield the United States from any 

24 liability, if otherwise allowable under Federal 

25 law; and 


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1 (B) shall not waive any liability of the 

2 recreation service provider or holder of the com3 mercial use authorization that may not be 

4 waived under the laws (including common law) 

5 of the applicable State or for gross negligence, 

6 recklessness, or willful misconduct. 

7 (3) CONSISTENCY.—Not later than 2 years 

8 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Sec9 retaries shall— 

10 (A) review the policies of the Secretaries 

11 pertaining to the use of exculpatory agreements 

12 by recreation service providers and holders of 

13 commercial use authorizations; and 

14 (B) revise any policy described in subpara15 graph (A) as necessary to make the policies of 

16 the Secretaries pertaining to the use of excul17 patory agreements by recreation service pro18 viders and holders of commercial use authoriza19 tions consistent with this subsection and across 

20 all Federal recreational lands and waters. 

21 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section applies to a 

22 concession contract issued by the National Park Service 

23 for the provision of accommodations, facilities, or services. 


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1 SEC. 320. COST RECOVERY REFORM. 

2 (a) COST RECOVERY FOR SPECIAL RECREATION

3 PERMITS.—In addition to a fee collected under section 

4 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

5 (16 U.S.C. 6802) or any other authorized fee collected by 

6 the Secretary concerned, the Secretary concerned may as7 sess and collect a reasonable fee from an applicant for, 

8 or holder of, a special recreation permit to recover admin9 istrative costs incurred by the Secretary concerned for— 

10 (1) processing a proposal or application for the 

11 special recreation permit; 

12 (2) issuing the special recreation permit; and 

13 (3) monitoring the special recreation permit to 

14 ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of 

15 the special recreation permit. 

16 (b) DE MINIMIS EXEMPTION FROM COST RECOV17 ERY.—If the administrative costs described in subsection 

18 (a) are assessed on an hourly basis, the Secretary con19 cerned shall— 

20 (1) establish an hourly de minimis threshold 

21 that exempts a specified number of hours from the 

22 assessment and collection of administrative costs de23 scribed in subsection (a); and 

24 (2) charge an applicant only for any hours that 

25 exceed the de minimis threshold. 


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1 (c) MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS.—If the Secretary con2 cerned collectively processes multiple applications for spe3 cial recreation permits for the same or similar services in 

4 the same unit of Federal recreational lands and waters, 

5 the Secretary concerned shall, to the extent practicable— 

6 (1) assess from the applicants the fee described 

7 in subsection (a) on a prorated basis; and 

8 (2) apply the exemption described in subsection 

9 (b) to each applicant on an individual basis. 

10 (d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary concerned shall not 

11 assess or collect administrative costs under this section for 

12 a programmatic environmental review. 

13 (e) COST REDUCTION.—To the maximum extent 

14 practicable, the agency processing an application for a spe15 cial recreation permit shall use existing studies and anal16 ysis to reduce the quantity of work and costs necessary 

17 to process the application. 

18 SEC. 321. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 

19 RECREATION PASSES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Lands Recreation 

21 Enhancement Act is amended by inserting after section 

22 805 (16 U.S.C. 6804) the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 805A. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 

24 RECREATION PASSES. 

25 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To improve the availability 

2 of Federal, State, and local outdoor recreation 

3 passes, the Secretaries are encouraged to consult 

4 with States and counties to coordinate the avail5 ability of Federal, State, and local recreation passes 

6 to allow a purchaser to buy a Federal recreation 

7 pass, State recreation pass, and local recreation pass 

8 in a single transaction. 

9 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED PASSES.—Passes covered by 

10 the program established under paragraph (1) in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(A) an America the Beautiful—the Na13 tional Parks and Federal Recreational Lands 

14 Pass under section 805; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any pass covering any fees charged 

16 by participating States and counties for en17 trance and recreational use of parks and public 

18 land in the participating States. 

19 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS WITH STATES AND COUNTIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, after con21 sultation with the States and counties, may enter 

22 into agreements with States and counties to coordi23 nate the availability of passes as described in sub24 section (a). 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVENUE FROM PASS SALES.—Agree2 ments between the Secretaries, States, and counties 

3 entered into pursuant to this section shall ensure 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) funds from the sale of State or local 

6 passes are transferred to the appropriate State 

7 agency or county government; 

8 ‘‘(B) funds from the sale of Federal passes 

9 are transferred to the appropriate Federal 

10 agency; and 

11 ‘‘(C) fund transfers are completed by the 

12 end of a fiscal year for all pass sales occurring 

13 during the fiscal year.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

17 805 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 805A. Availability of Federal, State, and local recreation passes.’’. 

18 SEC. 322. ONLINE PURCHASES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A 

19 DIGITAL VERSION OF AMERICA THE BEAU20 TIFUL—THE NATIONAL PARKS AND FEDERAL 

21 RECREATIONAL LANDS PASSES. 

22 (a) ONLINE PURCHASES OF AMERICA THE BEAU23 TIFUL–THE NATIONAL PARKS AND FEDERAL REC24 REATIONAL LANDS PASS.—Section 805(a)(6) of the Fed25 eral Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 


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1 6804(a)(6)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and 

2 inserting the following: 

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

4 sell or otherwise make available the National 

5 Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass— 

6 ‘‘(i) at all Federal recreational lands 

7 and waters at which— 

8 ‘‘(I) an entrance fee or a stand9 ard amenity recreation fee is charged; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) such sales or distribution of 

12 the Pass is feasible; 

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

14 Secretaries consider appropriate and fea15 sible; and 

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

17 the Federal land management agencies and 

18 the websites of the relevant units and 

19 subunits of those agencies, which shall in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(I) a prominent link on each 

22 website; and 

23 ‘‘(II) information about where 

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1 eral Recreational Lands Pass may be 

2 used.’’. 

3 (b) DIGITAL VERSION OF THE AMERICA THE BEAU4 TIFUL—THE NATIONAL PARKS AND FEDERAL RECRE5 ATION LANDS PASS.—Section 805(a) of the Federal 

6 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6804(a)) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(10) DIGITAL RECREATION PASSES.—Not 

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

10 ‘‘(A) establish a digital version of the Na11 tional Parks and Federal Recreational Lands 

12 Pass that is able to be stored on a mobile de13 vice, including with respect to free and dis14 counted passes; and 

15 ‘‘(B) upon completion of a transaction for 

16 a National Parks and Federal Recreational 

17 Lands Pass, make immediately available to the 

18 passholder a digital version of the National 

19 Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass es20 tablished under subparagraph (A).’’. 

21 (c) ENTRANCE PASS AND AMENITY FEES.—Section 

22 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act 

23 (16 U.S.C. 6802) (as amended by this title) is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(j) ONLINE PAYMENTS.— 


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

2 onsite payment methods, the Secretaries may collect 

3 payment online for— 

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

5 ‘‘(B) standard amenity recreation fees 

6 under subsection (f); 

7 ‘‘(C) expanded amenity recreation fees 

8 under subsection (g); and 

9 ‘‘(D) special recreation permit fees. 

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

11 An online payment collected under paragraph (1) 

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

13 Federal land management agency shall be distrib14 uted in accordance with section 805(c).’’. 

15 SEC. 323. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

16 Nothing in this subtitle, or in any amendment made 

17 by this subtitle, shall be construed as affecting the author18 ity or responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior to 

19 award concessions contracts for the provision of accom20 modations, facilities, and services, or commercial use au21 thorizations to provide services, to visitors to units of the 

22 National Park System pursuant to subchapter II of chap23 ter 1019 of title 54, United States Code (formerly known 

24 as the ‘‘National Park Service Concessions Management 

25 Improvement Act of 1998’’), except that sections 314(a), 


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1 315, 319(a), 319(b), and 319(c) of this subtitle shall also 

2 apply to commercial use authorizations under that Act. 

3 Subtitle B—Making Recreation a 

4 Priority 

5 SEC. 331. 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, or portion of a unit, of Federal rec11 reational lands and waters is closed to the public for 

12 a continuous period of 30 days or more, excluding 

13 temporary closures relating to wildlife conservation 

14 or public safety; and 

15 (2) permitted or allowable recreational activi16 ties, which provide an economic benefit, including 

17 off-season or winter-season tourism, do not take 

18 place at the unit, or portion of a unit, of Federal 

19 recreational lands and waters. 

20 (b) COORDINATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall consult 

22 and coordinate with outdoor recreation-related busi23 nesses operating on, or adjacent to, a unit of Fed24 eral recreational lands and waters, State offices of 

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1 nizations, applicable trade organizations, nonprofit 

2 organizations, Indian Tribes, local governments, and 

3 institutions of higher education— 

4 (A) to better understand— 

5 (i) trends with respect to visitors to 

6 the unit of Federal recreational lands and 

7 waters; 

8 (ii) the effect of seasonal closures on 

9 areas of, or infrastructure on, units of 

10 Federal recreational lands and waters on 

11 outdoor recreation opportunities, adjacent 

12 businesses, and local tax revenue; and 

13 (iii) opportunities to extend the period 

14 of time during which areas of, or infra15 structure on, units of Federal recreational 

16 lands and waters are open to the public to 

17 increase outdoor recreation opportunities 

18 and associated revenues for businesses and 

19 local governments; and 

20 (B) to solicit input from, and provide in21 formation for, outdoor recreation marketing 

22 campaigns. 

23 (2) LOCAL COORDINATION.—As part of the con24 sultation and coordination required under subpara25 graph (1), the Secretaries shall encourage relevant 


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1 unit managers of Federal recreational lands and 

2 waters managed by the Forest Service, the Bureau 

3 of Land Management, and the National Park Serv4 ice to consult and coordinate with local governments, 

5 Indian Tribes, outdoor recreation-related businesses, 

6 and other local stakeholders operating on or adja7 cent to the relevant unit of Federal recreational 

8 lands and waters. 

9 (d) EXTENSIONS BEYOND SEASONAL CLOSURES.— 

10 (1) EXTENSION OF RECREATIONAL SEASON.— 

11 In the case of a unit of Federal recreational lands 

12 and waters managed by the Forest Service, the Bu13 reau of Land Management, or the National Park 

14 Service in which recreational use is highly seasonal, 

15 the Secretary concerned, acting through the relevant 

16 unit manager, may— 

17 (A) as appropriate, extend the recreation 

18 season or increase recreation use in a sustain19 able manner during the offseason; and 

20 (B) make information about extended sea21 son schedules and related recreational opportu22 nities available to the public and local commu23 nities. 

24 (2) DETERMINATION.—In determining whether 

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1 section, the Secretary concerned, acting through the 

2 relevant unit manager, shall consider the benefits of 

3 extending the recreation season— 

4 (A) for the duration of income to gateway 

5 communities; and 

6 (B) to provide more opportunities to visit 

7 resources on units of Federal recreational lands 

8 and waters to reduce crowding during peak visi9 tation. 

10 (3) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sub11 section precludes the Secretary concerned, acting 

12 through the relevant unit manager, from providing 

13 for additional recreational opportunities and uses at 

14 times other than those described in this subsection. 

15 (4) INCLUSIONS.—An extension of a recreation 

16 season or an increase in recreation use during the 

17 offseason under paragraph (1) may include— 

18 (A) the addition of facilities that would in19 crease recreation use during the offseason; and 

20 (B) improvement of access to the relevant 

21 unit to extend the recreation season. 

22 (5) REQUIREMENT.—An extension of a recre23 ation season or increase in recreation use during the 

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1 pliance with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, 

2 and policies, including land use plans. 

3 (6) AGREEMENTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con5 cerned may enter into agreements with busi6 nesses, local governments, or other entities to 

7 share the cost of additional expenses necessary 

8 to extend the period of time during which an 

9 area of, or infrastructure on, a unit of Federal 

10 recreational lands and waters is made open to 

11 the public. 

12 (B) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec13 retary concerned may accept in-kind contribu14 tions of goods and services provided by busi15 nesses, local governments, or other entities for 

16 purposes of paragraph (1). 

17 Subtitle C—Maintenance of Public 

18 Land 

19 SEC. 341. VOLUNTEERS IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS AND 

20 PUBLIC LAND ACT. 

21 The Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972 

22 (16 U.S.C. 558a et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE. 

24 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Volunteers in the Na25 tional Forests and Public Lands Act’. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 ‘‘The purpose of this Act is to leverage volunteer en3 gagement to supplement projects that are carried out by 

4 the Secretaries to fulfill the missions of the Forest Service 

5 and the Bureau of Land Management and are accom6 plished with appropriated funds. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SECRETARIES. 

8 ‘‘In this Act, the term ‘Secretaries’ means each of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

10 through the Chief of the Forest Service; and 

11 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

12 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man13 agement. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION. 

15 ‘‘The Secretaries are authorized to recruit, train, and 

16 accept without regard to the civil service and classification 

17 laws, rules, or regulations the services of individuals with18 out compensation as volunteers for or in aid of recreation 

19 access, trail construction or maintenance, facility con20 struction or maintenance, educational uses (including out21 door classroom construction or maintenance), interpretive 

22 functions, visitor services, conservation measures and de23 velopment, or other activities in and related to areas ad24 ministered by the Secretaries. In carrying out this section, 

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1 unteers made by the Corporation for National and Com2 munity Service. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 5. INCIDENTAL EXPENSES. 

4 ‘‘The Secretaries are authorized to provide for inci5 dental expenses, such as transportation, uniforms, lodg6 ing, training, equipment, and subsistence. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONSIDERATION AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEE. 

8 ‘‘(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a 

9 volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and 

10 shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to 

11 Federal employment, including those relating to hours of 

12 work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment com13 pensation, and Federal employee benefits. 

14 ‘‘(b) For the purpose of the tort claim provisions of 

15 title 28, United States Code, a volunteer under this Act 

16 shall be considered a Federal employee. 

17 ‘‘(c) For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 

18 of title 5, United States Code, relating to compensation 

19 to Federal employees for work injuries, volunteers under 

20 this Act shall be deemed civil employees of the United 

21 States within the meaning of the term ‘employee’ as de22 fined in section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, and 

23 the provisions of that subchapter shall apply. 

24 ‘‘(d) For the purposes of claims relating to damage 

25 to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident 


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1 to volunteer service, a volunteer under this Act shall be 

2 considered a Federal employee, and the provisions of sec3 tion 3721 of title 31, United States Code, shall apply. 

4 ‘‘(e) For the purposes of subsections (b), (c), and (d), 

5 the term ‘volunteer’ includes a person providing volunteer 

6 services to either of the Secretaries who— 

7 ‘‘(1) is recruited, trained, and supported by a 

8 cooperator under a mutual benefit agreement or co9 operative agreement with either of the Secretaries; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) performs such volunteer services under the 

12 supervision of the cooperator as directed by either of 

13 the Secretaries in the mutual benefit agreement or 

14 cooperative agreement in the mutual benefit agree15 ment, including direction that specifies— 

16 ‘‘(A) the volunteer services, including the 

17 geographic boundaries of the work to be per18 formed by the volunteers, and the supervision 

19 to be provided by the cooperator; 

20 ‘‘(B) the applicable project safety stand21 ards and protocols to be adhered to by the vol22 unteers and enforced by the cooperator; 

23 ‘‘(C) the on-site visits to be made by either 

24 of the Secretaries, if feasible and only if nec25 essary to verify that volunteers are performing 


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1 the volunteer services and the cooperator is pro2 viding the supervision agreed upon; 

3 ‘‘(D) the equipment the volunteers are au4 thorized to use; 

5 ‘‘(E) the training the volunteers are re6 quired to complete; 

7 ‘‘(F) the actions the volunteers are author8 ized to take; and 

9 ‘‘(G) any other terms and conditions that 

10 are determined to be necessary by the applica11 ble Secretary. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 7. PROMOTION OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. 

13 ‘‘The Secretaries shall promote volunteer opportuni14 ties in areas administered by the Secretaries. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 8. LIABILITY INSURANCE. 

16 ‘‘The Secretaries shall not require a cooperator or 

17 volunteer (as those terms are used in section 6) to have 

18 liability insurance to provide the volunteer services author19 ized under this Act.’’. 

20 SEC. 342. REFERENCE. 

21 Any reference to the Volunteers in the National For22 ests Act of 1972 in any law, regulation, map, document, 

23 record, or other paper of the United States shall be 

24 deemed to be a reference to the Volunteers in the National 

25 Forests and Public Land Act. 


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1 Subtitle D—Recreation Not Red 

2 Tape 

3 SEC. 351. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY FOR RECREATION. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) AUTHORIZED RECREATION SERVICES.—The 

6 term ‘‘authorized recreation services’’ means similar 

7 and complementary recreation enhancement or im8 provement services carried out— 

9 (A) on Federal land, non-Federal land, or 

10 land owned by an Indian Tribe; and 

11 (B) by either the Secretary or a Governor, 

12 Indian Tribe, or county, as applicable, pursuant 

13 to a good neighbor agreement. 

14 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘county’’ means— 

15 (A) the appropriate executive official of an 

16 affected county; or 

17 (B) in any case in which multiple counties 

18 are affected, the appropriate executive official 

19 of a compact of the affected counties. 

20 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

21 means land that is— 

22 (A) owned and administered by the United 

23 States as a part of— 

24 (i) the National Forest System; or 

25 (ii) the National Park System; or 


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1 (B) public lands (as defined in section 103 

2 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

3 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 

4 (4) RECREATION ENHANCEMENT OR IMPROVE5 MENT SERVICES.—The term ‘‘recreation enhance6 ment or improvement services’’ means— 

7 (A) establishing, repairing, restoring, im8 proving, relocating, constructing, or recon9 structing new or existing— 

10 (i) trails or trailheads; 

11 (ii) campgrounds and camping areas; 

12 (iii) cabins; 

13 (iv) picnic areas or other day use 

14 areas; 

15 (v) shooting ranges; 

16 (vi) restroom or shower facilities; 

17 (vii) paved or permanent roads or 

18 parking areas that serve existing recreation 

19 facilities or areas; 

20 (viii) fishing piers, wildlife viewing 

21 platforms, docks, or other constructed fea22 tures at a recreation site; 

23 (ix) boat landings; 

24 (x) hunting or fishing sites; 

25 (xi) infrastructure within ski areas; or 


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1 (xii) visitor centers or other interpre2 tative sites; and 

3 (B) activities that create, improve, or re4 store access to existing recreation facilities or 

5 areas. 

6 (5) GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT.—The term 

7 ‘‘good neighbor agreement’’ means a cooperative 

8 agreement or contract (including a sole source con9 tract) entered into between the Secretary and a Gov10 ernor, Indian Tribe, or county, as applicable, to 

11 carry out authorized recreation services under this 

12 title. 

13 (6) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

14 the Governor or any other appropriate executive offi15 cial of an affected State or the Commonwealth of 

16 Puerto Rico. 

17 (7) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec18 retary concerned’’ means— 

19 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re20 spect to National Forest System land; and 

21 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re22 spect to National Park System land and public 

23 lands. 

24 (b) GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS FOR RECRE25 ATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

2 may enter into a good neighbor agreement with a 

3 Governor, Indian Tribe, or county to carry out au4 thorized recreation services in accordance with this 

5 title. 

6 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary con7 cerned shall make each good neighbor agreement 

8 available to the public. 

9 (3) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con11 cerned may provide financial or technical assist12 ance to a Governor, Indian Tribe, or county 

13 carrying out authorized recreation services. 

14 (B) ADDITIONAL TREATMENTS OF REV15 ENUE.—Section 8206(b)(2)(C) of the Agricul16 tural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(b)(2)(C)) 

17 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF REVENUE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds received 

20 from the sale of timber by a Governor, In21 dian Tribe, or county under a good neigh22 bor agreement shall be retained and used 

23 by the Governor, Indian Tribe, or county, 

24 as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res2 toration services on under the good 

3 neighbor agreement; and 

4 ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain5 ing after carrying out clause (i), to 

6 carry out— 

7 ‘‘(aa) authorized restoration 

8 services under other good neigh9 bor agreements; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) authorized recreation 

11 services under the Good Neighbor 

12 Authority for Recreation Act. 

13 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVE14 NESS.—The authority provided under this 

15 subparagraph terminates effective October 

16 1, 2028.’’. 

17 (4) RETENTION OF NEPA RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

18 Any decision required to be made under the Na19 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4321 et seq.) with respect to any authorized recre21 ation services to be provided under this section on 

22 Federal land shall not be delegated to a Governor, 

23 Indian Tribe, or county. 


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1 SEC. 352. PERMIT RELIEF FOR PICNIC AREAS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary concerned does 

3 not require the public to obtain a permit or reservation 

4 to access a picnic area on Federal recreational lands and 

5 waters administered by the Forest Service or the Bureau 

6 of Land Management, the Secretary concerned shall not 

7 require a covered person to obtain a permit solely to access 

8 the picnic area. 

9 (b) COVERED PERSON DEFINED.—In this section, 

10 the term ‘‘covered person’’ means a person (including an 

11 educational group) that provides outfitting and guiding 

12 services to fewer than 40 customers per year at a picnic 

13 area described in subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 353. INTERAGENCY REPORT ON SPECIAL RECREATION 

15 PERMITS FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. 

16 (a) COVERED COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In this sec17 tion, the term ‘‘covered community’’ means a rural or 

18 urban community, including an Indian Tribe, that is— 

19 (1) low-income or underserved; and 

20 (2) has been underrepresented in outdoor recre21 ation opportunities on Federal recreational lands 

22 and waters. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

24 of the enactment of this title, the Secretaries, acting joint25 ly, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

26 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 


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1 Resources of the House of Representatives a report that 

2 describes— 

3 (1) the estimated use of special recreation per4 mits serving covered communities; 

5 (2) examples of special recreation permits, part6 nerships, cooperative agreements, or other arrange7 ments providing access to Federal recreational lands 

8 and waters for covered communities; 

9 (3) other ways covered communities are engag10 ing on Federal recreational lands and waters, includ11 ing through stewardship and conservation projects 

12 or activities; 

13 (4) any barriers for existing or prospective 

14 recreation service providers and holders of commer15 cial use authorizations operating within or serving a 

16 covered community; and 

17 (5) any recommendations to facilitate and in18 crease permitted access to Federal recreational lands 

19 and waters for covered communities. 

20 SEC. 354. MODERNIZING ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC LAND ACT 

21 AMENDMENTS. 

22 The Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act (16 

23 U.S.C. 6851 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 3(1) (16 U.S.C. 6852(1)), by 

2 striking ‘‘public outdoor recreational use’’ and in3 serting ‘‘recreation sites’’; 

4 (2) in section 5(a)(4) (16 U.S.C. 6854(a)(4)), 

5 by striking ‘‘permanently restricted or prohibited’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘regulated or closed’’; and 

7 (3) in section 6(b) (16 U.S.C. 6855(b))— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘shall’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary of the Inte11 rior’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretaries’’. 

Æ 


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