118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6127 

AN ACT 

To provide for the standardization, consolidation, and publication of data relating to public outdoor recreational 

use of Federal waterways among Federal land and water 

management agencies, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Modernizing Access 

3 to Our Public Waters Act’’ or the ‘‘MAPWaters Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) FEDERAL FISHING RESTRICTION.—The 

7 term ‘‘Federal fishing restriction’’ means a defined 

8 area in which all or certain fishing activities are 

9 temporarily or permanently prohibited or restricted 

10 by a Federal land or water management agency. 

11 (2) FEDERAL LAND OR WATER MANAGEMENT

12 AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal land or water man13 agement agency’’ means— 

14 (A) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

15 (B) the National Park Service; 

16 (C) the Bureau of Land Management; 

17 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service; and 

19 (E) the Forest Service. 

20 (3) FEDERAL WATERWAY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

21 waterway’’ means any portion of a body of water 

22 managed partially or wholly by 1 or more of the rel23 evant Secretaries. 

24 (4) FEDERAL WATERWAY RESTRICTION.—The 

25 term ‘‘Federal waterway restriction’’ means a re26 striction on the access or use of a Federal waterway 
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1 applied under applicable law by 1 or more of the 

2 Secretaries. 

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

4 means— 

5 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

6 through the Chief of the Forest Service; and 

7 (B) the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY DATA STANDARDIZATION. 

9 Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the Fed11 eral Geographic Data Committee established by section 

12 753(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (43 

13 U.S.C. 2802(a)), shall jointly develop and adopt inter14 agency standards to ensure compatibility and interoper15 ability among applicable Federal databases with respect 

16 to the collection and dissemination of geospatial data re17 lating to public outdoor recreational access of Federal wa18 terways and Federal fishing restrictions. 

19 SEC. 4. DATA CONSOLIDATION AND PUBLICATION. 

20 (a) FEDERAL WATERWAY RESTRICTIONS.—Not later 

21 than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

22 of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, 

23 shall digitize and make publicly available online, as appli24 cable, geographic information system data that includes, 

25 with respect to Federal waterway restrictions— 
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1 (1) status information with respect to the con2 ditions under which Federal waterways are open or 

3 closed to entry or watercraft, including watercraft 

4 inspection, decontamination requirements, low-ele5 vation aircraft, or diving; 

6 (2) the dates on which Federal waterways are 

7 seasonally closed to entry or watercraft; 

8 (3) the areas of Federal waterways with restric9 tions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or fuel 

10 type; 

11 (4) the areas of Federal waterways with an12 choring restrictions, no wake zones, exclusion zones, 

13 danger areas, or vessel speed restrictions; 

14 (5) Federal waterway restrictions on the direc15 tion of travel, including upstream or downstream 

16 travel; and 

17 (6) the types of watercraft that are restricted 

18 on each area of a Federal waterway, including the 

19 permissibility of— 

20 (A) canoes; 

21 (B) rafts and driftboats; 

22 (C) motorboats; 

23 (D) personal watercraft; 

24 (E) airboats; 

25 (F) amphibious aircraft; 
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1 (G) hovercraft; 

2 (H) oversnow vehicles and other motorized 

3 vehicles on frozen bodies of water; and 

4 (I) oceangoing ships; and 

5 (7) citations documenting the source of the re6 strictions. 

7 (b) FEDERAL WATERWAY ACCESS AND NAVIGATION

8 INFORMATION.—Not later than 4 years after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the max10 imum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly 

11 available online, as applicable, geographic information sys12 tem data that includes, with respect to Federal waterway 

13 access and navigation information— 

14 (1)(A) the location of boat ramps, portages, and 

15 fishing access sites under the authority of the Fed16 eral land or water management agency; and 

17 (B) the identification of the dates on which the 

18 facilities and sites identified under subparagraph (A) 

19 are open or closed, as applicable; and 

20 (2) bathymetric information and depth charts, 

21 as feasible. 

22 (c) FEDERAL FISHING RESTRICTIONS.—Not later 

23 than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

24 of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, 

25 shall digitize and make publicly available online geo-
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1 graphic information system data that describes, with re2 spect to Federal fishing restrictions— 

3 (1) the location and geographic boundaries of 

4 Federal fishing restrictions on recreational and com5 mercial fishing, including— 

6 (A) full or partial closures; 

7 (B) no-take zones; and 

8 (C) Federal fishing restrictions within or 

9 surrounding marine protected areas; 

10 (2) Federal fishing restrictions enacted pursu11 ant to section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy 

12 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)); 

13 and 

14 (3) Federal requirements with respect to catch 

15 and release. 

16 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretaries shall de17 velop a process to allow members of the public to submit 

18 questions or comments regarding the information de19 scribed in subsections (a) and (b). 

20 (e) UPDATES.—The Secretaries, to the maximum ex21 tent practicable, shall update— 

22 (1) the data described in subsections (a) and 

23 (b) not less frequently than 2 times per year; and 

24 (2) the data described in subsection (c) in real 

25 time as changes go into effect. 
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1 (f) EXCLUSION.—This section shall not apply to irri2 gation canals and flowage easements. 

3 (g) DISCLOSURE.—Any geographic information sys4 tem data made publicly available under this section shall 

5 not disclose information regarding the nature, location, 

6 character, or ownership of historic, paleontological, or ar7 chaeological resources, consistent with applicable law. 

8 SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION. 

9 (a) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THIRD-PARTY PRO10 VIDERS.—For purposes of carrying out this Act, the Sec11 retaries may— 

12 (1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal 

13 agencies and private sector and nonprofit partners, 

14 including— 

15 (A) State, territorial, and District of Co16 lumbia natural resource agencies; 

17 (B) Tribal natural resource agencies; 

18 (C) technology companies; 

19 (D) geospatial data companies; and 

20 (E) experts in data science, analytics, and 

21 operations research; and 

22 (2) enter into an agreement with a third party 

23 to carry out any provision of this Act. 

24 (b) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—The 

25 Secretaries may work with the Director of the United 
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1 States Geological Survey to collect, aggregate, digitize, 

2 standardize, and publish data on behalf of the Secretaries 

3 to meet the requirements of this Act. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENT.—With respect to data developed 

5 and distributed under this Act, the Secretaries shall in6 clude a notice that any geospatial data are subject to ap7 plicable Federal, State, and Tribal regulations. 

8 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act and annually thereafter through March 30, 

11 2033, the Secretaries shall submit a report that describes 

12 the progress made by the Secretaries with respect to meet13 ing the requirements of this Act to— 

14 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re15 sources of the Senate; 

16 (2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

17 and Forestry of the Senate; 

18 (3) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

19 House of Representatives; 

20 (4) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

21 the House of Representatives; and 

22 (5) the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

23 of Representatives. 

24 SEC. 7. EFFECT. 

25 Nothing in this Act— 
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1 (1) modifies or alters the definition of the term 

2 ‘‘navigable waters’’ under Federal law; 

3 (2) affects the jurisdiction or authority of State 

4 or Federal agencies to regulate navigable waters; 

5 (3) modifies or alters the authority or jurisdic6 tion of Federal or State agencies to manage fish7 eries; or 

8 (4) authorizes or is intended to result in the 

9 closing of or restriction of access to waters open to 

10 hunting, fishing, or other forms of outdoor recre11 ation as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 17, 

2024. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6127 

AN ACT 

To provide for the standardization, consolidation, 

and for other purposes. Federal land and water management agencies, recreational use of Federal waterways among and publication of data relating to public outdoor