IIB 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 187 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22, 2025 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

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 of 2025’’ or the ‘‘MAPWaters 

4 Act of 2025’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) FEDERAL FISHING RESTRICTION.—The 

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

9 area in which all or certain fishing activities are 

10 temporarily or permanently prohibited or restricted 

11 by a Federal land or water management agency. 

12 (2) FEDERAL LAND OR WATER MANAGEMENT

13 AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal land or water man14 agement agency’’ means— 

15 (A) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

16 (B) the National Park Service; 

17 (C) the Bureau of Land Management; 

18 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

19 Service; and 

20 (E) the Forest Service. 

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

22 waterway’’ means waters managed by 1 or more of 

23 the relevant 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 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

9 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

10 each territory of the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY DATA STANDARDIZATION. 

12 Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the Fed14 eral Geographic Data Committee established by section 

15 753(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (43 

16 U.S.C. 2802(a)), shall jointly develop and adopt inter17 agency standards to ensure compatibility and interoper18 ability among applicable Federal databases with respect 

19 to the collection and dissemination of geospatial data re20 lating to public outdoor recreational access of Federal wa21 terways and Federal fishing restrictions. 

22 SEC. 4. DATA CONSOLIDATION AND PUBLICATION. 

23 (a) FEDERAL WATERWAY RESTRICTIONS.—Not later 

24 than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

25 of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, 


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1 shall digitize and make publicly available online, as appli2 cable, geographic information system data that includes, 

3 with respect to Federal waterway restrictions— 

4 (1) status information with respect to the con5 ditions under which Federal waterways are open or 

6 closed to entry or watercraft, including watercraft 

7 inspection, decontamination requirements, low-ele8 vation aircraft, or diving; 

9 (2) the dates on which Federal waterways are 

10 seasonally closed to entry or watercraft; 

11 (3) the areas of Federal waterways with restric12 tions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or fuel 

13 type; 

14 (4) the areas of Federal waterways with an15 choring restrictions, no wake zones, exclusion zones, 

16 danger areas, or vessel speed restrictions; 

17 (5) Federal waterway restrictions on the direc18 tion of travel, including upstream or downstream 

19 travel; and 

20 (6) the uses, including by watercraft, that are 

21 restricted on each area of a Federal waterway, in22 cluding the permissibility of— 

23 (A) canoes and other paddlecraft; 

24 (B) rafts and driftboats; 

25 (C) motorboats; 


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1 (D) personal watercraft; 

2 (E) airboats; 

3 (F) amphibious aircraft; 

4 (G) hovercraft; 

5 (H) oversnow vehicles and other motorized 

6 vehicles on frozen bodies of water; 

7 (I) oceangoing ships; 

8 (J) swimming; and 

9 (K) other applicable recreational activities, 

10 as determined to be appropriate by the Secre11 taries. 

12 (b) FEDERAL WATERWAY ACCESS AND NAVIGATION

13 INFORMATION.—Not later than 5 years after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the max15 imum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly 

16 available online, as applicable, geographic information sys17 tem data that includes, with respect to Federal waterway 

18 access and navigation information— 

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

20 fishing access sites under the authority of the Fed21 eral land or water management agency; and 

22 (B) the identification of the dates on which 

23 the facilities and sites identified under subpara24 graph (A) are open or closed, as applicable; and 


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1 (2) bathymetric information and depth charts, 

2 as feasible. 

3 (c) FEDERAL FISHING RESTRICTIONS.—Not later 

4 than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

5 of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, 

6 shall digitize and make publicly available online geo7 graphic information system data that describes, with re8 spect to Federal fishing restrictions— 

9 (1) the location and geographic boundaries of 

10 Federal fishing restrictions on recreational and com11 mercial fishing, including— 

12 (A) full or partial closures; 

13 (B) no-take zones; and 

14 (C) Federal fishing restrictions within or 

15 surrounding marine protected areas; 

16 (2) Federal fishing restrictions on the use of 

17 specific types of equipment or bait; and 

18 (3) Federal requirements with respect to catch 

19 and release. 

20 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretaries shall de21 velop a process to allow members of the public to submit 

22 questions or comments regarding the information de23 scribed in subsections (a) and (b). 

24 (e) UPDATES.—The Secretaries, to the maximum ex25 tent practicable, shall update— 


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

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

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

4 time as changes go into effect. 

5 (f) EXCLUSION.—This section shall not apply to irri6 gation canals and flowage easements. 

7 (g) DISCLOSURE.—Any geographic information sys8 tem data made publicly available under this section shall 

9 not disclose information regarding the nature, location, 

10 character, or ownership of historic, paleontological, or ar11 chaeological resources, consistent with applicable law. 

12 SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION. 

13 (a) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THIRD-PARTY PRO14 VIDERS.—For purposes of carrying out this Act, the Sec15 retaries may— 

16 (1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal 

17 agencies and private sector and nonprofit partners, 

18 including— 

19 (A) State natural resource agencies; 

20 (B) Tribal natural resource agencies; 

21 (C) technology companies; 

22 (D) geospatial data companies; and 

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

24 operations research; and 


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

2 to carry out any provision of this Act. 

3 (b) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—The 

4 Secretaries may work with the Director of the United 

5 States Geological Survey to collect, aggregate, digitize, 

6 standardize, and publish data on behalf of the Secretaries 

7 to meet the requirements of this Act. 

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

9 and distributed under this Act, the Secretaries shall— 

10 (1) develop the data in accordance with applica11 ble Federal, State, and Tribal laws (including regu12 lations); and 

13 (2) include a notice that any geospatial data 

14 are subject to applicable Federal, State, and Tribal 

15 laws (including regulations). 

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

17 the Secretary concerned shall use or incorporate existing 

18 applicable data, maps, and resources in carrying out this 

19 Act, including data, maps, and resources developed and 

20 published under— 

21 (1) the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land 

22 Act (16 U.S.C. 6851 et seq.); 

23 (2) section 103 of division DD of the Consoli24 dated Appropriations Act, 2023 (43 U.S.C. 776); or 

25 (3) other applicable law. 


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1 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act and annually thereafter through March 30, 

4 2034, the Secretaries shall submit a report that describes 

5 the progress made by the Secretaries with respect to meet6 ing the requirements of this Act to— 

7 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

8 House of Representatives; 

9 (2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

10 the House of Representatives; 

11 (3) the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

12 of Representatives; 

13 (4) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re14 sources of the Senate; and 

15 (5) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

16 and Forestry of the Senate. 

17 SEC. 7. EFFECT. 

18 Nothing in this Act— 

19 (1) modifies or alters the definition of the term 

20 ‘‘navigable waters’’ under Federal law; 

21 (2) affects the jurisdiction or authority of State 

22 or Federal agencies to regulate navigable waters; 

23 (3) modifies or alters the authority or jurisdic24 tion of Federal or State agencies to manage fish25 eries; or 


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1 (4) authorizes or is intended to result in a 

2 change in the accessibility of waters open to hunting, 

3 fishing, or other forms of outdoor recreation as of 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 21, 

2025. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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