House panel introduces bipartisan federal lands improvement bill

House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-Az.) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday that would expand access to outdoor federal lands and parks.

The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act would take steps to improve broadband connectivity on public lands and waters, update infrastructure and improve access for visitors with disabilities.

“Exploring the great outdoors is part of the fabric of this nation and our identity as Americans,” Westerman said in a statement. “We’re taking important steps to modernize visitor experiences, reduce overcrowding, improve access for those with disabilities, address infrastructure issues and reduce burdensome permitting processes for small businesses that depend on access to our public lands.”

“We must also prioritize conservation to uplift outdoor spaces, as well as equitable access to ensure recreation can be enjoyed by all Americans, in rural and urban communities alike,” Grijalva said in a statement.

The legislation is set to receive a subcommittee hearing Thursday in the Federal Lands Subcommittee. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act, in March. The bill was reported out of committee in July. 

Advocates have long sought for accessibility in national parks in particular to be improved. In 2021, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), then chair of the Natural Resources Committee’s oversight subcommittee, held a hearing on National Park Service accessibility.

“[R]ather than this binary, wheelchair-no wheelchair, people need a whole range of information to accommodate the whole range of different abilities,” Porter said at the time. “This seems like a fixable problem to me.”