Last November, Arkansas Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman and Arizona Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva sponsored a bill titled the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences or EXPLORE Act.
The legislation is a bipartisan package of outdoor recreation policy encompassing many different bills. It was written to serve as a companion to the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act, which is currently making its way through the Senate.
Rep. Westerman acts as the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. They work with energy production, mining, fisheries and wildlife, public lands, oceans, irrigation, reclamation, as well as Native American affairs.
He said the EXPLORE Act works into antiquated outdoor recreation policies that are long overdue for an update.
“The content of this bill is in the jurisdiction of our committee, and it's something that we've been working on for several years now- on a recreation package,” Westerman said. “And the Senate has been working on one as well. And this is really a joint effort with a lot of different bills that have been compiled into the EXPLORE Act, which addresses a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities across the century.”
Millions of Americans visit public lands every year, and this number is consistently rising. According to Westerman, the EXPLORE Act is designed to support this growth and address some of the challenges people working on public land face.
According to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, the outdoor industry generated more than a trillion in economic output in 2022. That’s over 2% of the country’s GDP and almost 5 million jobs. Those numbers have increased since then, but we’ve yet to see updated statistics.
In order to address the growth of outdoor recreation, the EXPLORE Act includes smaller bills that target specific recreation areas. These bills also rework the way the government manages public land access.
For instance, the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation or SOAR Act updates and streamlines the permitting process for guide services. Westerman said this will make it easier for guides to safely introduce people to outdoor spaces.
He also said some aspects of EXPLORE will be especially relevant for outdoor recreationalists in the Natural State.
“There's one in there specifically, it's legislation I've written on the Albert Park campground down in the Ouachitas areas,” Westerman said. “You know, there was a horrible flood there, and several people died. And they've closed the campground, and we've got language in there to rebuild the campground above the 100-year floodplain. So that'll definitely affect Arkansans.”
There’s also the BOLT, or Biking on Long Distance Trails Act, which will help create more sustainable long-distance mountain biking trails. Are you picking up on a common theme with these bills’ names? Anyway…
The bill directs land management agencies to identify existing and potential long-distance bike trails and then work with stakeholders to develop and promote these trails. Previously established long-distance biking trails like the Ouachita Trail in Central Arkansas will benefit from the designation and promotion.
That’s according to the Outdoor Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of natural advocacy groups like the Access Fund, the American Alpine Club, and the American Canoe Association. The Outdoor Alliance worked with the Natural Resources Committee to design the EXPLORE Act, meaning that recreationalists helped create this bill.
Another bill within EXPLORE that Arkansans might find enticing is the PARC or Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act. Here’s Westerman:
“There's a lot more rock climbing in Arkansas than I think people realize, and there's been some efforts in the federal land agencies to prohibit the anchors from being placed in the rock, which would decimate rock climbing,” Westerman said. “Especially when you get further out west, in Yosemite, you've got El Capitan, Half Dome, and all those remarkable places. Well, I actually over the break, watched that Free Solo movie, where Alex Honnold climbed up El Capitan without any ropes. He's the only person ever to do that and maybe the only person that ever does it, but everybody else needs anchors so they can climb and climb safely.”
I reached out to the American Alpine Club, which is a climbing nonprofit out of Golden, Colorado, formed to create a "united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." I got with their Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Byron Harvison, to learn more about how the Explore Act will affect climbing and outdoor recreation in Arkansas.
Harvison lives just outside of Tahlequah and regularly climbs at Lincoln Lake. He said that multiple bills within EXPLORE will improve outdoor access for Arkansans.
“For example, the SOAR act or Simplifying Outdoor Access to Recreation, you know, we're big proponents of that- making it easier for guides to obtain permits, especially when, when folks are trying to access public lands that are regulated by multiple management agencies,” Harvison said. “So, for example, if you're guiding a client on Forest Service land, but have the crossover Park Service land, right now, that stands, you'd have to put in for multiple permits. And so, the SOAR Act looks to remedy and simplify some of those types of things. And also make the acquisition of certain permits a little more equitable and a little more transparent,”
Harvison said that many bills within EXPLORE look to standardize how different agencies manage recreation. Creating an equitable framework for governing people in the outdoors will create a more enjoyable experience for every party involved.
“Like right now, the Forest Service does not have a climbing management plan,” he said. “Individual units may have plans or policies. The PARC Act looks to have national guidance on these things. Also applicable to the park service as well. And so I think it draws it draws necessary attention to those places and says, ‘Hey, we need to responsibly manage our recreation resources.’ And they also recognize recreation as a renewable resource for those for the agencies and just draws attention that they need to be properly managed.”
Another unique aspect of the EXPLORE Act is its bipartisan support. Harvison said positivity surrounds outdoor recreation on both sides of the aisle, he sees it as a nonpartisan issue.
“I think also, it's a recognition of the kind of the importance of outdoor recreation on our economy,” Harvison said. “But certainly, and certainly northwest Arkansas, right, like, outdoor recreation is a huge, huge contributor to the economy. And, yeah, I think that's been recognized. And the implications are kind of being addressed in these bills. And allowing and managing more people getting outside is a good thing, right? Like we don't, we don't want to love our wilderness or outdoor places to death. So advocating for the responsible usage of those outdoor places. But at the same time, advocating for people to get outside and live healthy lifestyles, that's a big deal.”
Two weeks ago, lawmakers in the House of Representatives House Natural Resources Committee unanimously voted to advance the EXPLORE Act.
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