The U.S. government manages approximately 28% of the nation’s landmass for purposes that include preservation and development of natural resources and outdoor recreation. Last week the Senate passed a sprawling package of legislation known as the “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act” (EXPLORE Act) that would enhance the accessibility of these lands to recreational shooters, hunters, and other outdoorsmen. The bipartisan bill now heads to Joe Biden’s desk, where it will hopefully be signed into law.
The bill makes clear “it is the policy of the Federal Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal recreational lands and waters” and facilitates this through a wide range of mechanisms to remove barriers to recreational access and to promote this use. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior would be required to conduct an inventory and assessment of recreation resources on federal lands and to identify underutilized locations suitable for developing or expanding recreation opportunities. A Federal Interagency Council on Recreation would be established with representation from the agencies responsible for administering these lands, as well as state and local partners. Its mandate would be to coordinate on improving access to federal lands and waters.
One of the most promising of the EXPLORE Act’s provisions for gun owners is its inclusion of the Range Access Act. This legislation would direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to identify and maintain, or establish, within five years, at least one target shooting range on every national forest and Bureau of Land Management unit that they determined to be suitable for that purpose. Ranges would be required to accommodate rifle and pistol shooting and could further include infrastructure for skeet, trap, sporting clay, and archery uses. The ranges would have to remain open to the public, unless in the case of an emergency closure. The Secretaries would also have to maintain lists of those ranges and to make them available to the public. The act would allow these ranges to be administered and maintained in partnership with state and local governments, as well as with nongovernmental organizations, including shooting clubs and nonprofit organizations.
Other provisions of the EXPLORE Act would require the reopening and modernization of overnight camping facilities and the development of programs aimed at increasing reactional land use by veterans and youth. The act would furthermore streamline access to permits and remove bureaucratic barriers to the use of federal lands for recreation.
Overall, the EXPLORE Act promises to significantly contribute to America’s rich heritage of outdoor recreation on federal lands and waters.
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