The vision

“The goal is that we’re growing the recreation economy for all recreation. So the hikers and bikers and hunters and anglers and skiers and snowmobilers and boaters and ATVers — we’re looking at what we all agree on. And we all agree on access for everyone.”

— Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable

The spotlight

In today’s political landscape, it seems unlikely for much of anything to garner bipartisan support, let alone anything to do with climate or environmental equity. But, just before the end of the year, one of the final acts of the 118th U.S. Congress was passing the EXPLORE Act, a bill aimed at expanding access to the outdoors. The sweeping piece of legislation includes measures to develop new long-distance bike trails, improve outdoor access for veterans and people with disabilities, and even address housing shortages and other strains on outdoor gateway communities. And it passed both the House and Senate with unanimous approval.

“This bill is the undefeated champion in Congress,” said Republican Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the chair of the Natural Resources Committee, who sponsored and introduced the bill in the House, along with Democratic Representative Raúl Grijalva from Arizona. “I think it shows how outdoor recreation can unite people with a lot of different interests, a lot of different worldviews, and a lot of different priorities.”

The EXPLORE Act, which stands for Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences, was supported by hundreds of outdoor advocacy organizations and garnered 51 co-sponsors in the House — including a relatively even split of Democrats and Republicans.

“This is a place that I think is fairly unique in our current environment, that seems to have a lot of support,” said Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that works to create more green spaces and connect more people with the outdoors.

That across-the-aisle support for outdoor access goes back decades. Another bill, the Great American Outdoors Act, was passed by a significant majority in 2020 and signed by President Donald Trump during his first term. The bill dedicated funding to address a backlog of maintenance projects in national parks — and also made permanent the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was passed with bipartisan support all the way back in 1964, due to the widespread popularity of national parks.

The story is similar at state and local levels. Hauser noted that, in addition to federal legislation like the EXPLORE Act, Trust for Public Land has been focused on helping communities across the U.S. pass ballot measures related to conservation, from creating new green spaces to protecting rivers to wildfire mitigation initiatives. “We worked on 23 of those that were on the November ballot across the country — small communities, large communities, rural, urban, red, blue,” Hauser said. “All 23 of them passed.”

It’s hard to say what, exactly, makes outdoor access an issue that can cross the political divide in this way. It doesn’t hurt that outdoor recreation has grown into a $1.2 trillion industry, encompassing more than 5 million jobs. That economic power gives the industry some political clout. But the heart of the matter may have more to do with sentiment than numbers. “I think anyone who’s had an experience outside has felt it in their own lives,” said Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, a coalition of outdoor recreation trade associations and organizations.

That emotional connection was key for many of the people who came together behind this bill. Westerman said that he “grew up in the outdoors,” and still enjoys spending as much time as he can doing activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. Hauser noted that she herself grew up next to the Grand Canyon, enjoying that natural wonder and the surrounding national forest as one big outdoor playground. She considers her current career, leading an outdoor advocacy organization, to be the “full circle” result of a connection instilled in her from a very young age.

There are certainly some aspects of outdoor recreation and preservation where different stakeholders could have opposing priorities — for instance, it’s easy to imagine where hunters and anglers might conflict with wildlife conservationists. But, Turner said, the EXPLORE Act was zoomed-out enough to have broad appeal.

“We’re not talking about this place, this trail that horseback riders and e-bikers are not getting along on,” she said. “We’re talking about the ecosystem as a whole, our public lands being public, the water staying clean, and our kids being able to ride the same bike trail that I rode,” she said. “Someone that doesn’t agree with that is, like, really far out there. I haven’t met them.”

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable held a reception last week to celebrate the EXPLORE Act’s success, and Turner described how significant the camaraderie at the event felt, not only among lawmakers across the aisle, but also among various conservation and outdoor recreation groups and companies that are rarely in a room together. “When you do the big tent, everyone feels like they have a place in it,” she said.

This is where those who work on outdoor access see the opportunity for related issues, like climate and justice. The biggest tent — a liveable future for humanity — is something nobody would likely object to. And the best way to bring more people into it may be to frame the conversation around the things that touch on people’s lived experiences and emotional connections.

“Climate change has become politically divisive,” said Mike Bybee, the Trust for Public Land’s senior director of federal relations. “What’s not divisive are those impacts of things like flooding and fires and drought and heat.” Those are tangible realities that people can see and feel in the places where they live — and, Bybee said, the work of protecting open spaces, creating parks and playgrounds, and developing green infrastructure that can protect against the undeniable realities of new weather extremes, is something everyone can agree on, whether they view it as a climate solution or not. “These issues — outdoor recreation, access to nature — are nonpartisan,” said Bybee, who followed the EXPLORE Act’s progress in D.C.

The act was really a package of items, including over a dozen measures originally sponsored by various representatives and senators. Bybee noted one section that Trust for Public Land had advocated for was the Outdoors for All Act, a measure codifying the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, a matching grant program to develop and improve parks in underserved communities. The Outdoors for All Act expanded eligibility for that grant program, including making Indigenous tribes eligible for the first time.

In addition, “This bill included a lot of funding for things like improving the permitting process for guides and outfitters, and things that often aren’t sexy, like improving trailheads and pit toilets,” Bybee said. Although they may not be attention-grabbing, they’re examples of the types of government services that many people interact with when they visit public spaces — and amenities that can make a real difference in people’s experiences of outdoor recreation.

Still, despite the law’s unanimous support, recent turmoil over federal funding — with the Trump administration threatening to freeze federal grants and other programs and Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency rocketing in to try and slash spending — creates some doubt about the future of dollars intended for things like accessible amenities and new parks in underserved areas.

“The uncertainty in this moment that we find ourselves — it does impact the implementation,” said Bybee. “It impacts our partners in the federal government, at the National Park Service, who administer these grants.” In addition to concerns around the future of federal funds, the administration’s hiring freeze and personnel cuts will likely impact staffing at national parks, which could have a significant impact for visitors. But in spite of the uncertainty, Bybee is confident that programs like the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership are not going anywhere. “It was enacted by Congress, and it will not go away without another act of Congress,” he said, adding that “we’ll work through making sure that the benefits promised get delivered to those communities.”

Hauser and Westerman echoed that confidence. “People care about these places,” Hauser said. “Our elected representatives recognize that these are things that are important and they’re really universal.”

It doesn’t mean that politics never gets in the way. Hauser also noted that, despite the overwhelming support, the EXPLORE Act passed the House in April and then languished in the Senate for the better part of a year, while the 2024 election dominated everyone’s minds.

“The fact that it sat as long as it did in the Senate, I think speaks to sort of this unfortunate environment that, even when it’s a win, the ‘other side’ doesn’t want to see the ‘other side’ win,” she said. But, she added, the passage of the EXPLORE Act at the eleventh hour sends a clear message: that political divisions can be overcome when lawmakers recognize an opportunity to do something that will improve their constituents’ lives. “Take the pressures that happen in an election season off, and I think people sort of know, this is something that’s really good for my community and my district.”

— Claire Elise Thompson

More exposure

• Read: more about the EXPLORE Act’s passage, and the political power of the outdoors industry (High Country News)
• Read: an article examining the housing issues that outdoor gateway communities have experienced (Outside)
• Read: more about the importance of equity in the outdoors and connecting young people to nature (Grist)
• Read: about the role hunting can play in sustainable wildlife management (Grist)

A parting shot

In 2022, my team at Grist dedicated an entire special issue to the outdoors. The centerpiece was an interactive project showcasing some of the formative outdoor experiences that inspired leaders to pursue careers in climate and conservation. In the form of postcards, the contributors recounted nature memories (both positive and challenging) that shaped them — like Debbie Njai, the founder of Black People Who Hike, who described her first hiking experience in Missouri: “It was a short, 1.7-mile hike, but it was so perfect — the sunlight on my skin, the wind in my hair. I remember feeling free and happy. … When everyone can experience this same love for the outdoors, we will see a shift in how we go about caring for the environment.”

IMAGE CREDITS

Vision: Mia Torres / Grist

Parting shot: Jaelin Collier

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Congress agrees on one thing: Expanding access to the outdoors on Feb 12, 2025.

This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Claire Elise Thompson.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.