Tell Your Senator: Now is the Time to Pass the EXPLORE Act!

Right now, the Senate has the opportunity to pass the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, which is a bipartisan, comprehensive set of measures aimed at promoting equity, inclusion, and expanded access to the outdoors for all Americans.

If Congress doesn’t pass the EXPLORE Act by the end of 2024, we will have to go through the legislative process again--setting us back another year in the fight for equitable outdoor access.

The EXPLORE Act includes legislation that would:

create new or improve existing local parks,
improve disability access,
provide a jobs pilot program for veterans,
continue a program to provide all 4th graders and their families free access to over 2,000 federally-managed lands, waters and shores, and
streamline permitting processes for guides and outdoor groups.

There is no time to waste – this legislation package would improve the lives of young people, families, veterans, and people across the country. Personalize your comment for the biggest impact!

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The outdoor recreation package “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act” is legislation that would provide outdoor access for kids, veterans and communities across the country. There are many wonderful aspects of the bills that would significantly improve access to nature for your constituents, like access to outdoor activities, safe green spaces, and improving existing outdoor recreation sites.

Here are some highlights that the EXPLORE Act would make possible:

-  The Outdoors for All Act would provide funding for outdoor recreation sites in economically disadvantaged communities through the Outdoors Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program.
-  The extension of the Every Kid Outdoors program, which grants 4th graders and their families free access to federal public lands and waters, would allow more generations of children and families to get that early exposure to expansive nature.
-  The Military and Veterans in Parks Act. These provisions would make the outdoors more accessible to veterans and the military community. 
- The Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act would simplify and streamline permitting processes for guides, outfitters, outdoor leaders and nonprofit organizations. This would reduce barriers that communities and organizations can face in organizing outdoor excursions and facilitating access to nature.

As communities across our country see increased levels of anxiety and depression, it’s critical we provide the tools and resources needed to effectively mitigate this worsening mental health crisis in addition to providing opportunities for communities to experience the physical health benefits of time outdoors. Passing the EXPLORE Act is a step towards achieving that and it's urgent we do it now.

Please work to pass the EXPLORE ACT this Congress and help children, families, and veterans create healthy communities.

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