Mark Sheffield’s Post

U.S. House Passes SEMA-Supported EXPLORE Act to Boost Outdoor Recreation Economy 📈 🚀 The U.S. House of Representatives passed the SEMA-supported "Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act" (EXPLORE Act), H.R. 6492, by a voice vote. The EXPLORE Act, which has a broad range of support from more than 30 organizations, now advances to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. The strongly bipartisan legislation is sponsored by Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), who drafted the bill in coordination with Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ). The EXPLORE Act expands on S. 873, the "America's Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023" (AORA), and includes key, SEMA-supported provisions from the bill. The Senate ENR Committee passed S. 873 in 2023. "SEMA thanks Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva for their continued advocacy for the EXPLORE Act, which was critical in getting the House to pass the bill with such strong bipartisan support," said Mike Spagnola, SEMA president and CEO. "The EXPLORE Act is critical to the motorized recreation community. The bill would streamline the process and expenses associated with obtaining special recreation permits, require federal land management agencies to increase opportunities for motorized and non-motorized access on public lands, and direct the BLM and Forest Service to make maps available to the public depicting where vehicles are allowed to recreate." 🔗 https://brnw.ch/21wIUg6

“Public lands and waters are not a Democratic or Republican value, they are an American value. An affection for outdoor recreation runs deep in this country and crosses partisan divides.” - Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance Over the last ten years, Outdoor Alliance has worked to protect the values of the outdoor community—keeping public lands public, making progress on climate, conserving land and water, and advancing policies that protect recreation and the outdoors. We have a history of working in a bipartisan fashion—ensuring that we are not only defending the public lands and waters we all hold dear, but building crucial bipartisan support to create resilient and lasting wins for the outdoors and the communities that depend on them. Millions of Americans are counting on us to protect public lands and waters, and we will continue to deliver on these protections during a Trump administration. Our work over the next four years is to make sure lawmakers know that public lands and outdoor recreation are a winning political issue and that threatening those values will not stand. Unlike powerful special interests, outdoor recreation issues have the power of people on their side. We hope you’ll join us by being one of them. https://lnkd.in/gCSS5bWk

What does the BLM’s Public Lands Rule mean for outdoor recreation? Last month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its final Public Lands Rule, the culmination of many years of work to better balance conservation with development and extraction on the 245 million acres of public land it manages. BLM lands—and our public lands in general—are facing unprecedented challenges. Americans’ expectations for our public lands, and how the BLM should oversee them, are also evolving. While the rule is very much focused on conservation, it also supports outdoor recreation by recognizing that outdoor recreation depends on healthy public lands and that the effects of climate change and degraded landscapes hurt outdoor recreation experiences. The Public Lands Rule is a big deal for conservation and outdoor recreation, and it needs your support! Your members of Congress need to hear from you that conservation is an important part of managing public lands now and into the future. https://lnkd.in/g2Dsj4V5

Navigating the Outdoors: Facilitated Recreation, Policy, Permitting, and Partnerships. Join the webinar 👉 January 29 at 3 pm EST Dive into the foundations of facilitated recreation and explore its vital role in enhancing public access and visitor experiences on public lands. This session will define facilitated recreation and highlight how partnerships between outdoor facilitators and land management agencies create more meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable outdoor experiences. Learn from experts at the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) and the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) as they share practical insights on integrating facilitated recreation into broader management strategies. This introductory webinar sets the stage for a deeper understanding of how outdoor facilitators contribute to stewardship, safety, and equitable access in today’s evolving outdoor industry. Sign up: https://lnkd.in/ePZfZNzK #Policy #Permitting #OutdoorIndustry #OutdoorRecreation #

Today the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) released a new report, "Recreation Funding in America: Current Results and Future Insights.” This first-of-its-kind comprehensive study conducted by Southwick Associates, Inc. on behalf of ORR aggregates and analyzes current federal funding streams for outdoor recreation and identifies potential future threats to these funding sources including changing energy demands, evolving participation, inflation, weather events and climate change, and stagnant appropriations trends. Stand-out stat: Outdoor recreation contributes 2.2% to U.S. GDP, yet only receives 0.16% of federal funding, a nearly 14x difference in scale. The report highlights the pressing need for innovative solutions to ensure sustainable funding for the $1.1 trillion recreation economy and the millions of Americans and communities who rely on it in the face of these potential funding gaps. https://lnkd.in/gg9tHiQa

Today the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) released a new report, "Recreation Funding in America: Current Results and Future Insights.” This first-of-its-kind comprehensive study conducted by Southwick Associates, Inc. on behalf of ORR aggregates and analyzes current federal funding streams for outdoor recreation and identifies potential future threats to these funding sources including changing energy demands, evolving participation, inflation, weather events and climate change, and stagnant appropriations trends. Stand-out stat: Outdoor recreation contributes 2.2% to U.S. GDP, yet only receives 0.16% of federal funding, a nearly 14x difference in scale. The report highlights the pressing need for innovative solutions to ensure sustainable funding for the $1.1 trillion recreation economy and the millions of Americans and communities who rely on it in the face of these potential funding gaps. https://lnkd.in/gRjG5cMy

The EXPLORE Act is critical to the health and well-being of the $140 billion RV industry, which is the largest contributor to the $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation industry. This first-of-its-kind comprehensive outdoor recreation package will make sustainable improvements to our nation’s campgrounds and greatly improve the experiences of current and future RVers. In addition, the Act provides increased access to the great outdoors and offers an economic boost to both the local and national economies. We would like to thank Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva for their steadfast leadership in advancing such a historic piece of legislation. Now is the time for the Senate to take action without delay, so all Americans can safely access and enjoy the great outdoors. https://lnkd.in/gRbXNKx4

Join Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Pennsylvania Office of Outdoor Recreation for a Free Webinar: 2023 — A Tremendous Year for Pennsylvania’s Outdoor Recreation Industry! December 11, 2024 • 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM. Register for this online/virtual event here: https://lnkd.in/eF9kwBbz New data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry saw tremendous growth in 2023. In this webinar, the Pennsylvania Office of Outdoor Recreation will review the new data and provide context about what it means for the Commonwealth. In addition, several outdoor recreation industry stakeholders will provide insight into what they are experiencing and how an effort to grow a unified and active outdoor recreation industry will provide more opportunity to make Pennsylvania a national leader in outdoor recreation, entrepreneurial opportunity, and job creation. 

The House and Senate's passage of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 "acknowledges the significance of outdoor recreation as an economic driver for rural communities for the first time and explicitly authorizes outdoor recreation projects as an eligible use of EDA funding." #OutdoorRecreationEconomy #QualityOfLife #GetOutside