Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act
Sponsored By: Representative Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a national policy to increase access to public land for motorized and off-road vehicle recreation and set rules for how the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management update maps and manage road openings and closures. It defines key terms and a framework for deciding which areas are open, limited, or closed to off-road vehicles.
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- Recreational users and families gain clearer routes because lands must be designated open, limited, or closed and motor vehicle use maps must be updated. This makes it easier to know where off-road vehicles can travel.
- People with disabilities get specific protection. Land labeled "disability-accessible" must have at least 2.5 miles of authorized road per square mile kept available unless a temporary emergency or a direct health or safety threat justifies closure.
- Land managers and public safety officials face new rules. The Secretaries must prioritize updating travel and motor vehicle use plans, there is a rebuttable presumption that roads stay open, roads important for fuels reduction, wildfire response, or search and rescue should not be closed, and road closures or new road actions are generally excluded from routine National Environmental Policy Act review unless extraordinary circumstances apply.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
More motor vehicle access on public lands
If enacted, the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior would count the miles of usable, approved roads in each square mile of public land. Land with at least 2.5 miles of authorized motor vehicle road, as assessed on the date of enactment, would be called "disability-accessible land." The Secretaries would work with federal, state, local, county, and Tribal governments to identify desirable recreation routes and would prioritize updating BLM and Forest Service travel and motor vehicle use plans. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption that roads stay open unless clear, compelling evidence supports closure. It would require public notice, comment, and hearings for closures, require nomination and establishment of a replacement road not later than one year after certain closures, and treat some closure and replacement actions as excluded from NEPA subject to extraordinary-circumstances rules.
Ban new roads in protected areas
If enacted, the bill would prohibit creating new roads or trails in components of the National Wilderness System, inventoried roadless areas, congressionally designated primitive areas, and most National Park units. The rule would not apply to units of the National Park System that are National Recreation Areas. This prohibition would take effect on enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]
UT • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov