America’s Outdoor Recreation Act Introduced in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023 was introduced with bipartisan support in the Senate. The bill aims to increase and improve outdoor recreation opportunities and includes a number of important provisions to expand accessible outdoor recreation, including the Outdoors for All Act - which would expand park equity in communities that have been historically excluded and marginalized with respect to outdoor access, the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act – which would simplify the process for issuing special recreation permits on federal recreational lands – and the Environmental Justice in Recreation Permitting Act –which requires the administration to complete a report within 3 years on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities. 

In response, Sierra Club Outdoors for All Associate Director of Federal Policy Robert Scott released the following statement: 

“Provisions in this legislation will help create safe green spaces and reinvigorate local parks in our most underserved communities. Right now, access to the outdoors is not universally shared, especially for Black communities, lower-income communities, urban communities, and communities of color, which have historically been denied access to the benefits of nature such as air and water purification, lower rates of asthma and opportunities for recreation. This legislation is an important step in closing the nature equity gap for these communities. It’s heartening to see these provisions moving forward as part of this package, and the Sierra Club will continue working to improve the overall bill to support our goals of helping more individuals and families access the outdoors.”