S873-118

Reported

To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Mar 16, 2023

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill, To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and for other purposes., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting federal agencies and legislative administrators. The main policy domain is Government Operations, Environment, Transportation.

Who Benefits and How

federal agencies and legislative administrators may benefit from new authority, funding, eligibility, regulatory clarity, or reduced risk created by the bill.

Who Bears the Burden and How

federal implementing agencies may take on implementation duties, reporting obligations, compliance costs, or oversight responsibilities.

Key Provisions

  • Section idf898b63b-166a-4e05-b565-78850d9b76ee: 1. Short title; table of contents This Act may be cited as the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023. The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
  • Section id1bc16719-2687-4313-a392-d45f7aeb56cf: 2. Definitions In this Act: The term commercial use authorization means a commercial use authorization to provide services to visitors to units of the National...
  • Section id5c36c45f-0f74-4802-8449-61bb074d2edb: 111. Congressional declaration of policy Congress declares that it is the policy of the Federal Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal...
  • Section id68070a0fee24445db027f007e27ffdcc: 121. Biking on long-Distance bike trails In this section, the term long-distance bike trail means a continuous route, consisting of 1 or more trails or...
  • Section ida7a75dd5-493a-438a-94a4-756c151ff768: 122. Forest Service climbing guidance Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue guidance...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

This bill, To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and for other purposes., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting federal agencies and legislative administrators.

Key Policy Areas

Government Operations, Environment, Transportation

Primary Purpose

This bill, To improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and for other purposes., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting federal agencies and legislative administrators.

Policy Domains

Government Operations Environment Transportation

Whole bill

Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • federal agencies and legislative administrators
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • federal implementing agencies
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Jul 26, 2023

Reported by Mr. Manchin, with amendments

Mar 16, 2023

Mr. Manchin (for himself and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Federal Administration
34 mentions across 31 clauses
+11 positive -23 negative

BLM, Reclamation, Forest Service, NPS, Congress and oversight bodies, Federal agencies (NPS, BLM, USFS, etc.)

Federal land management agencies, Forest Service and BLM face effects in multiple directions

Positive-direction: Congress and oversight bodies, Gateway community local governments, Interior and Agriculture Department agencies, State and local governments in qualifying areas, State and local park agencies, State and tribal governments in western states

Negative-direction: BLM, Reclamation, Forest Service, NPS, Federal agencies (NPS, BLM, USFS, etc.), Forest Service, Forest Service and Interior Department, Office of Management and Budget

Recreation
33 mentions across 28 clauses
+31 positive -2 negative

Higher-risk recreation activity providers, Low-income and underserved urban communities, Mountain biking and cycling tourism businesses

Positive-direction: Low-income and underserved urban communities, Mountain biking and cycling tourism businesses, New outfitting and guiding businesses, New recreation service providers, Off-road vehicle and snowmobile users, Outdoor recreation businesses, Outdoor recreation industry, Outdoor recreation industry stakeholders, Outdoor recreation users, Outfitters and guide services, Park visitors and pass holders, Recreation businesses needing demand forecasting, Recreation pass purchasers, Recreation permit applicants, Recreation service providers, Recreation service providers with incidental sales, Recreation site visitors and campers, Recreation visitors, Recreational users and tourists, Rock climbing guides and outfitters, Shooting sports and firearms training businesses, Small outfitters and educational groups, Small recreation businesses, Small recreation service providers, Underserved youth and communities

Negative-direction: Higher-risk recreation activity providers, Recreation service providers (larger operations)

Nonprofits
5 mentions across 4 clauses
+5 positive

Nonprofit organizations serving underserved communities, Volunteer organizations, Volunteer organizations and conservation groups

Film Production
4 mentions across 3 clauses
+4 positive

Film and photography industry, Film and photography industry in national parks, Independent filmmakers and photographers

Tourism
3 mentions across 3 clauses
+3 positive

Local tourism and hospitality businesses, Off-season and winter tourism operators, Private recreation facility operators

Construction
3 mentions across 3 clauses
+3 positive

Park development and construction companies, Recreation infrastructure construction companies, Trail construction and maintenance contractors

Professional Services
3 mentions across 3 clauses
+3 positive

GIS and mapping service providers, Recreation planners and consultants, Recreation research and monitoring firms

Environment
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

Environmental services and conservation companies, Environmental services companies

13/62
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Government Operations Environment Transportation
Actor Mappings
"the_commission"
→ The commission identified in the operative section
"the_administrator"
→ The Administrator identified in the operative section
"secretary_of_defense"
→ Secretary of Defense
"secretary_of_commerce"
→ Secretary of Commerce
"secretary_of_agriculture"
→ Secretary of Agriculture

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

9 terms
"special recreation permit" §id32bba9d4a31247ee936367e930214722

a permit issued by a Federal land management agency for the use of Federal recreational lands and waters— for a specialized recreational use not described in clause (ii), (iii), or (iv), such as— an organizational camp

"Secretaries" §id376164ff86584c2d85ceb5e749febb80

each of— the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Commissioner of Reclamation, and the Director of the National Park Service

"long-distance bike trail" §id68070a0fee24445db027f007e27ffdcc

a continuous route, consisting of 1 or more trails or rights-of-way, that— is not less than a total of 80 miles in length on Federal recreational lands and waters

"Secretaries" §id978e4e4f88d54bbfb9734cab5592e81f

each of— the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service

"Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program" §idDDCE80996FF24EE2B89FD832EF722465

the program established under subsection (b)(1). The term qualifying area means— an urbanized area or urban cluster that has a population of 25,000 or more in the most recent census

"Secretaries" §ida48e8a564de04063942ad3002ec81e94

each of— the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service

"covered recreation facility" §idc10ed92a505342868a00f7f9856b1daf

a federally owned campground, resort, cabin, or visitor center that is— in existence on the date of enactment of this Act

"pay-for-performance project" §ided807c5e97b6439d954b32470bdf9eab

a project that— would provide or enhance a recreational opportunity

"Secretary" §id1bc16719-2687-4313-a392-d45f7aeb56cf

the Secretary of the Interior. The term Secretary concerned means— the Secretary, with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology