NMMA, Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable Detail Access Needs for Trump Team

Published On: December 15, 2016

The new Outdoor Recreational Industry Roundtable has released its second white paper, shared with the Trump transition team outlining the necessary expanded access to public lands and waters in order to grow and diversify outdoor recreation in the U.S.

Some of the key asks in the access white paper include:

  • commit to granting access for diverse recreation activities on all federally-managed public lands and waters.  The federal government must give diverse forms of recreation equal consideration with respect to all federal public lands and waters, although with an acknowledgement that not all forms of recreation are possible at all times in every location;
  • require any agency that manages public lands and/or waters to publish a detailed economic assessment and justification before any access restriction or prohibition is implemented.  The agency should demonstrate that this assessment and justification have been taken into account in the decision-making process leading to the access restriction or prohibition; and
  • any closures or access denials must be subject to near-term periodic reviews with notice to the public and an opportunity to comment, with the potential for the management plan to be reopened and reconsidered. Periodic reviews especially must include an opportunity for local stakeholder input so that the front-line communities most affected by access restrictions and prohibitions have a voice in the process.  At a minimum, local stakeholders must be allowed to participate in developing a collaborative access scheme.