Recently, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act, a bill to modernize public recreational access information, was introduced in the Senate (S. 3427) by Senator Martha McSally (AZ) and Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Member (CSC) Senator Angus King (ME). The House companion (H.R. 6169) was led by Congressmen Russ Fulcher (ID) and Derek Kilmer (WA).
The digitization of public easements and right-of-ways is a significant issue as the storage practices among various land management field offices vary. For example, one field office may have each easement and right-of-way uploaded to a computer file, while a field office in another location may only have paper documentation of the easement. This is problematic as the easements and rights-of-way could be lost in perpetuity if proper documentation is lost or destroyed.
To address this issue, Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act (MAPLand Act) will require the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, and the Interior work through their respective land management agencies including the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Corps of Engineers to digitize public easements and rights-of-way and to make those resources available to the public. The MAPLand Act requires the reporting of information such as trail closures, restricted areas, fees, and allowable types of vehicles, among other important information for sportsmen and women.
“The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation applauds the introduction of the MAPLand Act in both chambers of Congress. This legislation will ensure that hunters, anglers and recreational shooters will have the ability to obtain accurate and up-to-date information about their ability to access our nation’s public lands,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane.
Both bills await further action in their respective chambers.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
