S 2706 Recreation Not Red Tape Act

About S.2706

Recreation Not Red-Tape Act This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to adopt a consistent and uniform special recreation permitting process with respect to outfitters and guides. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall sell National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes entrance and recreation fees through federal websites. Interior and USDA should: work with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that veterans have access to outdoor programs, and increase programs focused on improving education about and access to outdoor recreation opportunities on public lands for individuals age 55 or older. Interior and USDA shall make available, free of charge, a certain quantity of America the Beautiful passes for use by specified schools or their students and their families. Interior and USDA shall study the overall impact that recreation on federal recreational land and water has on the U.S. economy and labor market. The Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service may develop respective management plans for extending the recreation season or increasing recreation use during the offseason. The Forest Service and BLM shall include metrics on recreation use in specified evaluations of lands under their jurisdictions. The Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall consider how land and water management decisions can enhance recreation opportunities and the recreation economy. The bill amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to prescribe requirements for deposit, administration, and distribution of revenues collected from rental charges for certain ski area permits issued on National Forest System lands. The bill establishes:

• (1) a National Recreation Area System,
• (2) a private sector volunteer enhancement program, and
• (3) a priority trail maintenance program

Interior and USDA shall establish an interagency trail management plan under which federal land management agencies shall coordinate so that trails that cross jurisdictional boundaries between those agencies are uniformly managed and maintained. The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is amended to conform to this Act.