Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act

Key Points

• This bill aims to keep public lands open for people who use motorized vehicles to enjoy the outdoors. It defines 'accessible land' as any square mile of public land that has at least 2.5 miles of roads or trails for vehicles. The goal is to make sure people with physical disabilities can still reach remote areas for recreation.
• The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management would be restricted from closing existing roads. If an agency wants to close a road on accessible land, they generally cannot do so if it would drop the area below the 2.5-mile-per-square-mile requirement. If a road is closed for safety reasons, a new one must be opened within one year.
• The policy requires the government to look back at roads closed over the last 10 years and consider reopening them. It also creates a 'rebuttable presumption' that roads should stay open, meaning the government must provide clear and compelling evidence before they are allowed to block public access.
• To speed up these changes, the bill allows the government to skip certain long environmental reviews when opening new roads or closing dangerous ones. This would apply to millions of acres of federal land used for hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking, though it would not apply to most National Parks or protected Wilderness areas.
• Supporters believe this ensures that seniors and people with disabilities aren't locked out of public lands that require a vehicle to reach. However, some may be concerned that more motorized traffic and fewer environmental checks could lead to more noise or damage to natural habitats and wildlife.