Recreation Not Red Tape Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1874 To promote innovative approaches to outdoor recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for collaboration with non-Federal partners, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 27, 2021 Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To promote innovative approaches to outdoor recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for collabora- tion with non-Federal partners, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Recreation Not Red Tape Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress regarding outdoor recreation. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1874 IS TITLE I—MODERNIZING RECREATION PERMITTING Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Special recreation permit and fee. Sec. 103. Permitting process improvements. Sec. 104. Permit flexibility. Sec. 105. Permit administration. Sec. 106. Permits for multijurisdictional trips. Sec. 107. Forest Service permit use reviews. Sec. 108. Liability. Sec. 109. Cost recovery reform. Sec. 110. Extension of special recreation permits. Sec. 111. Availability of Federal and State recreation passes. Sec. 112. Online purchases of America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. Sec. 113. Effect. TITLE II—ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS Sec. 201. Access for servicemembers and veterans. TITLE III—MAKING RECREATION A PRIORITY Sec. 301. Extension of seasonal recreation opportunities. Sec. 302. Recreation performance metrics. Sec. 303. Recreation mission. Sec. 304. National Recreation Area System. TITLE IV—MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC LAND Subtitle A—Volunteers Sec. 401. Private-sector volunteer enhancement program. Subtitle B—Priority Trail Maintenance Sec. 411. Interagency trail management. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 3 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has 4 the meaning given the term in section 802 of the 5 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 6 U.S.C. 6801). 7 (2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 8 WATERS.—The term ‘‘Federal recreational lands and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1874 IS waters’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 2 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 3 (3) SECRETARIES.—Except as otherwise pro- 4 vided in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means— 5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 6 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OUTDOOR 8 RECREATION. 9 It is the sense of Congress that— 10 (1) outdoor recreation and the outdoor industry 11 that outdoor recreation supports are vital to the 12 United States; 13 (2) access to outdoor recreation on Federal rec- 14 reational lands and waters is important to the health 15 and wellness of all people of the United States, espe- 16 cially families and young people; 17 (3) in addition to the overall economic benefit 18 of outdoor recreation, the economic benefits of out- 19 door recreation on Federal recreational lands and 20 waters creates significant economic and employment 21 benefits to rural economies; 22 (4) Congress supports the creation of outdoor 23 recreation sector leadership positions within State 24 governments, as well as coordination with recreation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1874 IS and tourism organizations within the State to guide 1 the growth of this sector, as evidenced by recent ex- 2 amples in the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wash- 3 ington; 4 (5) State and local recreation and tourism of- 5 fices play a pivotal role in— 6 (A) coordinating State outdoor recreation 7 policies, management, and promotion among 8 Federal, State, and local agencies and entities; 9 (B) disseminating information, increasing 10 awareness, and growing demand for outdoor 11 recreation experiences among visitors across the 12 United States and throughout the world; 13 (C) improving funding for, access to, and 14 participation in outdoor recreation; and 15 (D) promoting economic development in 16 the State by coordinating with stakeholders, im- 17 proving recreational opportunities, and recruit- 18 ing outdoor recreation businesses; 19 (6) it is vital— 20 (A) to support the coordination and col- 21 laboration of the Federal and State land and 22 water management agencies in the delivery of 23 visitor services and management of outdoor 24 recreation for the United States; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1874 IS (B) provide adequate staffing within Fed- 1 eral land management agencies to facilitate sus- 2 tainable and accessible outdoor recreation op- 3 portunities; and 4 (7) volunteers and volunteer partnerships play 5 an important role in maintaining public land. 6 TITLE I—MODERNIZING 7 RECREATION PERMITTING 8 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this title: 10 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associ- 11 ated agency’’ means the Federal land management 12 agency, other than the lead agency, that manages a 13 public land unit that is the subject of a single joint 14 special recreation permit under section 106. 15 (2) LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to a single 16 joint special recreation permit application submitted 17 under section 106(a), the term ‘‘lead agency’’ means 18 the Federal land management agency designated to 19 administer the single joint special recreation permit 20 under section 106(a)(2). 21 (3) LONG-TERM SPECIAL RECREATION PER- 22 MIT.—The term ‘‘long-term special recreation per- 23 mit’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1874 IS (A) for a public land unit managed by the 1 Forest Service, a priority use permit; and 2 (B) for a public land unit managed by the 3 Bureau of Land Management, a multiyear spe- 4 cial recreation permit. 5 (4) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 6 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 7 (A) uses 2 or more public land units; and 8 (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 9 Federal land management agencies. 10 (5) PUBLIC LAND UNIT.—The term ‘‘public 11 land unit’’ means— 12 (A) a unit of the National Forest System; 13 (B) a unit of the National Park System; 14 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 15 System; 16 (D) a district of the Bureau of Land Man- 17 agement; and 18 (E) a project of the Bureau of Reclama- 19 tion. 20 (6) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 21 term ‘‘recreation service provider’’ has the meaning 22 given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands 23 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1874 IS (7) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 1 retary concerned’’ means— 2 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 3 spect to a public land unit described in para- 4 graph (5)(A); and 5 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 6 spect to a public land unit described in sub- 7 paragraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph 8 (5). 9 (8) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 10 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given 11 the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recre- 12 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 13 SEC. 102. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Federal Lands 15 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amend- 16 ed— 17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)’’ 18 and inserting ‘‘803(f)’’; 19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 3(g)’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 21 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 23 (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1874 IS (5) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘section 7’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 2 (6) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘section 3 3(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)’’; 4 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), 5 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para- 6 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), 7 (10), and (14), respectively, and moving the para- 8 graphs so as to appear in numerical order; 9 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re- 10 designated) the following: 11 ‘‘(9) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 12 term ‘recreation service provider’ means an indi- 13 vidual or entity that— 14 ‘‘(A) provides outfitting, guiding, or other 15 recreation services; or 16 ‘‘(B) conducts recreational or competitive 17 events, including incidental sales.’’; and 18 (9) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The 21 term ‘special recreation permit’ means a permit 22 issued by a Federal land management agency for 23 specialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 24 reational lands and waters, including for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1874 IS ‘‘(A) outfitting, guiding, or other recre- 1 ation services; 2 ‘‘(B) recreation or competitive events, 3 which may include incidental sales; 4 ‘‘(C) the use of— 5 ‘‘(i) a special area; or 6 ‘‘(ii) an area in which use is allocated; 7 ‘‘(D) motorized recreation vehicle use in 8 compliance with an applicable travel manage- 9 ment plan or other regulation; and 10 ‘‘(E) a group activity or event.’’. 11 (b) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.—Sec- 12 tion 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 13 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 15 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 16 (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.— 19 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The Sec- 20 retary may issue a special recreation permit for spe- 21 cialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 22 reational lands and waters. 23 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1874 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1 charge a special recreation permit fee in con- 2 nection with the issuance of a special recreation 3 permit under paragraph (1). 4 ‘‘(B) FEES FOR CERTAIN LANDS.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 6 (ii) and (iii), a special recreation permit fee 7 under subparagraph (A) for use of Federal 8 recreational lands and waters managed by 9 the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land 10 Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, 11 or the United States Fish and Wildlife 12 Service shall not exceed the difference be- 13 tween— 14 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 15 ‘‘(aa) 3 percent of the an- 16 nual gross revenue of the recre- 17 ation service provider for all ac- 18 tivities authorized by the special 19 recreation permit; and 20 ‘‘(bb) any applicable revenue 21 addition; and 22 ‘‘(II) any applicable revenue ex- 23 clusion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1874 IS ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVE- 1 NUES AND PAYMENTS.—In calculating the 2 amount of a fee for a special recreation 3 permit under clause (i), the Secretary shall 4 exclude— 5 ‘‘(I) revenue from goods, services, 6 souvenirs, merchandise, gear, food, 7 and activities provided or sold by a 8 special recreation permit holder in a 9 location other than the Federal rec- 10 reational lands and waters covered by 11 the permit, including transportation 12 costs, lodging, and any other service 13 before or after a trip; and 14 ‘‘(II) revenue from any rec- 15 reational services provided by a spe- 16 cial recreation permit holder for ac- 17 tivities on Federal recreational lands 18 and waters for which a separate per- 19 mit is issued. 20 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE PER-PERSON 21 FEE.— 22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For Federal 23 recreational lands and waters man- 24 aged by the Forest Service, the Bu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1874 IS reau of Land Management, the Bu- 1 reau of Reclamation, or the United 2 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 3 Secretary may charge a per-person fee 4 in connection with the issuance of a 5 special recreation permit under para- 6 graph (1). 7 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The 8 total amount charged by the Secretary 9 in connection with the issuance of a 10 special recreation permit under para- 11 graph (1) using a per-person fee 12 under subclause (I) shall be com- 13 parable to the amount the Secretary 14 may charge for a special recreation 15 permit fee under subparagraph (A) 16 and clauses (i) and (ii). 17 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT.—Nothing in this sub- 18 paragraph affects any fee for a commercial 19 use authorization for use of Federal rec- 20 reational lands and waters managed by the 21 National Park Service. 22 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—A special 23 recreation permit holder may inform customers 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1874 IS of any fee charged by the Secretary under this 1 section. 2 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 4 make available to holders of special recreation 5 permits under paragraph (1) and the public an 6 annual report describing the use of fees col- 7 lected by the Secretary under paragraph (2). 8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under 9 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 10 how the fees are used i [Text truncated for display. 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