Advocates make last-ditch push for outdoor package

By Garrett Downs | 11/13/2024 06:24 AM EST

Time to pass sweeping outdoor recreation legislation is dwindling.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) said he's still looking to advance bipartisan outdoor legislation. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Outdoor advocates are urging lawmakers to pass a sweeping recreation package during the lame-duck session as sponsors scramble to attach the measure to a must-pass vehicle.

H.R. 6492, dubbed the “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act,” passed the House unanimously earlier this year. But it remains in limbo in the Senate after months of negotiations between the two chambers to reconcile the bill with S. 873, the “America’s Outdoor Recreation Act.”

In a new letter sent Wednesday morning and shared with POLITICO’s E&E News, more than 300 groups representing the outdoor industry urged the Senate to pass the legislation.

“The American outdoor recreation business, conservation, and user community is eager for the Senate to pass this bipartisan and bicameral legislation,” the groups, led by the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, wrote.