# Plain Language Summary: Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act

This bill creates a new council that brings together different federal agencies that manage outdoor recreation areas—like national parks, national forests, and public lands—so they can work together more effectively. Right now, these agencies operate somewhat independently, which can lead to inconsistent policies, duplicated efforts, and confusion for people trying to use these public spaces. The bill establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation to fix this coordination problem.

The council will include representatives from eight major federal agencies: the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and National Marine Fisheries Service. The Secretary of the Interior can also invite other agencies to participate, including state and local governments, the EPA, Department of Transportation, and health agencies. The leadership position will rotate annually among the main agencies, ensuring no single agency dominates the conversation.

The council's main job is to coordinate how these agencies manage outdoor recreation across their lands and waters. This includes standardizing policies, sharing information about closures and emergencies, coordinating spending on recreation improvements, adopting new technologies (like better reservation systems), conducting research on recreation's economic value, and making it easier for the public to find information about recreation opportunities through modern communication devices like smartphones. The council will also work with outside partners—nonprofits, businesses, and community groups—to enhance recreation opportunities and share resources.

For everyday people, this bill could mean more consistent experiences when visiting federal lands, better information about where you can go and what's available, improved coordination during emergencies or closures, and potentially better-maintained recreation areas as agencies share resources and best practices.

Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act

Neguse, Joe

Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation. The council shall meet as frequently as appropriate for purposes of coordinating specified policies and activities, including <ul> <li>recreation management policies across federal agencies;</li> <li>the response by federal land management agencies to public health or other emergencies that result in disruptions to, or closures of, federal recreational lands and waters;</li> <li>the adoption and expansion of emerging technologies on federal recreational lands and waters; and </li> <li>the dissemination to the public of recreation-related information in a manner that ensures that the information is easily accessible with modern communications devices.</li> </ul>