# The Explore America Act of 2023: What It Does

This bill is designed to help communities near national parks and historic sites boost their local economies by promoting cultural heritage tourism. It does this in two main ways: by improving an existing federal grant program and by creating new partnerships between the National Park Service and towns surrounding park lands.

The first part strengthens something called the Preserve America Program, which already gives grants to communities for historic preservation and tourism projects. The bill adds the Department of Commerce to help advise the program on job creation and tourism promotion. More importantly, it allows the program to provide free expert advice and technical assistance to communities when grant money isn't available. This assistance could cover things like how to attract visitors, document historic resources, or develop sustainable tourism plans. The bill also requires the government to measure whether these efforts actually work by tracking economic impact and job creation in the communities that receive help.

The second part creates a new framework for the National Park Service to partner with "gateway communities"—towns and Native American communities right next to national parks and heritage areas. These communities can now apply to receive financial help for tourism promotion and technical guidance on tourism development. The Park Service would help them inventory local attractions, identify historic sites, plan trails and parks, and connect them with other federal resources for economic development. The goal is to create a consistent approach across all national parks so that surrounding communities can benefit economically from their proximity to these federal lands. The bill requires the Park Service to report back to Congress within a year on how well these partnerships are working and what improvements could be made.

Explore America Act of 2023

Peltola, Mary Sattler

Explore America Act of 2023 This bill modifies and sets forth new provisions regarding the Preserve America Program and authorizes partnerships with gateway communities adjacent to units of the National Park System. The Department of the Interior shall offer to enter into partnerships with gateway communities, including Native American communities and National Heritage Areas, to leverage heritage tourism assets in order to strengthen the local economies and create jobs in those communities.