In a recent letter to Congress, Outdoor Alliance and 74 partners representing the outdoor recreation community addressed the issue of insufficient funding for outdoor recreation on America’s public lands. This issue has been compounded by recent hiring freezes and widespread layoffs at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The letter specifically called upon lawmakers to fund recreation budgets in its FY26 budget, asking Congress to fund BLM’s Recreation Resources Management program at $100 million and the Forest Service’s Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness at $70 million.
The letter pointed out that funding is vital to improve the visitor experience on public lands and is necessary to help both agencies implement the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE Act), legislation unanimously passed through Congress in December.
EXPLORE would improve and expand outdoor access on America’s public lands, including:
- Creating more long-distance bike trails.
- Safeguarding climbing in wilderness.
- Streamlining recreational permitting for guides and outfitters.
- Ending public/private partnerships for recreation infrastructure.
- Increasing programs for youth, veterans and service members.
Without adequate funding, it noted, land-management agencies will not be able to implement these directives, and Americans will not be able to realize the full benefits of this historic bipartisan legislation.
“Issues related to public safety, parking, trash, unwanted fire starts, erosion, and other maintenance issues are all concerns that will directly impact the visitor experience as a result of the funding declines at both BLM and USFS,” said Jamie Ervin, senior policy manager for Outdoor Alliance. “Additionally, these cuts have delayed partner-led efforts to complete recreation infrastructure projects, such as trail systems due to a lack of capacity by agency staff — bottlenecking outside resources that could be deployed in supporting public lands.”
“The outdoor recreation economy is a powerful engine for job creation and economic growth nationwide, and it relies on well-resourced public land agencies to thrive,” said Outdoor Industry Alliance (OIA) president, Kent Ebersole. “If Congress is serious about supporting jobs, local businesses and healthy communities, it must prioritize investment in the recreation programs of the Department of the Interior, Forest Service and BLM. These aren’t just budget lines, they are the foundation of the outdoor economy,”
Along with Outdoor Alliance, 74 other organizations are calling on lawmakers to fully fund recreation and are included in this letter.
