On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) President Jessica Turner testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands, during an oversight hearing titled “EXPLORE America250: Celebrating One Year of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act.” The hearing marked the one-year anniversary of the EXPLORE Act — the first comprehensive outdoor recreation legislative package in U.S. history, passed unanimously by Congress and signed into law in January 2025.
As the nation’s leading coalition advancing a sustainable and growing outdoor recreation economy for the benefit of all Americans, ORR and its more than 110,000 member businesses and organizations played a central role in advancing the bipartisan legislation and are now leading efforts to ensure its full and effective implementation.
In his opening statement, Chairman Bruce Westerman recognized ORR’s and Turner’s leadership, “Without the tremendous and sustained advocacy” of outside groups, “we would not be having this hearing today. This is especially true of Jess Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, who was a true champion of this legislation even back before it was even called EXPLORE. The work was not easy but well worth it.”
Turner’s testimony highlighted early progress under the law — including modernization of recreation access through the America the Beautiful digital pass, permitting reforms, expanded accessible trails, Every Kid in a Park and interagency coordination — while underscoring the importance of sustained bipartisan leadership to fully realize the law’s promise as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
“The EXPLORE Act has given us the tools, the mandate and the momentum,” Turner said in her opening statement. “Success will now be measured by whether we act with urgency equal to the opportunity before us,” and “ORR and our members will continue to lead, convene and support partners across the public and private sectors to ensure the EXPLORE Act is fully implemented and delivers lasting outcomes for outdoor access, stewardship and economic vitality.”
The hearing also featured testimony from ORR members and outdoor recreation leaders, including Jason Curry, director of the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, and Matt Wade, executive director of the American Mountain Guides Association, highlighting the real-world impacts of the outdoor recreation economy nationwide.
During the hearing, Turner thanked bipartisan congressional champions for their leadership in advancing and enacting the EXPLORE Act, including Chairman Bruce Westerman, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany, Ranking Member Joe Neguse and the late Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva, as well as the many members of Congress who helped shepherd the bill through to unanimous passage.
ORR also emphasized the importance of continued collaboration between Congress, federal agencies, states, Tribes, gateway communities and the private sector to carry the law forward. Over the past year, ORR has worked closely with the Administration on implementation milestones, including a Department of the Interior Secretarial Order establishing a coordinated, cross-bureau framework and the inaugural Outdoor Recreation Technology & Innovation Summit, which showcased public-private solutions critical to modernizing recreation management.
With outdoor recreation contributing $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy and supporting 5 million American jobs, Turner noted that the successful implementation of the EXPLORE Act is not only a public lands priority, but a cornerstone of economic vitality, public health and community well-being heading into America’s 250th anniversary.
The Committee will post the full hearing video, written testimony and supporting materials on its website: naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418557.
