VIDEO: Rep. Neguse “Outdoor recreation is important not only to me personally…but to my constituents back home in Colorado.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, participated in a subcommittee hearing on several Rep. Neguse-led pieces of legislation meant to advance and support outdoor recreation in American communities. The hearing considered four of Rep. Neguse’s bills including; the Biking On Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act, the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (or SHRED) Act, the Protect America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, and the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act. 

Watch Neguse’s full remarks HERE.

“As the Chairman [Rep. Tiffany] articulated we’ll be considering eight recreation bills, continuing important work on measures like the BOLT Act and the SOAR Act that we started last Congress. I always enjoy the opportunity to hear public lands and outdoor recreation bills in this subcommittee. Outdoor recreation is important not only to me personally, to my family, but to my constituents back home in Colorado and something I’ve been proud to work on during my time in Congress,” said Congressman Joe Neguse in his opening statement.

Congressman Neguse has long been a leader on legislation to support the outdoor recreation industry and expand access to the great outdoors. The district he represents–Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District–consists of over 60% public lands. 

The bills considered in today’s hearing work to build Colorado’s robust and thriving outdoor recreation industry, workforce, and recreation opportunities. The bills included are: 

• The Biking On Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act, which expands outdoor recreation opportunities by identifying potential long-distance bike trails and bolstering mapping resources for long-distance bikers.

• The Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (SHRED) Act, which would invest in outdoor recreation by enabling National Forests to retain a portion of the annual fees paid by ski areas operating within their boundaries. 

• The Protect America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, which ensures responsible access to rock climbing in designated wilderness sites.

• The Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act, which would simplify the permitting process for outdoor guides, outfitters, education organizations, and college and university programs.

Background

In the 117th Congress, Congressman Joe Neguse served as Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. Rep. Neguse worked to advance a bold and comprehensive agenda to protect America’s public lands. As a result, he successfully enacted several historic pieces of legislation in the 117th Congress, including the Amache National Historic Site Act and the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Recovery Act. He is also responsible for successfully passing the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act through the House five times – and his advocacy played a key role in President Biden’s designation of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. Rep. Neguse has also emerged as a leader in bolstering wildfire mitigation and resiliency for communities across the West. In July 2022, Congressman Neguse secured the passage of his Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, a monumental legislative package to prevent wildfires, boost wildland firefighter pay, and fund resilience and mitigation projects.

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