After nearly ten years of crafting, uplifting, and keeping this bill in front of key legislators nationwide, on Thursday, December 19th, 2024, the EXPLORE Act passed through the Senate. It is now on its way to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

IMBA’s mountain bike and trails advocates contributed more than 2,500 letters to push EXPLORE across the finish line. This fall IMBA joined with fellow Outdoor Alliance member organizations and the inaugural Grasstops Collective to advocate for the EXPLORE Act and the BOLT Act in Washington D.C., while sharing the good work trail champions are accomplishing across the country with dozens of Representatives, Senators, and agency staff.

IMBA extends our deepest thanks to trail advocates for your stalwart dedication to keeping this outdoor recreation package moving. IMBA also extends our thanks to Senator Ben Ray Lujan (NM) for leading the charge in the final hours of the 118th Congress.

IMBA’s Director of Government Affairs, Todd Keller, shared his excitement. “The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is thrilled the Senate has passed the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. This action shows Congress understands the physical and mental health benefits, and economic importance of outdoor recreation on our public lands. We now look forward to the President’s signature making the EXPLORE Act law!”

The EXPLORE Act is a landmark bipartisan recreation policy package that takes important steps to expand and improve outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans. It contains IMBA’s BOLT (Biking on Long Distance Trails) Act which will identify at least 10 existing long-distance bike trails and identify at least 10 areas where there is opportunity to develop or complete such trails. The bill will also direct the Department of Interior to publish and distribute maps, install signage, and distribute promotional materials.

In addition to the BOLT Act, EXPLORE contains the Protecting America's Rock Climbing Act (PARC) to safeguard Wilderness climbing, the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act (SOAR) that will improve recreational permitting for outfitters and guides, and permanent direction for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership and the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR).

Passage of EXPLORE is a huge victory for the outdoor recreation community and a testament to the power of public outreach and the bipartisan value of outdoor recreation. It indicates a legislative focus on outdoor recreation that hasn’t been seen before, and comes in the wake of publication of the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) which indicates that outdoor recreation generated $1.2 trillion in economic output (2.3% of GDP), comprised 3.1% of U.S. employees, and accounted for 5 million jobs in 2023. This is the largest recorded measure and a 36% increase since the BEA started calculating the size of the outdoor recreation economy in 2012. The outdoor recreation economy now contributes more to the U.S. economy than farming, mining, and utilities.

The EXPLORE Act, which passed through the House earlier this spring, was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate. The passage of the EXPLORE Act would not have happened without years of sustained outreach, support, and advocacy from the outdoor recreation community. IMBA thanks the thousands of advocates who were a part of making this advocacy success happen and looks forward to our continued work for more recreation legislation in the next Congress.