Conservation and Disability Groups Denounce The Reintroduction Of The Outdoor Americans With Disabilities Act

Conservation and disability groups are denouncing the reintroduction of the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act, led by co-sponsors Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, R-UT. Critics say the deceptively-named bill will put public lands, including national parks, at risk by opening them up to increased motorized traffic.

"Americans with disabilities should never be shut out from the places that represent our national story," said Lee. "The mountains, canyons, and forests managed by the federal government are part of our shared heritage, and access to them should not depend on whether someone can hike ten miles or climb a ridge."

Disability groups say Lee and Curtis introduced the legislation in the name of disability access without consulting with a variety of stakeholders and outdoor recreationalists who have disabilities.

Syren Nagakyrie, founder and director of Disabled Hikers, a non-profit organization that advocates for the disability community, has previously denounced the legislation as a "blatant attempt to scapegoat disability as an excuse to build more roads."

As it’s written, the legislation would define disability-accessible land as one square mile with at least 2.5 miles of authorized motorized routes; require travel management updates by Interior and the Forest Service to account for accessibility; mandate coordination with state, county, local, and Tribal governments when designating priority roads; restrict road closures that would reduce accessibility, except in emergencies or safety cases; require public notice, comment, and hearings before closures; pair closures with replacement routes to maintain access; categorically exempt closures and designations from NEPA; and clarify no mandate to build new roads, but preserve authority to do so if needed.
 
“I’m grateful to work with Senator Lee on legislation that helps restore access to some of Utah’s most iconic and meaningful landscapes,” said Curtis. “This bill is common sense: trusting local communities, honoring our public lands, and making sure more Americans can experience the beauty and freedom that define the West.”

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance argues that the bill would prioritize motorized recreation at the expense of natural and cultural resources, requiring federal land managers to designate motorized vehicle routes regardless of impacts to cultural sites, wildlife habitat, waterways, natural quiet, and non-motorized recreationists. 

They also note that there are already provisions in federal law that allow people with mobility disabilities to appropriately access public lands with other power-driven mobility devices (OPDMDs). 

“The Americans with Disabilities Act is landmark civil rights legislation that disability rights activists fought for decades to achieve, and the principles of which Senator Lee has repeatedly voted against," said Nagakyrie. "In contrast, it appears that the ‘Outdoors Americans with Disabilities Act’ does not have input from the broader disability community and prioritizes one type of access at the expense of all others. It is shameful that he would so blatantly use the disability community in his ongoing attempts to dismantle public lands, build and prioritize roads, and sell lands to the highest bidder. People with disabilities are not political pawns to be used while catering to special interests."