July 13, 2026
Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation
FICOR Youth Working Group
Sent to: BIA, BLM, NPS, USFWS & BOR, USFS, NOAA
Re: Connecting children, youth, and families to federally-managed public lands, waters, and shores. Recommendations from the Outdoors Alliance for Kids.
Dear FICOR Principles and FICOR Youth Working Group,
We, the undersigned members and partners of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, write to urge you to develop a robust and durable strategy that ensures every child in the US has the opportunity and encouragement to experience America’s rich network of federally-protected public lands, waters, and shores. At a time when the health and wellness of children and adolescents are on the decline, America’s public lands and water agencies have the opportunity to lead the way in restoring balance, health, and happiness to their lives.
Today’s children are spending less time outdoors in nature than any generation in history. Fewer than 20% of U.S. children and teens are meeting the daily benchmark of sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Depression, anxiety, hopelessness, sadness, and suicide are all on the rise among adolescents. School closures and social isolation brought on by the pandemic resulted in a fourfold increase in anxiety among young people. Screen time—especially social media usage—plays a significant role in rising anxiety among teens, and contributes to physical inactivity.
The research is clear: spending time in nature is essential for human health and particularly important for children and adolescents. Kids who have opportunities to be in nature are more likely to report lower levels of stress and anxiety, improvements on cognitive tests, greater social connections, and more feelings of overall happiness. Nearby nature in our communities creates places for kids to run and play, and important buffers from toxic pollutants, excessive heat, and other extreme weather events.
Yet far too many kids and their communities lack access to the outdoors where they can reap these benefits. One-hundred million people in the US, including 28 million children, do not live within a half-mile distance of a quality park; eighty-three percent of nature-deprived areas are in renter-majority communities. Limited access to a personal vehicle, affordable public transportation, costs of participation like fees and gear, and questions about safety in the outdoors create additional barriers for many kids and families.
The Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK) is a multi-sector and national strategic partnership of more than 100 businesses and non-profit organizations with a common interest in reversing these trends and connecting children, youth, and families with the outdoors. OAK’s members are brought together by the belief that the wellness of current and future generations, the health of our planet and communities, and the economy of the future depend on humans having a personal, direct, and life-long relationship with nature and the outdoors. For more than fifteen years, OAK has been at the forefront of a national movement to expand access to nature for kids and families. Together, we helped establish the Every Kid Outdoors program, secure federal funding for dozens of outdoor programs, and pass the EXPLORE Act, the largest outdoor recreation bill in history.
Passage of the EXPLORE Act marked a bipartisan commitment by Congress to make America a leader in getting people outdoors, engaged in physical activity, and ensuring their access to the beauty and benefits of being in our natural world. Title II, in particular, presents an opportunity to ensure that outdoor recreation is accessible, inclusive, and representative of all people by adopting critical programs and strategies that promote access to outdoor opportunities for youth, veterans, and people with disabilities. Section 231 of Subtitle C of Title II requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to work jointly to develop a strategy to increase the volume of youth recreation visits on federal lands. In developing this strategy, the EXPLORE Act requires the departments to emphasize increased opportunities for underserved youth, establish quantifiable goals for increasing youth visits, and provide the projected costs of achieving those goals.
We’re pleased to see that the FICOR has assembled a Youth Access Working Group to develop this strategy. OAK is grateful for the opportunity to share recommendations to increase youth access and opportunities, while ensuring the next generation is prepared to carry the mantle of public lands stewardship. We urge you to seize this opportunity to dramatically scale up outdoor opportunities for kids and families, and have provided ten recommendations for your consideration.
OAK’s Recommendations for a Federal Youth Access Strategy
- Ask Congress for the funding needed to implement the EXPLORE Act. The EXPLORE Act requires federal land and water agencies to undertake reforms that will enhance the management of our public lands and create a better visitor experience. These changes require dedicated staff who will oversee and execute these initiatives. When the US Forest Service or National Park Service, for example, lack the personnel to process permits or maintain trails, the primary victims are the children and families our alliance represents. OAK has and will continue to encourage lawmakers to ensure federal land and water agencies have the necessary funding to carry out the law. We urge the agencies to request an increase in dedicated funding from Congress to achieve adequate staffing levels and program expenses for this work. It is our hope that both branches can work together for the betterment of our public lands administration and the enjoyment of the young people who need nature more than ever.
- Strengthen existing grant programs and identify additional funding to support outdoor youth programming. OAK members reach millions of children and youth every year through unique programming that meets specific needs in the communities they serve. Our members serve children in every state and provide experiences on federal, state, local, and private lands and waters. The greatest barrier our members face in ensuring more young people can access the outdoors is adequate and sustainable funding. Historically, federal agencies have established and carried out critical programs that connect young people to the outdoors to learn, serve, and work, and invested in non-governmental organizations as key partners to help deliver on their program objectives. These programs have a proven track record of success and would be more successful if we were able to efficiently execute existing programs and secure additional appropriations from Congress that would allow the agencies to provide grants to non-governmental organizations to assist with their implementation. In grant-making, reduce the burden on smaller, less-resourced organizations by simplifying the process.
- Alleviate financial burdens due to fees or other costs. Fees and costs of participation provide additional barriers for many families. OAK is proud to support the federal Every Kid Outdoors program, which alleviates the burden of entry fees for fourth graders and their families at federally-managed sites and in several participating state park systems. There are currently over 4 million fourth graders in the U.S., yet only 150,000 students participated in the program at last count. We urge you to set a goal to increase the impact of the program by reaching a minimum of one million children and their families each year. We also urge you to request adequate resources from Congress to better promote and support implementation of this important program that sets young people on the path to becoming lifelong supporters of parks and public lands. Additionally, we encourage the FICOR to provide free entry to federal lands and waters on all federal holidays when children are off from school. We also encourage you to include other significant “outdoors” days that are led in partnership with OAK member organizations, such as National Public Lands Day, National Trails Day, and National Kids to Parks Day, as fee-free days on federal lands to encourage lifelong participation.
- Expand transportation access to outdoor spaces. The cost of transportation is a significant barrier OAK members and families face in accessing federal lands and waters. We believe it would be advantageous to develop partnerships with federal, state, and municipal departments of transportation to increase public transit to trail projects and to develop other creative ideas for improving affordable and reliable transportation to nearby public lands and waters. You might also find it useful to proactively engage with state departments of education to find creative solutions to expanding the use of school buses as a solution to this transportation challenge. In all circumstances, it is vital for you to make the cost of transportation an eligible expense of grant programs.
- Take advantage of updates of the permitting process accomplished by EXPLORE. The simplification of special recreation permitting procedures accomplished by EXPLORE will provide new opportunities for outdoor leaders who take children, youth, and families out on public lands. The improved process should be easier for program providers to navigate, thereby enabling more outdoor leaders to obtain permits. In addition, Title III establishes new, easier-to-obtain permit types for small scale activities involving a limited number of participants. It also recognizes circumstances when outdoor programming can be allowed without requiring a permit. We urge the FICOR to adopt the necessary guidance to implement the provisions of Title III as soon as possible and take proactive steps to make outdoor leaders aware of the nature-based programming opportunities that Title III provides.
- Restoration and renovation of outdoor youth programming sites. Title I of the EXPLORE Act codified the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grant Program (ORLP). This codification makes permanent a program that is designed to invest in the development of outdoor recreation facilities that benefit low-income communities and youth. We encourage FICOR to ensure that ORLP program administrators have the staffing resources they need to issue and process regular Notices of Funding Opportunity and distribute funding to worthwhile projects. We also urge the FICOR to ensure that the Tribal eligibility provisions of EXPLORE are fully implemented so that Tribal entities are able to apply for ORLP funding to develop and improve recreation sites on Tribal lands.
- Restore and expand agency partnerships with youth programming providers to increase awareness of opportunities to get youth outdoors. We encourage the agencies to rebuild relationships and pathways for coordination between federal agencies and the programmatic non-profit groups that help get youth outdoors, both at the national level and in the regions. This will facilitate the information sharing that will enable you to jointly publicize youth outdoor activities and youth programming opportunities on agency websites, in printed materials, on social media and through other communications channels.
- Increase representation of a variety of lived experiences on public lands. As stated earlier, youth of color are most likely to live in nature-deprived communities. Communities of color are also least represented in our national parks and federal lands, with Black communities having the lowest participation rates. Programs that specifically increase opportunities for communities historically underrepresented on federal lands are critical to ensuring all Americans have opportunities to get outdoors. OAK urges our land and water agencies to halt efforts to remove the important stories and histories represented in our parks and public lands, as these stories are part of the rich American experience, and also help ensure that all communities can see themselves reflected in the landscapes that tell the story of this country.
- Ensure federal public lands and waters are managed for safety and access of all youth participants. Title II of the EXPLORE Act presents an opportunity to review and update accessibility features across federal lands and waters. By increasing the number of accessible trails and recreation opportunities offered on federal lands, as required by sections 214 and 215 of the law, the agencies would create a much safer and enjoyable experience for visitors, including youth and those with disabilities. In addition to improving physical safety in public lands, OAK urges you to consider the psychological safety of individuals entering parks and public lands. Recently implemented immigration enforcement tactics are creating real and perceived safety concerns for many communities as they navigate daily life. In this respect, we urge you to consider the safety concerns many communities experience when they seek to enjoy parks and public spaces, in which there is a heavy law enforcement presence. We encourage you to consider this in your planning.
- Commit to long-term and multi-disciplinary collaboration across the federal government. While the EXPLORE Act requires five Department of the Interior agencies, US Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to participate on the FICOR, it also provides flexibility to invite participation from across the federal government. The challenges our children and adolescents face in accessing the outdoors and in taking advantage of other opportunities to improve their health, wellness, and educational opportunities are multi-faceted and complex. We urge the Working Group to invite thought leadership and collaboration from agencies outside of the FICOR, including, but not limited to, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Transportation.
OAK has enjoyed working with the FICOR over many years and through multiple administrations. We appreciate the work that you do and stand ready to partner with you in pursuing any or all of the recommendations we have laid out. Thank you for your efforts to ensure the participation of youth on federal lands. We look forward to many more years of collaboration. If you have any questions related to these recommendations, please contact OAK Founder & Chair, Jackie Ostfeld – 202-821-8877.
Signed,
Adams Legacy Foundation
American Camp Association
American Heart Association
American Hiking Society
American Society of Landscape Architects
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
Association for Experiential Education
Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education
Brown People Camping
Children & Nature Network
Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education
Fishing Education Foundation / National Fishing in Schools Program
GreenLatinos
Justice Outside
KABOOM!
Latinos Aventureros
Latino Outdoors
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
National Recreation and Park Association
Nevada Outdoor School
NEXT.cc STEAM by DESIGN ECO WEB
North American Association for Environmental Education
Nuestra Tierra
Outdoor Foundation
Pacific Education Institute
Physical Activity Alliance
Prairie Winds Nature Farm, Inc.
Rooted in Color
Seed Your Future
Sierra Club
Washington Trails Association
The Wilderness Society
The Woods Project, Inc.
YMCA of the USA
