Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act

S. 2968, the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act, would establish requirements for managing roads on federal public lands, including national forests and Bureau of Interior lands. The bill would define disability-accessible land as areas with at least 2.5 miles of roads per square mile that are open to motorized or off-road vehicles. If enacted, the bill would generally prohibit federal land managers from closing roads on disability-accessible lands unless they determine the road poses a direct threat to health or safety, with limited exceptions for temporary closures or roads needed for wildfire response and search and rescue. The bill would also require land managers to consider reopening roads that were closed in the previous ten years. Supporters argue the measure would ensure people with mobility limitations can access public lands via vehicle, while the bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.