Rep. Blake Moore
Bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) to digitize and standardize mapping records became law last week with the president’s signature.
“Today President Biden signed the MAPLand Act into law. This is a major win for all who enjoy our public lands,” Rep. Moore said on April 29. “I look forward to the many ways this bill will improve our access to public land records so we can better hunt, fish, hike, and more. Many thanks to all who helped get this across the finish line.”
President Joe Biden signed into law the Modernizing Access to our Public Land (MAPLand) Act, H.R. 3113, which Rep. Moore introduced in May 2021 with three original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA). Rep. Moore’s bill is identical to S. 904, which was introduced in March 2021 by U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), James Risch (R-ID) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
The newly signed law requires the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to digitize and make publicly available geographic information system mapping data relating to public access to federal land and waters for outdoor recreation, according to the text of the bill.
Under the new law, these federal land management agencies also will receive the resources they need to digitize the files for public use, as well as require these agencies to provide information on seasonal vehicle restrictions on public roads and trails, hunting boundaries, and watercraft restrictions, according to information provided by Rep. Moore’s office.