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President Joe Biden has signed into law legislation that will digitize and make mapping data available to help the public access federal lands.
The database will include easements and rights of way on private land; whether roads and trails are open; types of vehicles allowed on roads and trails; boundaries where hunting or recreational shooting is regulated or closed; and the boundaries of any portion of a body of water closed to entry. The data publication is slated to be completed within the next four years.
The Modernizing Access to Our Public Land, or MAPLand, Act directs the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers to work together to compile the data and make it available online. Utah Rep. Blake Moore ran the bill, which passed the House in March with nearly unanimous support and the Senate in April. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich co-sponsored the legislation.
"Great to see @POTUS sign this bipartisan legislation into law. Digitizing land mapping helps to increase public access to America's lands and waters so everyone can experience the outdoors," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a tweet on Friday.
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“We are disappointed in the Biden administration for supporting this Trump-era travesty and hope that a broad panel of the Ninth Circuit will take this appeal and roll back a decision made by two judges that disregards the laws that protect our nation’s lands, waters, and wildlife.”
