John Plahovinsak
On November 9, 2023, Congresswoman Jennifer Kiggans introduced H.R 6342, the Military and Veterans in Park (MVP) Act. This bipartisan legislation was co-sponsored by Representative Scott Peters.
This proposed legislation is designed to improve disabled veterans’ physical and mental health by increasing their access to outdoor recreational activities in National Parks and Federal Lands.
Specifically, H.R. 6342 would direct the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service (NPS) to each develop at least three (3) adaptive trails and campgrounds in each of the regions they manage within one (1) year of the enactment of the law.
These four (4) federal agencies are also required to make these adaptive trails accessible to hunting, fishing, and kayaking opportunities.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Report on March 21, 2023, in August of 2022, 4.9 million veterans, or twenty-seven (27%) percent of all veterans, had a service-connected disability.
While outdoor activity has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, and reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, the National Parks often lack adequate accessible trails, activities, and lodging for those disabled veterans.
On July 20, 2023, the House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on proposed legislation that would expand federal lands access to military, veterans, and Gold Star Families throughout the United States.
”Every American owes a debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our way of life,” said Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany. “However, when they return home, many veterans often find much of our public lands to be off-limits.”
“Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands is improving outdoor recreation opportunities for these heroes by ensuring our public lands are managed in a way that makes them accessible for our nation’s military, veterans, and Gold Star Families,” concluded Congressman Tiffany.
Adaptive trails are trails that are specifically designed to allow access to individuals with physical disabilities, such as disabled veterans.
In addition to developing adaptive trails, each of the three (3) federal agencies were required to develop new adaptive recreational opportunities for disabled veterans. This would allow federal agencies to enter into partnerships to rent adaptive equipment to disabled veterans for improved recreation access.
“National Parks can play an important role in the rehabilitation of those who have served in our military, helping heal both the visible and invisible wounds of war,” said Representative Kiggans. “Unfortunately, lack of accessible trails, activities, and lodging often prevent disabled Americans – particularly veterans – from enjoying all our treasured parks have to offer.
The bill would require the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to work together with the Departments of Veteran Affairs and Defense to spread awareness and educational materials about outdoor recreational opportunities for veterans.
The House of Representatives National Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman said, “While we can never fully repay our servicemen and women for their sacrifices to our country, we can always work to improve their lives and access to our public lands.”
“Many of our veterans and service members take advantage of outdoor recreational opportunities as part of recovery and treatment for conditions like PTSD,” noted House Committee Chairman Westerman.
My Opinion: Developing adaptive trails for disabled veterans by the four (4) federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service) is a good idea and this is the focus/concept of the proposed legislation H.R. 6342.
However, the closest direct impact of this legislation MAY BE far from the Southwestern Ohio area. Wayne National Forest (located north of Athens, Ohio) is supervised by the U.S. Forest Service. The closest National Park to the Southwestern Ohio area is Mammoth Cave, located 175 miles away.
I was initially discouraged that the House and Senate Recreation Resource Advisory Committees had no veteran organizations on their respective Committees. The Military and Veterans in Parks (MVP) Act would require veterans’ organizations’ representatives to be added to the Committees.
This proposed legislation would also encourage the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to hire veterans in recreation-focused positions, while expanding programs to recruit and train veterans as volunteers on public lands.
The bill would also direct the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to develop a national strategy to increase visits to federal lands by disabled veterans and Gold Star Families.
Representative Peters, said it best, when he said, “Our MVP Act creates more opportunities for veterans and others with physical disabilities to fully participate in the wonderful recreational opportunities our national forests and federal lands have to offer.”
All veterans, and especially disabled veterans, should support this proposed legislation!
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.