Utah Senator Mike Lee is championing legislation he says will make the outdoors more equitable to everyone. It’s called the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act and it involves building more roads on public lands.
The move comes after the Bureau of Land Management announced road closures near Moab last year, and off-roading enthusiasts sued. Now, the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act would make the BLM and the Forest Service update travel management plans — prioritizing accessibility.
But, some disability advocates are telling The Salt Lake Tribune it’s disingenuous. The Show spoke with Syren Nagakyrie, founder and director of the nonprofit Disabled Hikers, more about why.
Full conversation
SYREN NAGAKYRIE: It definitely seems like just an attempt to use disability as, you know, an excuse to reopen or build more roads. You know, when I first saw this bill, it seemed to me like Mike Lee was upset that the BLM had closed some roads and was looking for a way to reopen them, and that disability seemed like a good reason.
I mean, of course, disability is not a monolith, and everyone has a variety of access needs, and I don't want to discount people who do enjoy taking scenic drives and using all terrain vehicles, but there is a long history of disabled people being used as political pawns and being used to enact legislation that may or may not actually benefit us, and in this case, I feel like this legislation does not truly benefit the broad disability community and that we are not consulted.
LAUREN GILGER: So let's talk about what it is that would be helpful for a disabled hiker. As you said, this isn't a monolith. The community has broad needs. But what have you found in your own experience? Like if paved roads are not, you know, the most useful thing in the world, what would be?
NAGAKYRIE: Yeah, so I think really just investing in the infrastructure that we already have, making sure that trails are maintained, that amenities are maintained, and that accessible recreation opportunities are provided. So things like, you know, installing benches on trails, making more access available for motorized wheelchairs and other powered adaptive, adaptive devices can be really useful. So there's already so much infrastructure that is out there that if we just invested in that, it would have a huge impact.
GILGER: That’s interesting. So is this an area in which you think legislation is necessary, like, is there anything you advocate for? Or is a lot of this already covered in the Americans with Disabilities act?
NAGAKYRIE: Yeah, a lot of it is covered in the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the Architectural Barriers Act. And currently there's the Explore Act that has passed the House and is in the Senate right now. And that act will actually both allow the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to increase roads and allow more opportunities for motorized recreation, as well as mandate that accessibility assessments are done for all trails and that more accessible recreation opportunities are created. So all of this work is already happening.
GILGER: Let me ask you about your own experience in this and kind of what led you to do this work. I mean, you have published guides for disabled hikers about, you know, places you can go and things that are accessible. What does accessibility look like in the outdoors? Is it different than, you know, in a building or an office or a school?
NAGAKYRIE: Absolutely. And you know, again, there's a variety of access needs that are out there. So in the information in the guides that I write, I really try to just assess all of the details that are present on the trail or in that recreation site, so that people can make their own decisions. Because access needs are so varied.
So things like, you know, trail surface and grade and obstacles all come into play on whether a trail will be accessible or not, as well as things like benches and restrooms and water fountains, all of those amenities can also have an impact on whether someone can enjoy that space.
GILGER: Do you think that lots of people who are disabled still feel like the outdoors are not accessible to them or not a place that they belong?
NAGAKYRIE: Sadly yes, yeah. And a large part of that is because so many spaces are inaccessible. But also there's just a real lack of information out there about how to enjoy the outdoors as a disabled person, and how to find the information that you need to decide whether or not that space will be accessible for you. That's something that we're really trying to work on.
GILGER: Yeah, yeah. When we talk about laws that already exist, the Americans with Disabilities Act, this Explore Act you mentioned that's working its way through the legislative process. Is it also about enforcement? Or, I guess lack of enforcement?
NAGAKYRIE: Enforcement is a huge issue. You know, the Americans with Disabilities Act really does not have an enforcement arm. It's reliant upon disabled people to make complaints. And then, you know, those complaints may or may not be acted upon. So there's really no enforcement mechanism that is embedded into these acts. And then also, I mean, of course, legislation and all of that is important, but. There can often be a huge disconnect between that and what is actually happening on the ground. So you know, training for people who are interacting with the public, making sure that you know, disability communities are consulted as this work is being implemented, is incredibly important.
GILGER: Let me ask you a kind of a broader question. Lastly, just about the trajectory of this, right, like you're doing this work, and it sounds like you still feel like there's a lot of work to be done in this arena, but do you think that we need a broader shift in the way that, especially, you know, national parks, these government-run places that are, you know, supposed to be our gateways to the great outdoors, are approached so that it is accessible to people, and not just accessible, but welcoming.
NAGAKYRIE: Absolutely, yeah, and I think one key to that is making it easier for community organizations such as ours to have those connections and to approach these national agencies and for them to be able to work with us. You know, there's such a wealth of information that is available in our communities, that if it were easier to kind of get through that bureaucratic process, that would open up a huge avenue.
