The Department of the Interior released the first-ever interagency recreation visitation data report, which the presenter said was directed by the EXPLORE Act and provides a unified picture of recreation across federal land and water management agencies.
According to the presenter, the report offers a comprehensive look at how millions of people use the nation's public lands and waters and aims to make visitation data comparable across agencies for the first time. The transcript did not include data tables or specific visitation counts.
The Department positioned the report as a tool for better understanding recreation patterns across federal agencies; the presenter said the report will help show "how millions of people enjoy our nation's public lands and waters every year." No detailed methodology or raw data were included in the episode; the Department indicated the report is a first step toward unified reporting.
Next steps: the Department will publish the full report and supporting data so that stakeholders can review detailed visitation numbers and methodology.