As the politics of the last decade have grown dicier, those of us trying to advance any policy agenda have had to speed up and prolong our sprints back and forth across the aisle.  So, the Thanksgiving break is truly a rare chance to take a breath.  It’s also a chance to get outside and deliberately think about the common ground we have.   There’s no getting around how tension-filled life has become in the policy mosh pit. At the same time that the political environment has become so...

This time last year, an array of advocates backing the EXPLORE Act were on a roller coaster of expectations. The legislation had over 80 pages of detailed updates to outdoor recreation rules, with provisions on permitting reform, accessibility, needs of gateway communities, technology upgrades, and more. Some sections were in the works for over a decade, and the House had finally passed the bill by unanimous consent in April 2024.  It took an all-out push and final-minute, Member-to-Member...