A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to expedite access to certain Federal lands under the administrative jurisdiction of each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions, and for other purposes.
Key claim: Interior and the Forest Service would have to quickly approve or deny volunteer teams seeking to enter federal land to search for missing people, and would set up partnerships to speed those missions.
Abstract
(S1049 · 113th Congress) Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to implement a process to provide eligible organizations and individuals expedited access to federal lands to conduct good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions. Sets forth procedures for the approval or denial of requests made by eligible organizations or individuals to carry out a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission. Requires the Secretaries to develop search-and-recovery focused partnerships with search-and-recovery organizations to: (1) coordinate good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions on such lands, and (2) expedite and accelerate mission efforts for missing individuals on such lands. Latest action (2014-07-30): Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-433.
Why this matters
Access to federal lands for volunteer search-and-recovery teams currently depends on ad hoc agency discretion, which families of missing persons have criticized as slow during time-sensitive searches. A statutory deadline for Interior and USDA to approve or deny entry requests would shift the default toward faster access, though it would also require agencies to develop new partnership frameworks and address liability and resource-protection concerns on wilderness and other sensitive lands.