A measure promoting and expanding access to safe recreational target shooting practice on federal public lands was signed into law last week as part of an outdoor package. 

President Biden signed H.R.6492, the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act or EXPLORE Act, on Jan. 4, 2025. The bill, which had widespread and varied support from outdoor groups of all stripes, also included the language of Congressmen Blake Moore (R-Utah) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.)'s bipartisan Range Access Act. 

The proposal helps increase access to public shooting ranges by requiring the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to ensure that each National Forest and BLM district in the country has at least one designated public recreational shooting range – and that range cannot require a user fee.

The country has at least 154 national forests, while the BLM has 12 regions, each with multiple districts. While many of these already have qualifying public ranges, the act could see hundreds more added. 

"It is an honor to see these legislative initiatives cross the finish line," said Moore in a statement emailed to Guns.com. 

The latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, compiled every five years since 1955 by the Department of Interior, suggests more than 46.2 million Americans engage in target shooting – a 44-percent increase over the past half decade.