stewardship, accountability and meaningful access
Imagine showing up at Jubilee Lake with your family, looking forward to a day on the water, only to realize there is no way for a mobility-limited person to even reach the edge of the lake to fish. The hard surface trail built to grant meaningful access is broken and uneven. The fishing dock is unstable because its stabilizing moorings have failed. The picnic tables have sunk into the mud and are rotting apart. A lake specifically known for recreational fishing is effectively shutting out the very people it was meant to serve.
This is not an isolated incident. This story is repeating across our public lands.
The U.S. Forest Service reports a deferred maintenance backlog of over $10.8 billion. While this backlog grows, the agency continues to approve major new spending instead of fixing existing infrastructure. In 2026 alone, more than $80 million was committed to Forest Legacy projects on approximately 34,000 acres of privately owned working forests.
The question we must ask is simple:
Why are new programs being funded while basic maintenance on public facilities continues to be neglected? How can $80 million be spent on private land projects when the infrastructure the public already owns is falling apart and denying meaningful access to disabled Americans?
This is both a stewardship issue and a legal issue. The question is, is this a failure of stewardship and legal compliance? Federal laws including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Architectural Barriers Act, and the Forest Service’s own accessibility guidelines were created specifically to ensure meaningful access is provided. Those laws are not being upheld when facilities built for mobility-limited users are allowed to deteriorate for decades.
The Meaningful Access Coalition is traveling to Washington, D.C. in September with the Blue Ribbon Coalition to support the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act. We are not going to attack the agency. We are going to ask the hard questions that need to be asked about spending priorities and accountability.
We believe it is time to stop spending money on new projects while existing infrastructure fails. We need to start fixing what we already have.
Your support matters. Whether through a donation, a letter, or simply adding your voice, you help us fight for families who want to enjoy the outdoors with their disabled loved ones, for elderly Americans who want to fish with their friends, and for every citizen who deserves access to our public lands in their golden years.
Please join us. Sign up to become a supporter of the Meaningful Access Coalition and add your voice to this important mission. If you are able, please take advantage of the donation button on this website. Your dollars will help us push for real change.
Public lands belong to all of us. It’s time to restore real stewardship and make meaningful access a reality.
I support the mission of the Meaningful Access Coalition and believe meaningful access to life and the outdoors should be real, practical, usable, maintained, and protected.