Every Kid Outdoors Program provides fourth graders with free entrance to public lands
Fourth grade students can get a free annual pass to visit more than 2,000 federal recreation areas with their families, classmates, and friends. Replacing the Every Kid in a Park Program that was established in 2015, the Every Kid Outdoors Program is an interagency collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Forest Service that provides fourth graders with free access to national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, and forests.
The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, which was signed into law by President Trump March 12, authorized funding for Every Kid Outdoors for the next seven years.
To obtain the free pass, fourth grade students can visit the Every Kid Outdoors website and download a voucher. The voucher is valid for multiple use between Sept. 1, 2019 and Aug. 31, 2020 to correspond to the traditional school year. The voucher may be exchanged for a keepsake pass at participating federal lands.
The voucher or pass grants free entry for fourth graders, all children under 16 in the group, and up to three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks) to most federally managed lands and waters. The pass does not cover expanded amenity fees such as camping or boat rides.
The program focuses on children 10 years of age — the age of most fourth graders — based on research that indicates that children ages 9–11 are at a unique developmental stage in their learning where they begin to understand how the world around them works in more concrete ways and they are more receptive to engaging with nature and the environment. By focusing on this age group year after year, the program aims to ensure every child in the United States has the opportunity to visit federal lands and waters by the time he or she is 11 years old, thereby establishing a lifelong connection to enjoy and protect our American outdoor heritage.
There are seven federal agencies participating in the Every Kid Outdoors Program:
—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
—U.S. Forest Service.
—National Park Service.
—U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
—U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Articles related to “Every Kid Outdoors Program provides fourth graders with free entrance to public lands”
Public comment sought for newly established regional water conservation goals
