HR 187: MAPWaters Act of 2025

HR 187 in plain English: The MAPWaters Act of 2025 requires the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to standardize and publicly publish geospatial data about recreational access to federal waterways and federal fishing restrictions. Within five years, agencies must digitize and post online data about waterway restrictions, access, navigation, and fishing rules. Fishing restriction data must be updated in real time, while other waterway data must be updated at least twice per year.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to modernize and simplify public access to information about federal waterways by requiring federal agencies to standardize, digitize, and publish online data about where and how the public can use federal waters for recreation, and what restrictions or fishing rules apply.

Key points

• Requires Forest Service and Interior to jointly develop interagency standards for collecting and sharing federal waterway access data.
• Agencies must digitize and publish online geospatial data on waterway restrictions, access, navigation, and fishing restrictions within five years.
• Waterway restriction and access data must be updated at least twice per year; fishing restriction data must update in real time.
• Agencies must create a public process for submitting questions or comments about waterway and fishing restriction data.

Arguments supporters make

• Putting all waterway access and restriction information in one standardized, online place makes it much easier for everyday people to know where they can legally boat, fish, or swim without accidentally breaking rules.
• Standardizing data across agencies ends a confusing patchwork where different federal offices use incompatible formats, which currently makes planning outdoor recreation trips harder than it needs to be.
• Real-time updates to fishing restriction data mean anglers always have the most current rules, reducing unintentional violations and helping protect fish populations.

Arguments opponents make

• Digitizing and maintaining detailed geographic data across five federal agencies is a large technical undertaking, and there is no guarantee agencies will have the staffing or funding to meet the five-year deadline or keep data accurate long-term.
• Publishing precise location data about access points, restricted zones, and navigable routes online could draw heavier use to sensitive or fragile waterway ecosystems that were previously harder to find.
• Requiring real-time updates for fishing restrictions places an ongoing operational burden on agencies that may already be understaffed, potentially resulting in outdated or unreliable information that users come to depend on.

Tradeoffs

Making federal waterway and fishing information more accessible and standardized improves public convenience and compliance, but places new and ongoing data management responsibilities on federal agencies that must be resourced and sustained over time.

Current status in Congress: Became law.

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