NMMA Launches Website for Waterways Access Initiative

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) launched a new website for the Waterways Access Initiative, creating a central hub for the campaign’s policy priorities, industry data, advocacy resources and messaging around one of the recreational boating industry’s most important issues: ensuring Americans can safely and reliably get on the water.

The Waterways Access Initiative is a multi-year advocacy campaign focused on protecting and expanding access to America’s public waters. The campaign brings together NMMA’s ongoing work to protect boater access, modernize recreation infrastructure, support conservation, drive innovation in marine technology and sustainability, and strengthen the made-in-America recreational boating industry.

Access is the foundation of recreational boating and fishing in America. More than 85 million Americans participate in boating and fishing each year, and those activities support local communities, small businesses, outdoor recreation, and American manufacturing. Recreational boating alone generates $230 billion in annual economic activity and supports more than 812,000 jobs across 36,000 U.S. businesses. Recreational boat building is a uniquely American industry. Ninety-five percent of boats sold in the United States are made in the United States, and approximately 93% of boat builders are small businesses. Protecting access to public waters helps protect American jobs, local tourism, waterfront communities and the small businesses that power the recreational boating economy.

The new website, nmma.org/access, highlights several key policies, including reauthorizing the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, advancing a strong Water Resources Development Act, reauthorizing the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund and modernizing fisheries management and marine conservation policies.

• The recent Executive Order, Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation, reflects several of the same priorities at the center of the Waterways Access Initiative. The order directs federal agencies to modernize recreational fisheries management and data collection, strengthen state-federal partnerships, reduce unnecessary barriers, expand access to marine resources, and support the use of technology in marine conservation. It is also a clear example of how sustained education and advocacy can elevate recreational boating and fishing in federal decision-making.
• The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund remains one of the nation’s most effective user-pay, public-benefit programs. Created in 1950, the Trust Fund is fully paid for by boaters, anglers and manufacturers, and receives more than $750 million each year to support conservation programs and boating infrastructure in all 50 states. Trust Fund dollars support state fish and wildlife agencies, U.S. Coast Guard recreational boating safety programs, coastal wetlands, marina infrastructure and more than 9,000 boating and fishing access points nationwide.
• NMMA is also advocating for a strong, bipartisan Water Resources Development Act that protects boating access, strengthens federal water infrastructure, supports American marinas, and encourages long-term investment in waterfront communities. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation sites are among the nation’s leading providers of public boating access, supporting 400 lake and river projects, 269 million visits each year, 3,732 boat ramps, and 108,000 marina slips. NMMA’s WRDA priorities include allowing the Corps to reinvest recreation fees at the sites where they are collected, aligning recreation data standards with other federal land and water agencies, modernizing marina lease terms and streamlining approvals for routine marina improvements.
• The Waterways Access Initiative also calls for reauthorizing the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund through the America the Beautiful Act. Created through the Great American Outdoors Act, the Legacy Restoration Fund has helped repair critical infrastructure and improve access across public lands and waters in all 50 states. However, the Fund expired in September 2025, while national parks and public lands and waters continue to face an approximately $40 billion deferred maintenance backlog. Reauthorization would help ensure that boat launches, recreation areas, water systems and other public access assets remain safe, reliable and open to the public.