Access to federal lands is becoming more difficult for institutional outdoor programs. The Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are drafting rules to address institutional users, and the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing institutional use and sees a need for some type of permitting for this population. A 1996 study of federal land management agencies found that policies and regulations vary between and within agencies, managers are concerned about the impacts caused by wilderness experience programs (WEPs), managers offered proactive suggestions to address their concerns about WEPs, and managers felt that most WEP activities were not wilderness-dependent. The once-clear nonprofit educational status that gave WEPs privileged access has become blurred. If a program promotes itself to the general public, charges a fee for its services, and pays its staff, it is likely to be considered a commercial program by federal land managers. Recommendations for WEPs include maintaining communication with agency staff, developing a working knowledge of the laws and rules governing agencies, having a short biographical sketch of the WEP readily available, networking with other institutional programs, performing service projects on agency lands, changing the program format to meet access requirements, challenging agency decisions in court, and supporting federal legislation that addresses the needs of WEPs. A chart shows legislative authority, source of regulations, and permit type necessary for each land management agency. (TD)