**59548**

**Federal Register**

Vol. 67, No. 184

Monday, September 23, 2002

Notices

**Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail;**

**Guidelines for Developing an**

**Application Requesting Designation of**

**a Trail as a Segment of the Potomac**

**Heritage National Scenic Trail**

**[Overview]{.underline}**

In 1983 Congress amended the National Trails System Act, designating a
corridor for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail between the
mouth of the Potomac River and the Laurel Highlands in western
Pennsylvania (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)(2000)). The legislation authorizes
the Secretary of the Interior to "designate" trails, outside of
federally administered areas, as segments of the Potomac Heritage
National Scenic Trail (PHNST) based upon applications by local and state
agencies. The authority for designation is delegated to the National
Park Service in the Departmental Manual Part 245. Based on consultations
with citizens organizations, local governments, regional authorities and
state agencies, the guidelines reflect plans by local and state agencies
for the PHNST, and provide such agencies with criteria for developing
applications for designation of trails as segments of the PHNST.

**[Background]{.underline}**

The Potomac and upper Ohio river basins have nurtured communities, trade
and migration for nearly 10,000 years \-- from ancient villages and
trade routes established by American Indians to the pathways used by our
Nation's founders, from the darkest days during the Civil War and to the
beginnings of the modern conservation movement. Today, citizens groups,
regional organizations, local and state government agencies and federal
agencies in the Potomac River corridor and in southwestern Pennsylvania
are seeking ways to make connections among the special places that
reflect this history, to tell stories associated with the national
significance of the region and to establish a network of recreational
trails and related educational opportunities. Many have been drawn to
the idea behind and legislation for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic
Trail.

Acting upon information in a study completed by the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation in 1974, Congress in 1983 amended the National Trails System
Act, establishing a federal interest in development of the PHNST (16
U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)(2000)). The amendment:

-   designated a corridor for the PHNST along both sides of the Potomac
    River between the Chesapeake Bay and the vicinity of Cumberland,
    Md., and between Cumberland and the Laurel Highlands Trail in
    western Pennsylvania;

-   precluded designations in the State of West Virginia; and

-   authorized the Secretary of the Interior to "designate lands outside
    of federally administered areas as segments of the trail, only upon
    application from the States or local governmental agencies involved,
    if such segments meet the criteria established in this chapter and
    are administered by such agencies without expense to the United
    States.\"

Authority for the designation of non-Federal segments of the PHNST is
similar in intent and process to trail site and segment "certification"
authority provided in 16 USC 1242(a)(3) (2000) for the administration of
national historic trails.

Subsequent legislation, passed in 1986, directed the Secretary to
recognize the 70‑mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT), managed by
the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as a
segment of the PHNST. In addition to the LHHT, the 184.5‑mile C & O
Canal Towpath, managed by C & O Canal National Historical Park, and the
17‑mile Mount Vernon Trail, managed by George Washington Memorial
Parkway, are recognized as segments of the PHNST.

Other trails, projects and programs in the corridor also contribute to
the concept of the PHNST. Based on the 1974 study and 1983 amendment,
local and state governments, regional authorities and federal agencies
are creating a braided network of trails for hiking, bicycling,
horseback riding and boating in the PHNST corridor. Some local
governments and authorities have purchased and/or accepted lands and/or
easements on lands for the purpose of building PHNST segments. As more
and more communities weave connections among local history, outdoor
spaces and culture, they build upon the PHNST designation by linking
local initiatives with elements of our national history. The developing
physical and programmatic network increasingly provides residents and
visitors with an experience in the PHNST corridor comprised of three
related elements:

1.  a regional system of trails for non-motorized travel, recreation and
    exploration;

2.  a set of physical and conceptual "gateways" to local trail corridors
    and related resources and activities at various locations in the
    PHNST corridor; and

3.  a range of active and passive educational opportunities associated
    with the national significance of the corridor.

Based on plans for the PHNST by local and state agencies, as well as
consultations with regional authorities, citizen organizations and other
federal agencies, these guidelines provide criteria for developing
applications for designation of non-Federal trails as segments of the
PHNST.

Designation of trails provides local and state agencies and others with
opportunities to realize the following benefits:

-   **coordination** among citizens groups, local jurisdictions, state
    agencies and federal land managers seeking to conserve landscapes,
    to develop non-motorized transportation options and to develop
    outdoor educational opportunities and heritage tourism programs in
    the PHNST corridor;

-   **use of the official PHNST marker** (trail logo) in marketing,
    information and educational programs;

-   priority consideration for **funds** to support PHNST-related
    projects and partners through the NPS Challenge Cost-Share Program;
    and

-   technical **assistance** with:

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-   corridor planning

-   project development and implementation

-   fund-raising

-   interpretive planning and educational program and project
    development

-   marketing and promotion

-   communications and public involvement, and

-   heritage tourism projects.

**[Guidelines]{.underline}**

In consultation with the Superintendent, Potomac Heritage National
Scenic Trail, National Park Service, applications by local and state
agencies requesting the designation of a trail as a segment of the PHNST
must meet the following criteria:

1\. The proposed trail corridor contains significant natural, historical
and cultural resources and related educational opportunities associated
with the primary themes for which the PHNST corridor is nationally
significant:

a.  the Potomac River and upper Ohio River tributaries as an East-West
    transportation corridor, especially George Washington's vision of a
    connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Forks of the Ohio
    River;

b.  migration, establishment and conflict of cultures; and

c.  evolution, stress on and restoration of river ecosystems.

2\. The trail provides opportunities for at least one form of
non-motorized travel (e.g., hiking, jogging or running, bicycling,
horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking and/or sailing).

3\. The trail contributes to the quality of life for residents of
communities in the trail corridor and to the experience of visitors to
the trail corridor.

4\. The trail acts as a primary route in and contributes to a developing
network of trails for non-motorized travel between the Chesapeake Bay
and the Laurel Highlands, providing a logical connection, on land or
water, between public resources (e.g., other trails, parks, river access
points, etc.) within one or more of the following jurisdictions:

-   the District of Columbia

-   the following counties in the State of Maryland:

> St. Mary's
>
> Charles
>
> Prince Georges
>
> Montgomery
>
> Frederick
>
> Washington
>
> Allegheny

-   the following counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

> Somerset
>
> Fayette
>
> Westmoreland

-   the following counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia:

> Northumberland
>
> Westmoreland
>
> Lancaster
>
> Richmond
>
> King George
>
> Stafford
>
> Prince William
>
> Fairfax
>
> Arlington
>
> Loudoun

5\. The applicant agrees to maintain some combination of regional
informational exhibits (describing, among other points, the trail and
its contribution to the PHNST); educational exhibits; and/or staffed
visitor centers to serve as "gateways" to the trail corridor, to
communities associated with the trail corridor and to the history and
ecology of the region.

6\. The trail will be administered at no additional cost to the federal
government.

7\. The applicant, in partnership with the National Park Service, has
completed a management plan which describes:

a.  the trail corridor, trail (including location) and the contribution,
    as a component of the region's infrastructure, that the trail makes
    to the quality of life for residents of and visitors to communities
    associated with the trail corridor;

b.  permitted public uses and types of experiences provided by the
    trail;

c.  policies, objectives, practices and agreements employed to maintain
    the trail and to conserve the trail corridor (i.e., to maintain the
    scenic, natural, cultural and/or recreational values for which the
    trail qualifies as a segment of the PHNST), including planned
    seasonal closures to maintain the integrity of the resource or to
    reduce conflicts between and among various user groups (e.g., to
    protect wildlife breeding or migrating areas or to permit hunting);

d.  compliance with applicable Federal regulations;

e.  related conservation and/or development plans (including plans to
    provide recreational, educational and interpretive opportunities);
    and

f.  a marking system used to identify the trail route.