**STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR,** **NATIONAL PARK
SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON
NATIONAL PARKS, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S.
923 AND H.R. 1528, BILLS TO AMEND THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT TO
DESIGNATE THE NEW ENGLAND NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL IN THE STATE OF
CONNECTICUT AND COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS AS A COMPONENT OF THE
NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.**

**APRIL 23, 2008**

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear before your
committee today to discuss the views of the Department of the Interior
on S. 923 and H.R.1528, bills to amend the National Trails System Act by
designating the New England National Scenic Trail as a component of the
National Trails System.

The Department supports enactment of this legislation. At a hearing on
May 15, 2007 in the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and
Public Lands, the Department testified in support of H.R. 1528.

S. 923 and H.R. 1528 would designate an approximately 220-mile trail
route from Long Island Sound in the Town of Guilford, Connecticut to the
New Hampshire-Massachusetts border in the Town of Royalston,
Massachusetts as the New England National Scenic Trail. The route
includes portions of the existing Mattabesett, Metacomet, and
Metacomet-Monadnock trails studied under Public Law 107-338, the
Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett Trail Study Act of 2002. The proposed
New England National Scenic Trail would be administered by the Secretary
of the Interior and managed through partnership agreements with the
State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the
Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the Appalachian Mountain Club,
and other local stakeholders as appropriate. There are no existing
federal lands associated with the proposed trail route and no new
federal acquisition of lands is anticipated to be necessary to
accomplish the purposes of S. 923 and H.R. 1528.

In spring 2006, the National Park Service produced the draft report and
environmental assessment for the Metacomet Monadnock Mattabesett
National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study. The report, which was recently
transmitted to Congress, concludes that the proposed route meets the
definition and intent for national scenic trail establishment under the
National Trails System Act. The characteristics that make the proposed
route worthy of designation include its scenic mountain landscape,
historic New England villages, geological resources, and an abundance of
endangered and natural communities.

The route traverses the Metacomet, Mt. Tom, and Mt. Holyoke ranges
offering some of New England's most outstanding scenery and geologic
features. Over 50 National Register Districts abut the trail. There are
outstanding views from the trail as well as links to many side trails.
The trail offers some of the world's best opportunities to view
volcanic, sedimentary, and glacial geology, including columnar basalt,
fossils, and dinosaur footprints. Areas along the trail have an
outstanding richness of habitat types, natural communities, and rare and
endangered species' habitats. In Connecticut, 132 occurrences of rare
species or natural communities have been documented within 1,000 feet of
the trail.

In addition, one of the most important factors identified in the
National Trails System Act for evaluating potential new components of
the system is proximity to population centers. Through the Act, Congress
recognized the need to serve the nation's population centers with
quality recreational opportunities. As such, the proposed New England
National Scenic Trail offers a truly extraordinary opportunity, with
over 2 million people living within 10 miles of the trail system.

S. 923 and H.R. 1528 would implement the environmentally preferred
alternative of the study report and environmental assessment. This
alternative was developed through a collaborative process with key trail
stakeholders associated with the existing Metacomet Monadnock and
Mattabesett trails, including the two states, the Appalachian Mountain
Club, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, and the 39 abutting
communities. In addition, GIS mapping was cross-referenced against
community land ownership data to build for the first time a database of
more than 1,000 landowners on or near the trail route. These landowners
and entities were all engaged directly in the study through regular
mailings and invitations to information meetings and working sessions.
Input from all of these sources was incorporated into the
environmentally preferred alternative, which includes the following
elements:

First, the "Blueprint for Management" included in the report was
developed through input by a full range of study participants to provide
the best blueprint for long-term trail viability. The National Park
Service and Trail Stewardship Council would base trail management,
administration and protection efforts on this document.

Second, the report calls for the creation of a Trail Stewardship Council
that would bring trail partners and stakeholders together on a regular
basis to discuss trail issues, coordinate management and protection of
the trail, and generally guide implementation of the Management
Blueprint. The Council would have advisory powers only, and would be
non-regulatory in nature.

Third, the study identified no need for direct federal ownership or
management of the trail. Thus, the National Park Service's role in
implementing the proposed national scenic trail designation would be one
of technical and financial assistance to existing trail partners,
coordinated through the Trail Stewardship Council.

Fourth, a new unifying name, the New England National Scenic Trail, was
suggested for national scenic trail purposes. Traditional trail names
would continue to be used in guidebooks or on trail signs, as
appropriate, such as the Mattabesett Trail, part of the New England
National Scenic Trail.

Finally, in addition to the proposed extension to Long Island Sound in
Guilford, Connecticut, a new route for the national scenic trail is
proposed in the Belchertown-Leverett area of Massachusetts. The new
route is envisioned to take advantage of substantial state-owned lands
that can provide a quality, protected trail route, while avoiding a
segment of the Metacomet-Monadnock trail almost completely devoid of
protected lands.

The draft report and environmental assessment for the Metacomet
Monadnock Mattabesett Trail Study was released for public and agency
review in August 2006. An executive summary was mailed to all identified
trail landowners and stakeholders, along with invitations to public
meetings in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Approximately 60 written
responses were received between August and December 2006. The vast
majority of these supported the environmentally preferred alternative,
and only a few comments were received in opposition to national scenic
trail designation.

The Department of Justice has advised us that requiring the Secretary to
manage and administer the trail consistent with the Trail Management
Blueprint may raise constitutional concerns, and it would like to work
with the committee on that provision. In addition, the Department would
like to work with the committee on some technical amendments to the
Senate version of the bill to reflect the map reference contained in the
House-passed version of H.R. 1528.

This concludes my prepared remarks, Mr. Chairman. I will be happy to
answer any questions you or other committee members may have regarding
this bill.