National Discovery Trails Act of 1996

Summary: National Discovery Trails Act of 1996 - Amends the National Trails System Act to provide that national discovery trails established under the Act shall be components of the National Trails System.  Provides that such trails shall be extended, continuous interstate trails located so as to provide for outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities. 
Designates the 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail (established by this Act) as a national discovery trail.  Provides that the Trail shall extend from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, traveling northern and southern routes from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Denver, Colorado.  Exempts the Trail from comprehensive national scenic trail plan requirements under the Act, but requires the responsible nonprofit organization for the Trail to consult certain entities and submit to specified congressional committees, within three fiscal years after this Act's enactment, a comprehensive plan for the protection, management, development, and use of the Trail. 
Provides that the Secretary charged with the overall administration of National Scenic and National Historic Trails shall administer a National Discovery Trail in cooperation with a nonprofit organization.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Discovery Trails Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    Section 2(b) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241(b)) 
is amended by striking ``recreation, scenic and historic'' and 
inserting ``recreation, scenic, historic, and discovery''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL DISCOVERY TRAILS.

    Section 3(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) National discovery trails, established by section 
        5(a), which shall--
                    ``(A) be extended, continuous, interstate trails;
                    ``(B) be located so as to--
                            ``(i) provide for outstanding outdoor 
                        recreation and travel; and
                            ``(ii) represent metropolitan, urban, 
                        rural, and back-country regions of the United 
                        States;
                    ``(C) connect representative examples of United 
                States trails and communities; and
                    ``(D) provide for the conservation and enjoyment of 
                significant natural, cultural, and historic resources 
                associated with each trail corridor.''.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE AMERICAN DISCOVERY TRAIL AS A NATIONAL 
              DISCOVERY TRAIL.

    (a) Description.--Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(20) The American Discovery Trail, a trail of approximately 6,000 
miles extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point 
Reyes National Seashore in California, traveling through Delaware, 
Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, 
near Cincinnati splitting into the Northern Midwest route through Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado and the Southern 
Midwest route through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and 
Colorado, rejoining in Denver, and continuing through Colorado, Utah, 
Nevada, and California. The trail is generally described in volume 2 of 
the National Park Service feasibility study dated June 1995, which 
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of 
the Director of the National Park Service. The trail shall be 
administered by the Secretary of the Interior in cooperation with a 
nonprofit organization and other affected land managing agencies. The 
trail shall not be subject to section 5(d), 7(a)(2), 7(e), or 7(f).''.
    (b) Plan for New National Discovery Trails.--Section 5(e) of the 
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(e)) is amended by striking 
``Continental Divide'' and all that follows through ``as part of the 
system'' and inserting ``Continental Divide National Scenic Trail or 
the North Country National Scenic Trail, or a national discovery trail, 
except for the American Discovery Trail, as part of the system''.
    (c) Plan for the American Discovery Trail.--Section 5 of the 
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(g) Plan for the American Discovery Trail.--Not later than 3 full 
fiscal years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
responsible nonprofit organization for the American Discovery Trail 
established by subsection (a)(20) shall, after consultation with the 
Secretary of the Interior, other affected land managing agencies, the 
Governors of affected States, county and local political jurisdictions, 
and local organizations maintaining component trails, submit to the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a 
comprehensive plan for the protection, management, development, and use 
of the trail, not to conflict with any agency direction, including--
            ``(1) specific objectives and practices to be observed in 
        the administration and management of the trail, including--
                    ``(A) the identification of all significant 
                natural, historical, and cultural resources to be 
                preserved;
                    ``(B) model agreements necessary for joint trail 
                administration among interested parties;
                    ``(C) an identified carrying capacity of the trail; 
                and
                    ``(D) an implementation plan;
            ``(2) a 10-year trail corridor protection plan to preserve 
        the values for which the trail was established and recognized 
        by the United States;
            ``(3) general and site-specific development plans, 
        including anticipated costs; and
            ``(4) the process to be followed by the nonprofit 
        organization in partnership with the Secretary of the Interior 
        to implement the trail markers described in section 7(c) to 
        conform to approved trail logo or emblem requirements.''.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 7 of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1246) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) National Discovery Trails.--The Secretary charged with the 
overall administration of a trail under section 5(a) shall administer a 
national discovery trail in cooperation with a nonprofit 
organization.''.

SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Section 5 of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``and national 
        historical'' and inserting ``, national historic, and national 
        discovery''; and
            (2) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by striking 
        ``National Scenic and National Historic Trails'' and inserting 
        ``national scenic, national historic, and national discovery 
        trails''.
    (b) The National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``scenic and national historic'' each place 
        it appears and inserting ``scenic, national historic, and 
        national discovery'';
            (2) by striking ``scenic or national historic'' each place 
        it appears and inserting ``scenic, national historic, or 
        national discovery''; and
            (3) by striking ``scenic, or national historic'' each place 
        it appears and inserting ``scenic, national historic, or 
        national discovery''.