79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–846

WILLING SELLER AMENDMENTS OF 2000 TO THE

NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT

SEPTEMBER 14, 2000.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 2267]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 2267) to amend the National Trails System Act to clarify

Federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers

for the majority of the trails, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and

recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Willing Seller Amendments of 2000 to the National

Trails System Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) In spite of commendable efforts by the governments of States and political

subdivisions of States and private volunteer trail groups to develop, operate,

and maintain the national scenic and national historic trails (referred to in this

Act as the ‘‘trails’’), the rate of progress towards developing and completing the

trails is slower than anticipated.

(2) Nine national scenic and historic trails were authorized by Congress between 1978 and 1986 with restrictions totally excluding Federal authority for

land acquisition. To complete these trails as intended by Congress, acquisition

authority to secure necessary rights-of-way and historic sites and segments, limited to acquisition from willing sellers only, and specifically excluding condemnation, should be extended to the Secretary administering those trails.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that in order to address the problems involving multijurisdictional authority over the national trails system, the head of each Federal

agency with jurisdiction over an individual trail should—

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(1) cooperate with appropriate officials of States and political subdivisions of

States and private persons with an interest in the trails to pursue the development of the trails; and

(2) be granted sufficient authority to purchase lands from willing sellers that

are critical to the completion of the trails.

SEC. 4. INTENT.

It is the intent of Congress that lands or interests in lands for the 9 components

of the National Trails System affected by this Act shall only be acquired by the Federal Government from willing sellers.

SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT.

The National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.) is amended—

(1) in section 5(a)—

(A) in the fourth sentence of paragraph (11)—

(i) by striking ‘‘No lands or interest therein outside the exterior’’ and

inserting ‘‘No lands or interest in lands outside of the exterior’’; and

(ii) by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘without the consent

of the owner of the land or interest’’; and

(B) in the fourth sentence of paragraph (14)—

(i) by striking ‘‘No lands or interests therein outside the exterior’’ and

inserting ‘‘No land or interest in land outside of the exterior’’; and

(ii) by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘without the consent

of the owner of the land or interest’’; and

(2) in section 10(c), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following new

paragraph:

‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including any other provision

of this Act), no funds may be expended by the Federal Government for the acquisition of any land or interest in land outside of the exterior boundaries of existing

Federal lands for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, the North Country

National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, the Oregon National Historic Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, or the Iditarod National Historic Trail, except with the consent

of the owner of the land or interest. If the Federal Government fails to make payment in accordance with a contract for sale of land or an interest in land transferred

under this paragraph, the seller may avail himself of all remedies available under

all applicable law, including electing to void the sale.’’.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2267 is to amend the National Trails System

Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition from

willing sellers for the majority of the trails, and for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The National Trails System Act originally established 20 trails.

Along nine of the 20 trails, the federal government is not authorized to acquire any land outside of the exterior boundaries of any

federally-administered area. H.R. 2267 would give the federal government the authority to purchase land from willing sellers along

these nine trails to secure necessary rights-of-way and historic sites

and segments. H.R. 2267 specifically provides that such purchase

requires the consent of the owner of the land or interest.

H.R. 2267 also assures that the land owner, if a willing seller,

is entitled to prompt compensation under the terms of the sale contract. Specifically, the seller will be able to use all remedies under

the law if the federal government fails to make payment in accordance with the contract for the sale of land or interest. Remedies

available to the seller include voiding the sale.

The nine trails which will be affected by this legislation are: the

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Potomac

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Heritage National Trail, the Oregon National Historic Trail, the

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Nez Perce National

Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and the

Iditarod National Historic Trail.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2267 was introduced by Congressman Scott McInnis (R–CO)

on June 17, 1999. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. On May 9, 2000, the Subcommittee

held a hearing on the bill. On May 18, 2000, the Subcommittee met

to consider the bill. A technical amendment was offered by Congressman James V. Hansen (R–UT). The amendment was adopted

by voice vote. No further amendments were offered and the bill, as

amended, was ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by

voice vote. On July 26, 2000 the Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in

the body of this report.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule

XIII of the rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a)

of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not contain

any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or

an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 3(c)(4)

of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee has received no report of oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform on this

bill.

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the ComVerDate 11-MAY-2000 04:25 Sep 15, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR846.XXX pfrm01 PsN: HR846
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mittee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the

Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, September 12, 2000.

Hon. DON YOUNG,

Chairman, Committee on Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2267, the Willing Seller

Amendments of 2000 to the National Trails System Act.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

H.R. 2267—Willing Seller Amendments of 2000 to the National

Trails System Act

H.R. 2267 would amend the National Trails System Act to allow

the federal government to purchase land from willing sellers for

nine of the 20 national trails. Under current law, federal agencies

are not authorized to spend funds to acquire funds to acquire land

for these nine trails that is outside of existing federal areas such

as national forests or parks. (An exception to this prohibition is

that one site in each state crossed by each trail may be acquired

for an interpretive site.)

The costs of implementing H.R. 2267 are uncertain because the

federal agencies that administer national trails have not completed

land protection plans for most of the nine trails affected by the legislation. CBO expects that relatively little land along the nearly

19,000 miles composing the nine trails would be acquired because

most land can probably be protected in other ways, as it is for

other trails in the system. Nevertheless, total acquisition costs

could be significant because some of the longest trails would probably require large areas to be purchased. For example, acquisitions

for multistate trails such as the 3,200-mile North Country National

Scenic Trail could cost over $100 million, assuming appropriation

of the necessary amounts. For some of the shorter trails, costs

would be much lower. For example, trails located primarily on

state or federal lands, such as the Iditarod National Historic Trail

in Alaska, would probably require few or no purchases. In any case,

all acquisition funding would be subject to the appropriation of the

necessary amounts and would probably be spent over a period of

several years.

Of the other 11 existing national trails (not covered by this legislation), only the Appalachian National Scenic Trail has ever received significant appropriated funds for land acquisition (almost

$230 million to date); the other trails have been protected by other

methods, including state acquisition, cooperative agreements with

landowners, and inclusion in other federally administered areas.

H.R. would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, payas-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill contains no interVerDate 11-MAY-2000 04:25 Sep 15, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR846.XXX pfrm01 PsN: HR846
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governmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant impact

on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.

This estimate is based on information provided by the National

Park Service and the Forest Service, which administer most of the

national trails affected by this bill.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt State, local, or tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic,

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT

* * * * * * *

NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

SEC. 5. (a) National scenic and national historic trails shall be

authorized and designated only by Act of Congress. There are hereby established the following National Scenic and National Historic

Trails:

(1) * * *

* * * * * * *

(11) The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, a corridor of

approximately seven hundred and four miles following the route as

generally depicted on the map identified as ‘‘National Trails System, Proposed Potomac Heritage Trail’’ in ‘‘The Potomac Heritage

Trail’’, a report prepared by the Department of the Interior and

dated December 1974, except that no designation of the trail shall

be made in the State of West Virginia. The map shall be on file

and available for public inspection in the office of the Director of

the National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia. The

trail shall initally consist of only those segments of the corridor located within the exterior boundaries of federally administered

areas. øNo lands or interests therein outside the exterior¿ No lands

or interest in lands outside of the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the Potomac Heritage Trail without the consent of the

owner of the land or interest. The Secretary of the Interior may 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 Act and are administered by such agencies without

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expenses to the United States. The trail shall be administered by

the Secretary of the Interior.

* * * * * * *

(14) The Nez Perce National Historic Trail, a route of approximately eleven hundred and seventy miles extending from the vicinity of Wallowa Lake, Oregon, to Bear Paw Mountain, Montana, as

generally depicted in ‘‘Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) Trail Study Report’’

prepared by the Department of Agriculture and dated March 1982.

The report shall be on file and available for public inspection in the

Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Washington, District of

Columbia. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. øNo lands or interests therein outside the exterior¿ No

land or interest in land outside of the exterior boundaries of any

federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the Nez Perce National Historic Trail without the consent of the owner of the land or interest. The Secretary of Agriculture may designate lands outside of federally administered

areas as segments of the trail upon application from the States or

local governmental agencies involved if such segments meet the criteria established in this Act and are administered by such agencies

without expense to the United States. So that significant route segments and sites recognized as associated with the Nez Perce Trail

may be distinguished by suitable markers, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to accept the donation of suitable markers for

placement at appropriate locations. Any such markers associated

with the Nez Perce Trail which are to be located on lands administered by any other department or agency of the United States may

be placed on such lands only with the concurrence of the head of

such department or agency.

* * * * * * *

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 10. (a)***

* * * * * * *

ø(c)(1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums

as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Act relating to the trails designated by paragraphs 5(a) (3), (4), (5), (6), (7),

(8), (9), and (10): Provided, That no such funds are authorized to

be appropriated prior to October 1, 1978: And provided further,

That notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act or any other

provisions of law, no funds may be expended by Federal agencies

for the acquisition of lands or interests in lands outside the exterior

boundaries of existing Federal areas for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, the North Country National Scenic Trail, The

Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Oregon National Historic Trail,

the Mormon Pioneer National Historic trail, the Lewis and Clark

National Historic Trail, and the Iditarod National Historic Trail,

except that funds may be expended for the acquisition of lands or

interests therein for the purpose of providing for one trail interpretation site, as described in section 7(c), along with such trail in

each State crossed by the trail.¿

(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including any

other provision of this Act), no funds may be expended by the FedVerDate 11-MAY-2000 04:25 Sep 15, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6603 E:\HR\OC\HR846.XXX pfrm01 PsN: HR846
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eral Government for the acquisition of any land or interest in land

outside of the exterior boundaries of existing Federal lands for the

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Potomac

Heritage National Scenic Trail, the Oregon National Historic Trail,

the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Nez Perce National

Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, or the

Iditarod National Historic Trail, except with the consent of the

owner of the land or interest. If the Federal Government fails to

make payment in accordance with a contract for sale of land or an

interest in land transferred under this paragraph, the seller may

avail himself of all remedies available under all applicable law, including electing to void the sale.

* * * * * * *

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