I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1317 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 

to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic 

Trail, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, and Ms. STANSBURY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Continental Divide 

5 Trail Completion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ACEQUIA.—The term ‘‘acequia’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term ‘‘community ditch’’ in New 

3 Mexico Stat. 73–2–27. 

4 (2) LAND GRANT-MERCED.—The term ‘‘land 

5 grant-merced’’ means a community land grant 

6 issued under the laws or customs of the Government 

7 of Spain or Mexico that is recognized under chapter 

8 49 of New Mexico Stat. (or a successor statute). 

9 (3) OPTIMAL LOCATION REVIEW.—The term 

10 ‘‘optimal location review’’ means a review conducted 

11 in accordance with the process described in the 

12 guide entitled ‘‘Continental Divide National Scenic 

13 Trail Optimal Location Review Guide’’ and dated 

14 November 2017. 

15 (4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

16 means each of the Secretary and the Secretary of 

17 the Interior. 

18 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

20 Chief of the Forest Service. 

21 (6) TEAM.—The term ‘‘Team’’ means the joint 

22 Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 

23 Trail completion team established under section 

24 3(b). 


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1 (7) TRAIL.—The term ‘‘Trail’’ means the Con2 tinental Divide National Scenic Trail established by 

3 section 5(a)(5) of the National Trails System Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(5)). 

5 SEC. 3. CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL. 

6 (a) COMPLETION OF TRAIL.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 

8 10, 2028, the Secretaries shall, to the maximum ex9 tent practicable, ensure the completion of the Trail 

10 as a contiguous route, consistent with sections 

11 3(a)(2), 5(a)(5), and 7 of the National Trails Sys12 tem Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)(2), 1244(a)(5), 1246). 

13 (2) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretaries 

14 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, carry out 

15 necessary activities to achieve the goal described in 

16 paragraph (1), including the following activities, in 

17 the following order of priority: 

18 (A) Complete the Trail by acquiring land 

19 or an interest in land, entering into easement 

20 agreements, or encouraging a State or local 

21 government to enter into a cooperative agree22 ment to acquire any interest in land, that is 

23 necessary— 

24 (i) to eliminate gaps between sections 

25 of the Trail; and 


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1 (ii) to maintain the nature and pur2 poses of the Trail. 

3 (B) If appropriate and supported by local 

4 affected stakeholders, optimize the Trail by re5 locating, consistent with the nature and pur6 poses of the Trail, existing incompatible por7 tions of the Trail onto Federal land as nec8 essary to provide for— 

9 (i) maximum outdoor recreation po10 tential; 

11 (ii) the conservation and enjoyment of 

12 the nationally significant scenic, historic, 

13 natural, or cultural qualities of the areas 

14 through which the Trail passes; 

15 (iii) continuity in land ownership, if 

16 desired by the owner of the affected land; 

17 and 

18 (iv) segments of the Trail that are 

19 comparable in length to the segments of 

20 the Trail being relocated. 

21 (C) Publish maps of the completed corridor 

22 of the Trail. 

23 (b) TRAIL COMPLETION TEAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

25 (a), not later than 1 year after the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1317.IH H1317

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1 ment of this Act, the Secretaries shall establish a 

2 joint Forest Service and Bureau of Land Manage3 ment Trail completion team to work in coordination 

4 with the administrator of the Trail to facilitate the 

5 completion and optimization of the Trail, pursuant 

6 to the purposes of section 3(a)(2) of the National 

7 Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)(2)), con8 sistent with the nature and purposes of the Trail. 

9 (2) DUTIES OF THE TEAM.—The Team shall— 

10 (A) carry out land and right-of-way acqui11 sitions, easement acquisitions, relocations, and 

12 Trail construction activities, consistent with any 

13 optimal location reviews, giving priority to land 

14 that— 

15 (i) eliminates gaps between segments 

16 of the Trail; 

17 (ii) may be acquired for the Trail by 

18 the Secretary or the Secretary of the Inte19 rior by— 

20 (I) purchase from a willing seller; 

21 (II) donation; 

22 (III) exchange; 

23 (IV) cooperative agreement; or 

24 (V) easement agreement; 


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1 (iii) is best suited for inclusion in the 

2 Trail corridor in accordance with the pur3 poses, policy, and provisions of the Na4 tional Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 

5 et seq.); 

6 (iv) if appropriate and supported by 

7 local affected stakeholders, has been identi8 fied as a segment of the Trail on Federal 

9 land that should be relocated to provide for 

10 maximum outdoor recreation potential and 

11 the conservation and enjoyment of the na12 tionally significant scenic, historic, natural, 

13 or cultural qualities of the areas through 

14 which the Trail passes; 

15 (v) mitigates land use conflicts; 

16 (vi) would support the development of 

17 rural communities through use as a trail; 

18 and 

19 (vii) minimizes the distance to connect 

20 compatible segments of the Trail; 

21 (B) provide the necessary administrative 

22 and technical support to complete conveyances 

23 of the Trail corridor under subsection (a); 

24 (C) as appropriate, consult with other Fed25 eral agencies, Governors of the affected States, 


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1 affected Indian Tribes, local governments, af2 fected land owners, land-grant mercedes, 

3 acequias, and applicable owners or users of a 

4 land grant-merced or acequia, the Continental 

5 Divide Trail Coalition, and other volunteer and 

6 nonprofit organizations that assist in the devel7 opment, maintenance, and management of the 

8 Trail; and 

9 (D) support the Secretary in the develop10 ment of the comprehensive development plan 

11 for the Trail under subsection (c) and annual 

12 reports under subsection (f). 

13 (c) COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

15 the date of establishment of the Team under sub16 section (b), the Secretary shall submit to the Com17 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen18 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

19 House of Representatives a comprehensive develop20 ment plan for the Trail. 

21 (2) RECOMMENDED INCLUSIONS.—The plan 

22 submitted under paragraph (1) should— 

23 (A) identify any gaps in the Trail with re24 spect to which the Secretaries have not been 

25 able to acquire land or interests in land by purVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1317.IH H1317

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1 chase from a willing seller, donation, exchange, 

2 cooperative agreement, or easement agreement; 

3 (B) include a plan for closing the gaps 

4 identified under paragraph (1) by acquiring 

5 land or interests in land or entering into an 

6 easement agreement; and 

7 (C) include general and site-specific devel8 opment plans, including anticipated costs. 

9 (d) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—In carrying out this 

10 section, the Secretaries— 

11 (1) may acquire land or an interest in land only 

12 by— 

13 (A) purchase from a willing seller with do14 nated or appropriated funds; 

15 (B) donation; 

16 (C) exchange; 

17 (D) cooperative agreement; or 

18 (E) easement agreement; and 

19 (2) may not acquire land or an interest in land 

20 by eminent domain. 

21 (e) MAINTAINING EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS.—In 

22 carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall continue to 

23 maintain and develop working relationships with volunteer 

24 and nonprofit organizations that assist in the develop25 ment, maintenance, and management of the Trail. 


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1 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than September 30, 2025, 

2 and not later than the end of each fiscal year thereafter 

3 until the date on which the comprehensive development 

4 plan for the Trail is determined by the Secretary to be 

5 fully implemented, the Secretary shall submit to the Com6 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

7 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

8 of Representatives a report that includes the following: 

9 (1) A description of the progress of the Secre10 taries in acquiring land or interests in land to com11 plete the Trail consistent with this Act. 

12 (2) The quantity of land or interests in land ac13 quired during the fiscal year and the amount ex14 pended for the land or interests in land. 

15 (3) The quantity of land or interests in land 

16 planned for acquisition in the subsequent fiscal year 

17 and the estimated cost of the land or interests in 

18 land. 

19 (4) The estimated quantity of land or interests 

20 in land remaining to be acquired after taking into 

21 account the acquisitions under paragraphs (2) and 

22 (3). 

23 (5) The existing number of miles of the Trail 

24 on Federal land that need to be relocated to provide 

25 for— 


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1 (A) maximum outdoor recreation potential; 

2 and 

3 (B) conservation and enjoyment of the na4 tionally significant scenic, historic, natural, or 

5 cultural qualities of the areas through which 

6 the Trail passes. 

Æ 


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