NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT

(P.L. 90-543)

(16 U.S.C. 1241-1251)

as amended through P.L. 106-307, October 13, 2000

AN ACT

To establish a national trails system, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 

America in Congress assembled,

SHORT TITLE

SECTION l. This Act may be cited as the "National Trails System Act."

STATEMENT OF POLICY

SEC. 2. [16USC1241]

(a) In order to provide for the ever-increasing outdoor recreation needs of an expanding 

population and in order to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, 

and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of 

the Nation, trails should be established (I) primarily, near the urban areas of the Nation, 

and (ii) secondarily, within scenic areas and along historic travel routes of the Nation 

which are often more remotely located.

(b) The purpose of this Act is to provide the means for attaining these objectives by 

instituting a national system of recreation, scenic and historic trails, by designating the 

Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail as the initial components of that system, 

and by prescribing the methods by which, and standards according to which, additional 

components may be added to the system.

(c) The Congress recognizes the valuable contributions that volunteers and private, 

nonprofit trail groups have made to the development and maintenance of the Nation's

trails. In recognition of these contributions, it is further the purpose of this Act to 

encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, 

maintenance, and management, where appropriate, of trails.

NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM
SEC. 3. [16USC1242] (a) The national system of trails shall be composed of the 

following: 

(l) National recreation trails, established as provided in section 4 of this Act, which will 

provide a variety of outdoor recreation uses in or reasonably accessible to urban areas.

(2) National scenic trails, established as provided in section 5 of this Act, which will be 

extended trails so located as to provide for maximum outdoor recreation potential and 

for the conservation and enjoyment of the nationally significant scenic, historic, natural, 

or cultural qualities of the areas through which such trails may pass. National scenic 

trails may be located so as to represent desert, marsh, grassland, mountain, canyon, 

river, forest, and other areas, as well as landforms which exhibit significant 

characteristics of the physiographic regions of the Nation.

(3) National historic trails, established as provided in section 5 of this Act, which will be 

extended trails which follow as closely as possible and practicable the original trails or 

routes of travel of national historic significance. Designation of such trails or routes shall 

be continuous, but the established or developed trail, and the acquisition thereof, need 

not be continuous onsite. National historic trails shall have as their purpose the 

identification and protection of the historic route and its historic remnants and artifacts 

for public use and enjoyment. Only those selected land and water based components of 

a historic trail which are on federally owned lands and which meet the national historic 

trail criteria established in this Act are included as Federal protection components of a 

national historic trail. The appropriate Secretary may certify other lands as protected 

segments of an historic trail upon application from State or local governmental agencies 

or private interests involved if such segments meet the national historic trail criteria 

established in this Act and such criteria supplementary thereto as the appropriate 

Secretary may prescribe, and are administered by such agencies or interests without 

expense to the United States. 

(4) Connecting or side trails, established as provided in section 6 of this Act, which will 

provide additional points of public access to national recreation, national scenic or 

national historic trails or which will provide connections between such trails.

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with 

appropriate governmental agencies and public and private organizations, shall establish 

a uniform marker for the national trails system.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term 'extended trails' means trails or trail segments 

which total at least one hundred miles in length, except that historic trails of less than 

one hundred miles may be designated as extended trails. While it is desirable that 

extended trails be continuous, studies of such trails may conclude that it is feasible to 

propose one or more trail segments which, in the aggregate, constitute at least one 

hundred miles in length.

NATIONAL RECREATION TRAILS
SEC. 4. [16USC1243]

(a) The Secretary of the Interior, or the Secretary of Agriculture where lands 

administered by him are involved, may establish and designate national recreation 

trails, with the consent of the Federal agency, State, or political subdivision having 

jurisdiction over the lands involved, upon finding that --

(I) such trails are reasonably accessible to urban areas, and, or

(ii) such trails meet the criteria established in this Act and such supplementary criteria 

as he may prescribe.

(b) As provided in this section, trails within park, forest, and other recreation areas 

administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture or in other 

federally administered areas may be established and designated as "National Recreation 

Trails" by the appropriate Secretary and, when no Federal land acquisition is involved --

(i) trails in or reasonably accessible to urban areas may be designated as "National 

Recreation Trails" by the appropriate Secretary with the consent of the States, their 

political subdivisions, or other appropriate administering agencies;

(ii) trails within park, forest, and other recreation areas owned or administered by 

States may be designated as "National Recreation Trails" by the appropriate Secretary 

with the consent of the State; and 

(iii) trails on privately owned lands may be designated 'National Recreation Trails' by 

the appropriate Secretary with the written consent of the owner of the property 

involved.

NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS

SEC. 5. [16USC1244] (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) The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately two thousand miles 

extending generally along the Appalachian Mountains from Mount Katahdin, Maine, to 

Springer Mountain, Georgia. Insofar as practicable, the right-of-way for such trail shall 

comprise the trail depicted on the maps identified as "Nationwide System of Trails, 

Proposed Appalachian Trail, NST-AT-101-May 1967", which shall be on file and 

available for public inspection in the office of the Director of the National Park Service.

Where practicable, such rights-of-way shall include lands protected for it under 

agreements in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act, to which Federal agencies 

and States were parties. The Appalachian Trail shall be administered primarily as a 

footpath by the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture.

(2) The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately two thousand three 

hundred fifty miles, extending from the Mexican-California border northward generally 

along the mountain ranges of the west coast States to the Canadian-Washington border 

near Lake Ross, following the route as generally depicted on the map, identified as 

"Nationwide System of Trails, Proposed Pacific Crest Trail, NST-PC-103-May 1967" 

which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief of the 

Forest Service. The Pacific Crest Trail shall be administered by the Secretary of 

Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior.

(3) The Oregon National Historic Trail, a route of approximately two thousand miles 

extending from near Independence, Missouri, to the vicinity of Portland, Oregon, 

following a route as depicted on maps identified as 'Primary Route of the Oregon Trail 

1841-1848', in the Department of the Interior's Oregon Trail study report dated April 

1977, and 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.

(4) The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a route of approximately one thousand 

three hundred miles extending from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, following 

the primary historical route of the Mormon Trail as generally depicted on a map, 

identified as, 'Mormon Trail Vicinity Map, figure 2' in the Department of the Interior 

Mormon Trail study report dated March 1977, and which shall be on file and available 

for public inspection in the office of the Director, National Park Service, Washington, 

D.C. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(5) The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately thirty-one 

hundred miles, extending from the Montana-Canada border to the New Mexico-Mexico 

border, following the approximate route depicted on the map, identified as 'Proposed 

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail' in the Department of the Interior Continental 

Divide Trail study report dated March l977 and which shall be on file and available for

public inspection in the office of the Chief, Forest Service, Washington, D.C. The 

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail shall be administered by the Secretary of 

Agriculture in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior. Notwithstanding the 

provisions of section 7(c), the use of motorized vehicles on roads which will be 

designated segments of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail shall be permitted 

in accordance with regulations prescribed by the appropriate Secretary.

(6) The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, a trail of approximately three thousand 

seven hundred miles, extending from Wood River, Illinois, to the mouth of the 

Columbia River in Oregon, following the outbound and inbound routes of the Lewis and 

Clark Expedition depicted on maps identified as, 'Vicinity Map, 

Lewis and Clark Trail' study report dated April l977. The map shall be on file and 

available for public inspection in the office of the Director, National Park Service, 

Washington, D.C. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
(7) The Iditarod National Historic Trail, a route of approximately two thousand miles 

extending from Seward, Alaska, to Nome, Alaska, following the routes as depicted on 

maps identified as 'Seward-Nome Trail', in the Department of the Interior's study report 

entitled 'The Iditarod Trail (Seward-Nome Route) and other Alaskan Gold Rush Trails' 

dated September l977. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 

office of the Director, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. The trail shall be 

administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(8) The North Country National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately thirty-two 

hundred miles, extending from eastern New York State to the vicinity of Lake 

Sakakawea in North Dakota, following the approximate route depicted on the map 

identified as 'Proposed North Country Trail-Vicinity Map' in the Department of the 

Interior 'North Country Trail Report', dated June l975. The map shall be on file and 

available for public inspection in the office of the Director, National Park Service, 

Washington, District of Columbia. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the 

Interior.

(9) The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, a system totaling approximately 

two hundred seventy-two miles of trail with routes from the mustering point near 

Abingdon, Virginia, to Sycamore Shoals (near Elizabethton, Tennessee); from Sycamore 

Shoals to Quaker Meadows (near Morganton, North Carolina); from the mustering 

point in Surry County, North Carolina, to Quaker Meadows; and from Quaker Meadows 

to Kings Mountain, South Carolina, as depicted on the map identified as Map 3--

Historic Features--l780 in the draft study report entitled 'Overmountain Victory Trail' 

dated December l979. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 

Office of the Director, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia. The trail 

shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(l0) The Ice Age National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately one thousand miles, 

extending from Door County, Wisconsin, to Interstate Park in Saint Croix County, 

Wisconsin, generally following the route described in "On the Trail of the Ice Age--A 

Hiker's and Biker's Guide to Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scientific Reserve and Trail", 

by Henry S. Reuss, Member of Congress, dated l980. The guide and maps shall be on file 

and available for public inspection in the Office of the Director, National Park Service, 

Washington, District of Columbia. Overall administration of the trail shall be the 

responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 5(d) of this Act. The 

State of Wisconsin, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, may, subject to the 

approval of the Secretary, prepare a plan for the management of the trail which shall be 

deemed to meet the requirements of section 5(e) of this Act. Notwithstanding the 

provisions of section 7(c), snowmobile use may be permitted on segments of the Ice Age 

National Scenic Trail where deemed appropriate by the Secretary and the managing 

authority responsible for the segment.

(ll) 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 l974, 

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 initially consist 

of only those segments of the corridor located within the exterior boundaries of federally 

administered areas. No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any 

federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the 

Potomac Heritage Trail. 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 expense to the 

United States. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(12) The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, a trail system of approximately six 

hundred and ninety-four miles extending from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, 

Mississippi, as depicted on the map entitled 'Concept Plan, Natchez Trace Trails Study' 

in 'The Natchez Trace', a report prepared by the Department of the Interior and dated 

August l979. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of 

the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, 

District of Columbia. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(l3) The Florida National Scenic Trail, a route of approximately thirteen hundred miles 

extending through the State of Florida as generally depicted in 'The Florida Trail', a 

national scenic trail study draft report prepared by the Department of the Interior and 

dated February l980. 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. No lands 

or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area 

may be acquired by the Federal Government for the Florida Trail except with the 

consent of the owner thereof. The Secretary of Agriculture 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 expense to the 

United States. The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.

(l4) 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 l982. 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. No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of 

any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the Nez 

Perce National Historic Trail. 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.

(15) The Santa Fe National Historic Trail, a trail of approximately 950 miles from a 

point near Old Franklin, Missouri, through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado to Santa 

Fe, New Mexico, as generally depicted on a map entitled "The Santa Fe Trail" contained 

in the Final Report of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to subsection (b) of this 

section, dated July l976. 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 be administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or interests 

therein outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be 

acquired by the Federal Government for the Santa Fe Trail except with the consent of 

the owner thereof. Before acquiring any easement or entering into any cooperative 

agreement with a private landowner with respect to the trail, the Secretary shall notify 

the landowner of the potential liability, if any, for injury to the public resulting from 

physical conditions which may be on the landowner's land. The United States shall not 

be held liable by reason of such notice or failure to provide such notice to the landowner. 

So that significant route segments and sites recognized as associated with the Santa Fe 

Trail may be distinguished by suitable markers, the Secretary of the Interior is 

authorized to accept the donation of suitable markers for placement at appropriate 

locations.

(l6)(A) The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, a trail consisting of water routes and 

overland routes traveled by the Cherokee Nation during its removal from ancestral lands 

in the East to Oklahoma during l838 and l839, generally located within the corridor 

described through portions of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, 

Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the final report of the Secretary of the 

Interior prepared pursuant to subsection (b) of this section entitled "Trail of Tears" and 

dated June l986. Maps depicting the corridor shall be on file and available for public 

inspection in the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The 

trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or interests therein 

outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by 

the Federal Government for the Trail of Tears except with the consent of the owner 

thereof.

(B) In carrying out his responsibilities pursuant to subsections 5(f) and 7(c) of this Act, 

the Secretary of the Interior shall give careful consideration to the establishment of 

appropriate interpretive sites for the Trail of Tears in the vicinity of Hopkinsville, 

Kentucky, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Trail of Tears State Park, Missouri, and Tahlequah, 

Oklahoma.
(17) The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, a trail comprising the overland 

route traveled by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza of Spain during the years 1775 and 1776 

from Sonora, Mexico, to the vicinity of San Francisco, California, as generally described 

in the report of the Department of Interior prepared pursuant to the subsection (b) 

entitled 'Juan Bautista de Anza National Trail Study, Feasibility Study and 

Environmental Assessment' and dated August, 1986. A map generally depicting the trail 

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 be administered 

by the Secretary of Interior. No lands or interest therein outside the exterior boundaries 

of any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Government for the 

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail without the consent of the owner thereof. 

In implementing this paragraph, the Secretary shall encourage volunteer trail groups to 

participate in the development and maintenance of the trail.

(18) The California National Historic Trail, a route of approximately five thousand seven 

hundred miles, including all routes and cutoffs, extending from Independence and Saint 

Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, to various points in California and Oregon, 

as generally described in the report of the Department of the Interior prepared pursuant 

to subsection (b) of this section entitled "California and Pony Express Trails, 

Eligibility/Feasibility Study/Environmental Assessment" and dated September 1987. A 

map generally depicting the route shall be on file and available for public inspection in 

the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The trail shall be 

administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or interests therein outside the 

exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by the United 

States for the California National Historic Trail except with the consent of the owner 

thereof.

(19) The Pony Express National Historic Trail, a route of approximately one thousand 

nine hundred miles, including the original route and subsequent route changes, 

extending from Saint Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, as generally 

described in the report of the Department of the Interior prepared pursuant to 

subsection (b) of this section entitled "California and Pony Express Trails, 

Eligibility/Feasibility Study/Environmental Assessment" and dated September 1987. A 

map generally depicting the route shall be on file and available for public inspection in 

the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The trail shall be 

administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or interests therein outside the 

exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be acquired by the United 

States for the Pony Express National Historic Trail except with the consent of the owner 

thereof.

[Related language from section 2, P.L. 102-328: The Secretary of the Interior 

(hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall undertake a study of the land and water 

route used to carry mail from Sacramento to San Francisco, California, to determine the 

feasibility and suitability of designation of such route as a component of the Pony 

Express National Historic Trail designated by section 1 of this Act. Upon completion of 
the study, if the Secretary determines such a route is a feasible and suitable addition to 

the Pony Express National Historic Trail, the Secretary shall designate the route as a 

component of the Pony Express National Historic Trail. The Secretary shall publish 

notice of such designation in the Federal Register and shall submit the study along with 

his findings to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House 

of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United 

States Senate.]

(20) The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, consisting of 54 miles of city 

streets and United States Highway 80 from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma to 

the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, Alabama, traveled by voting rights advocates 

during March 1965 to dramatize the need for voting rights legislation, as generally 

described in the report to the Secretary of the Interior prepared pursuant to subsection 

(b) of this section entitled "Selma to Montgomery" and dated April, 1993. Maps 

depicting the route shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the 

National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The trail shall be administered in 

accordance with this Act, including section 7(h). The Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the National Park Service, which shall be the lead Federal agency, shall 

cooperate with other Federal, State and local authorities to preserve historic sites along 

the route, including (but not limited to) the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the Brown 

Chapel A.M.E. Church.

(21) El Camino Real de tierra adentro --

(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the Interior) National Historic 

Trail, a 404 mile long trail from Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas to San Juan Pueblo, 

New Mexico, as generally depicted on the maps entitled 'United States Route: El Camino 

Real de Tierra Adentro,' contained in the report prepared pursuant to subsection (b) 

entitled 'National Historic Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment: El 

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Texas-New Mexico,' dated March 1997.

(B) MAP - A map generally depicting the trail shall be on file and available for public 

inspection in the Office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

(C) ADMINISTRATION - The Trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the 

Interior.

(D) LAND ACQUISTION - No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries 

of any federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal Goverment for El 

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro except with the consent of the owner thereof.

(E) VOLUNTEER GROUPS; CONSULTATION - The Secretary of the Interior shall --

(i) encourage volunteer groups to participate in the development and maintenance of 

the trail; and
(ii) consult with other affected Federal, State, local governmental, and tribal agencies in 

the administration of the trail. 

(F) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES -The Secretary of the Interior may coordinate 

with United States and Mexican public and non-governmental organizations, academic 

institutions, and in sonsultation with the Secretray of State, the government of Mexico 

and its political subdivisions, for the purpose of exchanging trail information and 

research, fostering trail preservation and education programs, providing technical 

assistance, and working to establish an international historic trail with complementary 

preservation and educatioin programs in each nation.

(b) The Secretary of the Interior, through the agency most likely to administer such trail, 

and the Secretary of Agriculture where lands administered by him are involved, shall 

make such additional studies as are herein or may hereafter be authorized by the 

Congress for the purpose of determining the feasibility and desirability of designating 

other trails as national scenic or national historic trails. Such studies shall be made in 

consultation with the heads of other Federal agencies administering lands through 

which such additional proposed trails would pass and in cooperation with interested 

interstate, State, and local governmental agencies, public and private organizations, and 

landowners and land users concerned. The feasibility of designating a trail shall be 

determined on the basis of an evaluation of whether or not it is physically possible to 

develop a trail along a route being studied, and whether the development of a trail 

would be financially feasible. The studies listed in subsection (c) of this section shall be 

completed and submitted to the Congress, with recommendations as to the suitability of 

trail designation, not later than three complete fiscal years from the date of enactment 

of their addition to this subsection, or from the date of enactment of this sentence, 

whichever is later. Such studies, when submitted, shall be printed as a House or Senate 

document, and shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) the proposed route of such trail (including maps and illustrations);

(2) the areas adjacent to such trails, to be utilized for scenic, historic, natural, cultural, 

or developmental purposes;

3) the characteristics which, in the judgment of the appropriate Secretary, make the 

proposed trail worthy of designation as a national scenic or national historic trail; and in 

the case of national historic trails the report shall include the recommendation of the 

Secretary of the Interior's National Park System Advisory Board as to the national 

historic significance based on the criteria developed under the Historic Sites Act of 1935 

(40 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461);

(4) the current status of land ownership and current and potential use along the 

designated route;

(5) the estimated cost of acquisition of lands or interest in lands, if any;
(6) the plans for developing and maintaining the trail and the cost thereof;

(7) the proposed Federal administering agency (which, in the case of a national scenic 

trail wholly or substantially within a national forest, shall be the Department of 

Agriculture);

(8) the extent to which a State or its political subdivisions and public and private 

organizations might reasonably be expected to participate in acquiring the necessary 

lands and in the administration thereof;

(9) the relative uses of the lands involved, including: the number of anticipated visitordays for the entire length of, as well as for segments of, such trail; the number of months 

which such trail, or segments thereof, will be open for recreation purposes; the 

economic and social benefits which might accrue from alternate land uses; and the 

estimated man-years of civilian employ

ment and expenditures expected for the purposes of maintenance, supervision, and 

regulation of such trail;

(10) the anticipated impact of public outdoor recreation use on the preservation of a 

proposed national historic trail and its related historic and archeological features and 

settings, including the measures proposed to ensure evaluation and preservation of the 

values that contribute to their national historic significance; and

(11) To qualify for designation as a national historic trail, a trail must meet all three of 

the following criteria:

(A) It must be a trail or route established by historic use and must be historically 

significant as a result of that use. The route need not currently exist as a discernible trail 

to qualify, but its location must be sufficiently known to permit evaluation of public 

recreation and historical interest potential. A designated trail should generally 

accurately follow the historic route, but may deviate somewhat on occasion of necessity 

to avoid difficult routing through subsequent development, or to provide some route 

variations offering a more pleasurable recreational experience. Such deviations shall be 

so noted on site. Trail segments no longer possible to travel by trail due to subsequent 

development as motorized transportation routes may be designated and marked onsite 

as segments which link to the historic trail.

(B) It must be of national significance with respect to any of several broad facets of 

American history, such as trade and commerce, exploration, migration and settlement, 

or military campaigns. To qualify as nationally significant, historic use of the trail must 

have had a far reaching effect on broad patterns of American culture. Trails significant 

in the history of native Americans may be included.

(C) It must have significant potential for public recreational use or historical interest 

based on historic interpretation and appreciation. The potential for such use is generally 
greater along roadless segments developed as historic trails and at historic sites 

associated with the trail. The presence of recreation potential not related to historic 

appreciation is not sufficient justification for designation under this category.

(c) The following routes shall be studied in accordance with the objectives outlined in 

subsection (b) of this section.

(1) Continental Divide Trail, a three-thousand-one-hundred-mile trail extending from 

near the Mexican border in southwestern New Mexico northward generally along the 

Continental Divide to the Canadian border in Glacier National Park.

(2) Potomac Heritage Trail, an eight-hundred-and-twenty-five-mile trail extending 

generally from the mouth of the Potomac River to its sources in Pennsylvania and West 

Virginia including the one-hundred- and- seventy-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal 

towpath.

(3) Old Cattle Trails of the Southwest from the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, 

approximately eight hundred miles through Oklahoma via Baxter Springs and Chetopa, 

Kansas, to Fort Scott, Kansas, including the Chisholm Trail, from the vicinity of San 

Antonio or Cuero, Texas, approximately eight hundred miles north through Oklahoma 

to Abilene, Kansas.

(4) Lewis and Clark Trail, from Wood River, Illinois, to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, 

following both the outbound and inbound routes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

(5) Natchez Trace, from Nashville, Tennessee, approximately six hundred miles to 

Natchez, Mississippi.

(6) North Country Trail, from the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, approximately three 

thousand two hundred miles through the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 

Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, to the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota.

(7) Kittanning Trail from Shirleysburg in Huntingdon County to Kittanning, Armstrong 

County, Pennsylvania.

(8) Oregon Trail, from Independence, Missouri, approximately two thousand miles to 

near Fort Vancouver, Washington.

(9) Santa Fe Trail, from Independence, Missouri, approximately eight hundred miles to

Santa Fe, New Mexico.

(l0) Long Trail extending two hundred and fifty-five miles from the Massachusetts 

border northward through Vermont to the Canadian border.

(ll) Mormon Trail, extending from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, through the 

States of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
(l2) Gold Rush Trails in Alaska.

(l3) Mormon Battalion Trail, extending two thousand miles from Mount Pisgah, Iowa, 

through Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona to Los Angeles, California.

(l4) El Camino Real from St. Augustine to San Mateo, Florida, approximately 20 miles 

along the southern boundary of the St. Johns River from Fort Caroline National 

Memorial to the St. August National Park Monument.

(l5) Bartram Trail, extending through the States of Georgia, North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

(l6) Daniel Boone Trail, extending from the vicinity of Statesville, North Carolina, to 

Fort Boonesborough State Park, Kentucky.

(l7) Desert Trail, extending from the Canadian border through parts of Idaho, 

Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, and Arizona, to the Mexican border.

(l8) Dominguez-Escalante Trail, extending approximately two thousand miles along the 

route of the l776 expedition led by Father Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Father 

Silvestre Velez de 

Escalante, originating in Santa Fe, New Mexico; proceeding northwest along the San 

Juan, Dolores, Gunnison, and White Rivers in Colorado, thence westerly to Utah Lake; 

thence southward to Arizona and returning to Santa Fe.

(19) Florida Trail, extending north from Everglade National Park, including the Big 

Cypress Swamp, the Kissimmee Prairie, the Withlacoochee State Forest, Ocala National 

Forest, Osceola National Forest, and Black Water River State Forest, said completed 

trail to be approximately one thousand three hundred miles along, of which over four 

hundred miles of trail have already been built.

(20) Indian Nations Trail, extending from the Red River in Oklahoma approximately 

two hundred miles northward through the former Indian nations to the OklahomaKansas boundary line.

(21) Nez Perce Trail extending from the vicinity of Wallowa Lake, Oregon, to Bear Paw 

Mountain, Montana.

(22) Pacific Northwest Trail, extending approximately one thousand miles from the 

Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana, to the Pacific Ocean beach of 

Olympic National Park, Washington, by way of --

(A) Flathead National Forest and Kootenai National Forest in the State of Montana;

(B) Kaniksu National Forest in the State of Idaho; and
(C) Colville National Forest, Okanogan National Forest, Pasayten Wilderness Area, Ross 

Lake National Recreation Area, North Cascades National Park, Mount Baker, the Skagit 

River, Deception Pass, Whidbey Island, Olympic National Forest, and Olympic National 

Park in the State of Washington.

(23) Overmountain Victory Trail, extending from the vicinity of Elizabethton, 

Tennessee, to Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina.

(24) Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, following the overland route taken by Juan Bautista de 

Anza in connection with his travels from the United Mexican States to San Francisco, 

California.

(25) Trail of Tears, including the associated forts and specifically, Fort Mitchell, 

Alabama, and historic properties, extending from the vicinity of Murphy, North 

Carolina, through Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and 

Arkansas, to the vicinity of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

(26) Illinois Trail, extending from the Lewis and Clark Trail at Wood River, Illinois to 

the Chicago Portage National Historic Site, generally following the Illinois River and the 

Illinois and Michigan Canal.

(27) Jedediah Smith Trail, to include the routes of the explorations led by Jedediah 

Smith --

(A) during the period 1826-1827, extending from the Idaho-Wyoming border, through 

the Great Salt Lake, Sevier, Virgin, and Colorado River Valleys, and the Mojave Desert, 

to the San Gabriel Mission, California; thence through the Tehachapi Mountains, San 

Joaquin and Stanislaus River Valleys, Ebbetts Pass, Walker River Valley, Bald Mount, 

Mount Grafton, and Great Salt Lake to Bear Lake, Utah; and

(B) during 1828, extending from the Sacramento and Trinity River valleys along the 

Pacific coastline, through the Smith and Willamette River Valleys to the Fort Vancouver 

National Historic Site, Washington, on the Columbia River.

(28) General Crook Trail, extending from Prescott, Arizona, across the Mogollon Rim to 

Fort Apache.

(29) Beale Wagon Road, within the Kaibab and Cononino National Forests in Arizona; 

Provided, such study may be prepared in conjunction with ongoing planning processes 

for these National Forests to be completed before 1990.

(30) Pony Express Trail, extending from Saint Joseph, Missouri, through Kansas, 

Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, to Sacramento, California, as indicated 

on a map labeled "Potential Pony Express Trail", dated October 1983 and the California 

Trail extending from the vicinity of Omaha, Nebraska, and Saint Joseph, Missouri, to 

various points in California, as indicated on a map labeled "Potential California Trail" 
and dated August 1, 1983. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, the study 

under this paragraph shall be completed and submitted to the Congress no later than 

the end of two complete fiscal years beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

paragraph. Such study shall be separated into two portions, one relating to the Pony 

Express Trail and one relating to the California Trail.

(3l) De Soto Trail, the approximate route taken by the expedition of the Spanish 

explorer Hernado de Soto in l539, extending through portions of the States of Florida, 

Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, to the area 

of Little Rock, Arkansas, on to Texas and Louisiana, and any other States which may 

have been crossed by the expedition. The study under this paragraph shall be prepared 

in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, except that it shall be completed and 

submitted to the Congress with recommendations as to the trail's suitability for 

designation not later than one calendar year after the date of enactment of this 

paragraph.

(32) Coronado Trail, the approximate route taken by the expedition of the Spanish 

explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado between l540 and l542, extending through 

portions of the States of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The study 

under this paragraph shall be prepared in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. 

In conducting the study under this paragraph, the Secretary shall provide for (A) the 

review of all original Spanish documentation on the Coronado Trail, (B) the continuing 

search for new primary documentation on the trail, and (C) the examination of all 

information on the archeological sites along the trail.

(33) The route from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama traveled by people in a march 

dramatizing the need for voting rights legislation, in March 1965, includes Sylvan South 

Street, Water Avenue, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and Highway 80. The study under 

this paragraph shall be prepared in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, 

except that it shall be completed and submitted to the Congress with recommendations 

as to the trail's suitability for designation not later than 1 year after the enactment of this 

paragraph.

(34) American Discovery Trail, extending from Pt. Reyes, California, across the United 

States through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, 

Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, to Cape Henlopen 

State Park, Delaware; to include in the central United States a northern route through 

Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana and a southern route through Colorado, 

Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.

(35) Ala Kahakai Trail in the State of Hawaii, an ancient Hawaiian trail on the island of 

Hawaii extending from the northern tip of the Island of Hawaii approximately 175 miles 

along the western and southern coasts to the northern boundary of Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park.

(36) (A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the approximately 1,800 mile route 

extending from Mexico City, Mexico, across the international border at El Paso, Texas, 
to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

(B) The study shall (i) examine changing routes within the general corridor; (ii) examine 

major connecting branch routes; and (iii) give due consideration to alternative name 

designations.

(C) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to work in cooperation with the 

Government of Mexico (including, but not limited to providing technical assistance) to 

determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing an international historic route 

along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

(37) (A) El Camino Real Para Los Texas, the approximate series of routes from Saltillo, 

Monclova, and Guerrero, Mexico across Texas through San Antonio and Nacogdoches, 

to the vicinity of Los Adaes, Louisiana, together with the evolving routes later known as 

the San Antonio Road.

(B) The study shall (i) examine the changing roads within the historic corridor; (ii) 

examine the major connecting branch routes; (iii) determine the individual or combined 

suitability and feasibility of routes for potential national historic trail designation; (iv) 

consider the preservation heritage plan developed by the Texas Department of 

Transportation entitled "A Texas Legacy: The Old San Antonio Road and the Caminos 

Reales", dated January, 1991; and (v) make recommendations concerning the suitability 

and feasibility of establishing an international historical park where the trail crosses the 

United States-Mexico border at Maverick County, Texas, and Guerrero, Mexico.

(C) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to work in cooperation with the 

government of Mexico (including, but not limited to providing technical assistance) to 

determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing an international historic trail 

along the El Camino Real Para Los Texas.

(D) The study shall be undertaken in consultation with the Louisiana Department of 

Transportation and Development and the Texas Department of Transportation.

(E) The study shall consider alternative name designations for the trail.

(F) The study shall be completed no later than two years after the date funds are made 

available for the study.

(38) The Old Spanish Trail, beginning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, proceeding through 

Colorado and Utah, and ending in Los Angeles, California, and the Northern Branch of 

the Old Spanish Trail, beginning near Espanola, New Mexico, proceeding through 

Colorado, and ending near Crescent Junction, Utah.

(39) The Great Western Scenic Trail, a system of trails to accommodate a variety of 

travel users in a corridor of approximately 3,100 miles in length extending from the 

Arizona-Mexico border to the Idaho-Montana-Canada border, following the 

approximate route depicted on the map identified as 'Great Western Trail Corridor, 
1988,' which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief 

of the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. The trail study shall be 

conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

Interior, in accordance with subsection (b) and shall include --

(A) the current status of land ownership and current and potential use along the 

designated route;

(B) the estimated cost of acquisition of lands or interests in lands, if any; and

(C) an examination of the appropriateness of motorized trail use along the trail.

(d) The Secretary charged with the administration of each respective trail shall, within 

one year of the date of the addition of any national scenic or national historic trail to the 

system, and within sixty days of the enactment of this sentence for the Appalachian and 

Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails, establish an advisory council for each such trail, 

each of which councils shall expire ten years from the date of its establishment, except 

that the Advisory Council established for the Iditarod Historic Trail shall expire twenty 

years from the date of its establishment. If the appropriate Secretary is unable to 

establish such an advisory council because of the lack of adequate public interest, the 

Secretary shall so advise the appropriate committees of the Congress. The appropriate 

Secretary shall consult with such council from time to time with respect to matters 

relating to the trail, including the selection of rights-of-way, standards for the erection 

and maintenance of markers along the trail, and the administration of the trail. The 

members of each advisory council, which shall not exceed thirty-five in number, shall 

serve for a term of two years and without compensation as such, but the Secretary may 

pay, upon vouchers signed by the chairman of the council, the expenses reasonably 

incurred by the council and its members in carrying out their responsibilities under this 

section. Members of each council shall be appointed by the appropriate Secretary as 

follows:

(1) the head of each Federal department or independent agency administering lands 

through which the trail route passes, or his designee;

(2) a member appointed to represent each State through which the trail passes, and such 

appointments shall be made from recommendations of the Governors of such States;

(3) one or more members appointed to represent private organizations, including 

corporate and individual landowners and land users, which in the opinion of the 

Secretary, have an established and recognized interest in the trail, and such 

appointments shall be made from recommendations of the heads of such organizations: 

Provided, That the Appalachian Trail Conference shall be represented by a sufficient 

number of persons to represent the various sections of the country through which the 

Appalachian Trail passes; and
(4) the Secretary shall designate one member to be chairman and shall fill vacancies in 

the same manner as the original appointment.

(e) Within two complete fiscal years of the date of enactment of legislation designating a 

national scenic trail, except for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the 

North Country National Scenic Trail, as part of the system, and within two complete 

fiscal years of the date of enactment of this subsection for the Pacific Crest and 

Appalachian Trails, the responsible Secretary shall, after full consultation with affected 

Federal land managing agencies, the Governors of the affected States, the relevant 

advisory council established pursuant to section 5(d), and the Appalachian Trail 

Conference in the case of the Appalachian Trail, submit to the Committee 

on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a comprehensive plan for the acquisition, 

management, development, and use of the trail, including but not limited to, the 

following items:

(1) specific objectives and practices to be observed in the management of the trail, 

including the identification of all significant natural, historical, and cultural resources to 

be preserved (along with high potential historic sites and high potential route segments 

in the case of national historic trails), details of any anticipated 

cooperative agreements to be consummated with other entities, and an identified 

carrying capacity of the trail and a plan for its implementation;

(2) an acquisition or protection plan, by fiscal year for all lands to be acquired by fee title 

or lesser interest, along with detailed explanation of anticipated necessary cooperative 

agreements for any lands not to be acquired; and

(3) general and site-specific development plans including anticipated costs.

(f) Within two complete fiscal years of the date of enactment of legislation designating a 

national historic trail or the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail or the North 

Country National Scenic Trail as part of the system, the responsible Secretary shall, after 

full consultation with affected Federal land managing agencies, the Governors of the 

affected States, and the relevant Advisory Council established pursuant to section 5(d) 

of this Act, submit to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of 

Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a 

comprehensive plan for the management, and use of the trail, including but not limited 

to, the following items:

(1) specific objectives and practices to be observed in the management of the trail, 

including the identification of all significant natural, historical, and cultural resources to 
be preserved, details of any anticipated cooperative agreements to be consummated

with State and local government agencies or private interests, and for national scenic or 

national historic trails an identified carrying capacity of the trail and a plan for its 

implementation; 

(2) the process to be followed by the appropriate Secretary to implement the marking 

requirements established in section 7(c) of this Act;

(3) a protection plan for any high potential historic sites or high potential route 

segments; and

(4) general and site-specific development plans, including anticipated costs. 

CONNECTING AND SIDE TRAILS

SEC. 6. [16USC1245] Connecting or side trails within park, forest, and other recreation 

areas administered by the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture may be 

established, designated, and marked by the appropriate Secretary as components of a 

national recreation, national scenic or national historic trail. When no Federal land 

acquisition is involved, connecting or side trails may be located across lands 

administered by interstate, State, or local governmental agencies with their consent, or, 

where the appropriate Secretary deems necessary or desirable, on privately owned lands 

with the consent of the landowners. Applications for approval and designation of 

connecting and side trails on non-Federal lands shall be submitted to the appropriate 

Secretary.

ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 7. [16USC1246]

(a) (1) (A) The Secretary charged with the overall administration of a trail pursuant to 

section 5(a) shall, in administering and managing the trail, consult with the heads of all 

other affected State and Federal agencies. Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed 

to transfer among Federal agencies any management responsibilities established under 

any other law for federally administered lands which are components of the National 

Trails System. Any transfer of management responsibilities may be carried out between 

the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture only as provided under 

subparagraph (B).

(B) The Secretary charged with the overall administration of any trail pursuant to 

section 5(a) may transfer management of any specified trail segment of such trail to the 

other appropriate Secretary pursuant to a joint memorandum of agreement containing 

such terms and conditions as the Secretaries consider most appropriate to accomplish 

the purposes of this Act. During any period in which management responsibilities for 

any trail segment are transferred under such an agreement, the management of any 

such segment shall be subject to the laws, rules, and regulations of the Secretary 
provided with the management authority under the agreement except to such extent as 

the agreement may otherwise expressly provide. 

(2) Pursuant to section 5(a), the appropriate Secretary shall select the rights-of-way for 

national scenic and national historic trails and shall publish notice thereof of the 

availability of appropriate maps or descriptions in the Federal Register; Provided, That 

in selecting the rights-of-way full consideration shall be given to minimizing the adverse 

effects upon the adjacent landowner or user and his operation. Development and 

management of each segment of the National Trails System shall be designed to 

harmonize with and complement any established multiple-use plans for the specific area 

in order to insure continued maximum benefits from the land. The location and width of 

such rights-of-way across Federal lands under the jurisdiction of another Federal agency 

shall be by agreement between the head of that agency and the appropriate Secretary. In 

selecting rights-of-way for trail purposes, the Secretary shall obtain the advice and 

assistance of the States, local governments, private organizations, and landowners and 

land users concerned.

(b) After publication of notice of the availability of appropriate maps or descriptions in 

the Federal Register, the Secretary charged with the administration of a national scenic 

or national historic trail may relocate segments of a national scenic or national historic 

trail right-of-way with the concurrence of the head of the Federal agency having 

jurisdiction over the lands involved, upon a determination that: (I) Such a relocation is 

necessary to preserve the purposes for which the trail was established, or (ii) the 

relocation is necessary to promote a sound land management program in accordance 

with established multiple-use principles: Provided, That a substantial relocation of the 

rights-of-way for such trail shall be by Act of Congress.

(c) National scenic or national historic trails may contain campsites, shelters, and 

related-public-use facilities. Other uses along the trail, which will not substantially 

interfere with the nature and purposes of the trail, may be permitted by the Secretary 

charged with the administration of the trail. Reasonable efforts shall be made to provide 

sufficient access opportunities to such trails and, to the extent practicable, efforts be 

made to avoid activities incompatible with the purposes for which such trails were 

established. The use of motorized vehicles by the general public along any national 

scenic trail shall be prohibited and nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing 

the use of motorized vehicles within the natural and historical areas of the national park 

system, the national wildlife refuge system, the national wilderness preservation system 

where they are presently prohibited or on other Federal lands where trails are 

designated as being closed to such use by the appropriate Secretary: Provided, That the 

Secretary charged with the administration of such trail shall establish regulations which 

shall authorize the use of motorized vehicles when, in his judgment, such vehicles are 

necessary to meet emergencies or to enable adjacent landowners or land users to have 

reasonable access to their lands or timber rights: Provided further, That private lands 

included in the national recreation, national scenic, or national historic trails by 
cooperative agreement of a landowner shall not preclude such owner from using 

motorized vehicles on or across such trails or adjacent lands from time to time in 

accordance with regulations to be established by the appropriate Secretary. Where a 

national historic trail follows existing public roads, developed rights-of-way or 

waterways, and similar features of man's nonhistorically related development, 

approximating the original location of a historic route, such segments may be marked to 

facilitate retracement of the historic route, and where a national historic trail parallels 

an existing public road, such road may be marked to commemorate the historic route. 

Other uses along the historic trails and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, 

which will not substantially interfere with the nature and purposes of the trail, and 

which, at the time of designation, are allowed by administrative regulations, including 

the use of motorized vehicles, shall be permitted by the Secretary charged with 

administration of the trail. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

Agriculture, in consultation with appropriate governmental agencies and public and 

private organizations, shall establish a uniform marker, including thereon an 

appropriate and distinctive symbol for each national recreation, national scenic, and 

national historic trail. Where the trails cross lands administered by Federal agencies 

such markers shall be erected at appropriate points along the trails and maintained by 

the Federal agency administering the trail in accordance with standards established by 

the appropriate Secretary and where the trails cross non-Federal lands, in accordance 

with written cooperative agreements, the appropriate Secretary shall provide such 

uniform markers to cooperating agencies and shall require such agencies to erect and 

maintain them in accordance with the standards established. The appropriate Secretary 

may also provide for trail interpretation sites, which shall be located at historic sites 

along the route of any national scenic or national historic trail, in order to present 

information to the public about the trail, at the lowest possible cost, with emphasis on 

the portion of the trail passing through the State in which the site is located. Wherever 

possible, the sites shall be maintained by a State agency under a cooperative agreement 

between the appropriate Secretary and the State agency.

(d) Within the exterior boundaries of areas under their administration that are included 

in the right-of-way selected for a national recreation, national scenic, or national 

historic trail, the heads of Federal agencies may use lands for trail purposes and may 

acquire lands or interests in lands by written cooperative agreement, donation, purchase 

with donated or appropriated funds or exchange.

(e) Where the lands included in a national scenic or national historic trail right-of-way 

are outside of the exterior boundaries of federally administered areas, the Secretary 

charged with the administration of such trail shall encourage the States or local 

governments involved (1) to enter into written cooperative agreements with landowners, 

private organizations, and individuals to provide the necessary trail right-of-way, or (2) 

to acquire such lands or interests therein to be utilized as segments of the national 

scenic or national historic trail: Provided, That if the State or local governments fail to 

enter into such written cooperative agreements or to acquire such lands or interests 

therein after notice of the selection of the right-of-way is published, the appropriate 
Secretary, may (I) enter into such agreements with landowners, States, local 

governments, private organizations, and individuals for the use of lands for trail 

purposes, or (ii) acquire private lands or interests therein by donation, purchase with 

donated or appropriated funds or exchange in accordance with the provisions of 

subsection (f) of this section: Provided further, That the appropriate Secretary may 

acquire lands or interests therein from local governments or governmental corporations 

with the consent of such entities. The lands involved in such rights-of-way should be 

acquired in fee, if other methods of public control are not sufficient to assure their use 

for the purpose for which they are acquired: Provided, That if the Secretary charged with 

the administration of such trail permanently relocates the right-of-way and disposes of 

all title or interest in the land, the original owner, or his heirs or assigns, shall be 

offered, by notice given at the former owner's last known address, the right of first 

refusal at the fair market price.

(f) (1) The Secretary of the Interior, in the exercise of his exchange authority, may accept 

title to any non-Federal property within the right-of-way and in exchange therefor he 

may convey to the grantor of such property any federally owned property under his 

jurisdiction which is located in the State wherein such property is located and which he 

classifies as suitable for exchange or other disposal. The values of the properties so 

exchanged either shall be approximately equal, or if they are not approximately equal 

the values shall be equalized by the payment of cash to the grantor or to the Secretary as 

the circumstances require. The Secretary of Agriculture, in the exercise of his exchange 

authority, may utilize authorities and procedures available to him in connection with 

exchanges of national forest lands.

(2) In acquiring lands or interests therein for a National Scenic or Historic Trail, the 

appropriate Secretary may, with consent of a landowner, acquire whole tracts 

notwithstanding that parts of such tracts may lie outside the area of trail acquisition. In 

furtherance of the purposes of this act, lands so acquired outside the area of trail 

acquisition may be exchanged for any non-Federal lands or interests therein within the 

trail right-of-way, or disposed of in accordance with such procedures or regulations as 

the appropriate Secretary shall prescribe, including: (I) provisions for conveyance of 

such acquired lands or interests therein at not less than fair market value to the highest 

bidder, and (ii) provisions for allowing the last owners of record a right to purchase said 

acquired lands or interests therein upon payment or agreement to pay an amount equal 

to the highest bid price. For lands designated for exchange or disposal, the appropriate 

Secretary may convey these lands with any reservations or covenants deemed desirable 

to further the purposes of this Act. The proceeds from any disposal shall be credited to 

the appropriation bearing the costs of land acquisition for the affected trail.

(g) The appropriate Secretary may utilize condemnation proceedings without the 

consent of the owner to acquire private lands or interests, therein pursuant to this 

section only in cases where, in his judgment, all reasonable efforts to acquire such lands 

or interest therein by negotiation have failed, and in such cases he shall acquire only 
such title as, in his judgment, is reasonably necessary to provide passage across such 

lands: Provided, That condemnation proceedings may not be utilized to acquire fee title 

or lesser interests to more than an average of one hundred and twenty-five acres per 

mile. Money appropriated for Federal purposes from the land and water conservation 

fund shall, without prejudice to appropriations from other sources, be available to 

Federal departments for the acquisition of lands or interests in lands for the purposes of 

this Act. For national historic trails, direct Federal acquisition for trail purposes shall be 

limited to those areas indicated by the study report or by the comprehensive plan as 

high potential route segments or high potential historic sites. Except for designated 

protected components of the trail, no land or site located along a designated national 

historic trail or along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail shall be subject to the 

provisions of section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1653(f)) 

unless such land or site is deemed to be of historical significance under appropriate 

historical site criteria such as those for the National Register of Historic Places. 

(h) (1) The Secretary charged with the administration of a national recreation, national 

scenic, or national historic trail shall provide for the development and maintenance of 

such trails within federally administered areas, and shall cooperate with and encourage 

the States to operate, develop, and maintain portions of such trails which are located 

outside the boundaries of federally administered areas. When deemed to be in the public 

interest, such Secretary may enter written cooperative agreements with the States or 

their political subdivisions, landowners, private organizations, or individuals to operate, 

develop, and maintain any portion of such a trail either within or outside a federally 

administered area. Such agreements may include provisions for limited financial 

assistance to encourage participation in the acquisition, protection, operation, 

development, or maintenance of such trails, provisions providing volunteer in the park 

or volunteer in the forest status (in accordance with the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 

1969 and the Volunteers in the Forests Act of 1972) to individuals, private organizations, 

or landowners participating in such activities, or provisions of both types. The 

appropriate Secretary shall also initiate consultations with affected States and their 

political subdivisions to encourage --

(A) the development and implementation by such entities of appropriate measures to 

protect private landowners from trespass resulting from trail use and from 

unreasonable personal liability and property damage caused by trail use, and 

(B) the development and implementation by such entities of provisions for land 

practices compatible with the purposes of this Act, for property within or adjacent to 

trail rights-of-way. After consulting with States and their political subdivisions under 

the preceding sentence, the Secretary may provide assistance to such entities under 

appropriate cooperative agreements in the manner provided by this subsection.

(2) Whenever the Secretary of the Interior makes any conveyance of land under any of 

the public land laws, he may reserve a right-of-way for trails to the extent he deems 

necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(i) The appropriate Secretary, with the concurrence of the heads of any other Federal 

agencies administering lands through which a national recreation, national scenic, or 

national historic trail passes, and after consultation with the States, local governments, 

and organizations concerned, may issue regulations, which may be revised from time to 

time, governing the use, protection, management, development, and administration of 

trails of the national trails system. In order to maintain good conduct on and along the 

trails located within federally administered areas and to provide for the proper 

government and protection of such trails, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture shall prescribe and publish such uniform regulations as they deem 

necessary and any person who violates such regulations shall be guilty of a 

misdemeanor, and may be punished by a fine of not more $500 or by imprisonment not 

exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The Secretary 

responsible for the administration of any segment of any component of the National 

Trails System (as determined in a manner consistent with subsection (a)(1) of this 

section) may also utilize authorities related to units of the national park system or the 

national forest system, as the case may be, in carrying out his administrative 

responsibilities for such component. 

(j) Potential trail uses allowed on designated components of the national trails system 

may include, but are not limited to, the following: bicycling, cross-country skiing, day 

hiking, equestrian activities, jogging or similar fitness activities, trail biking, overnight 

and long-distance backpacking, snowmobiling, and surface water and underwater 

activities. Vehicles which may be permitted on certain trails may include, but need not 

be limited to, motorcycles, bicycles, four-wheel drive or all-terrain off-road vehicles. In 

addition, trail access for handicapped individuals may be provided. The provisions of 

this subsection shall not supersede any other provisions of this Act or other Federal 

laws, or any State or local laws.

(k) For the conservation purpose of preserving or enhancing the recreational, scenic, 

natural, or historical values of components of the national trails system, and environs 

thereof as determined by the appropriate Secretary, landowners are authorized to 

donate or otherwise convey qualified real property interests to qualified organizations 

consistent with section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, including, but 

not limited to, right-of-way, open space, scenic, or conservation easements, without 

regard to any limitation on the nature of the estate or interest otherwise transferable 

within the jurisdiction where the land is located. The conveyance of any such interest in 

land in accordance with this subsection shall be deemed to further a Federal 

conservation policy and yield a significant public benefit for purposes of section 6 of 

Public Law 96-541.

STATE AND METROPOLITAN AREA TRAILS

SEC. 8. [16USC1247] (a) The Secretary of the Interior is directed to encourage States to 

consider, in their comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plans and proposals for 
financial assistance for State and local projects submitted pursuant to the Land and 

Water Conservation Fund Act, needs and opportunities for establishing park, forest, and 

other recreation and historic trails on lands owned or administered by States, and 

recreation and historic trails on lands in or near urban areas. The Secretary is also 

directed to encourage States to consider, in their comprehensive statewide historic 

preservation plans and proposals for financial assistance for State, local, and private 

projects submitted pursuant to the Act of October 15, 1966 (80 Stat. 915), as amended, 

needs and opportunities for establishing historic trails. He is further directed in 

accordance with the authority contained in the Act of May 28, 1963 (77 Stat. 49), to 

encourage States, political subdivisions, and private interests, including nonprofit 

organizations, to establish such trails.

(b) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is directed, in administering the 

program of comprehensive urban planning and assistance under section 701 of the 

Housing Act of 1954, to encourage the planning of recreation trails in connection with 

the recreation and transportation planning for metropolitan and 

other urban areas. He is further directed, in administering the urban open space 

program under title VII of the Housing Act of 1961, to encourage such recreation trails.

(c) The Secretary of Agriculture is directed, in accordance with authority vested in him, 

to encourage States and local agencies and private interests to establish such trails.

(d) The Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the Interstate Commerce 

Commission, and the Secretary of the Interior, in administering the Railroad 

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, shall encourage State and local 

agencies and private interests to establish appropriate trails using the provisions of such 

programs. Consistent with the purposes of that Act, and in furtherance of the national 

policy to preserve established railroad rights-of-way for future reactivation of rail 

service, to protect rail transportation corridors, and to encourage energy efficient 

transportation use, in the case of interim use of any established railroad rights-of-way 

pursuant to donation, transfer, lease, sale, or otherwise in a manner consistent with the 

National Trails System Act, if such interim use is subject to restoration or reconstruction 

for railroad purposes, such interim use shall not be treated, for purposes of any law or 

rule of law, as an abandonment of the use of such rights-of-way for railroad purposes. If 

a State, political subdivision, or qualified private organization is prepared to assume full 

responsibility for management of such rights-of-way and for any legal liability arising 

out of such transfer or use, and for the payment of any and all taxes that may be levied 

or assessed against such rights-of-way, then the Commission shall impose such terms 

and conditions as a requirement of any transfer or conveyance for interim use in a 

manner consistent with this Act, and shall not permit abandonment or discontinuance 

inconsistent or disruptive of such use.

(e) Such trails may be designated and suitably marked as parts of the nationwide system 

of trails by the States, their political subdivisions, or other appropriate administering 

agencies with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OTHER PROPERTIES

SEC. 9. [16USC1248] (a) The Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture as 

the case may be, may grant easements and rights-of-way upon, over, under, across, or 

along any component of the national trails system in accordance with the laws 

applicable to the national park system and the national forest system, respectively: 

Provided, That any conditions contained in such easements and rights-of-way shall be 

related to the policy and purposes of this Act.

(b) The Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Interstate 

Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Power 

Commission, and other Federal agencies having jurisdiction or control over or 

information concerning the use, abandonment, or disposition of roadways, utility rightsof-way, or other properties which may be suitable for the purpose of improving or 

expanding the national trails system shall cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior 

and the Secretary of Agriculture in order to assure, to the extent practicable, that any 

such properties having values suitable for trail purposes may be made available for such 

use.

(c) Commencing upon the date of enactment of this subsection, any and all right, title, 

interest, and estate of the United States in all rights-of-way of the type described in the 

Act of March 8, l922 (43 U.S.C. 9l2), shall remain in the United States upon the 

abandonment or forfeiture of such rights-of-way, or portions thereof, except to the 

extent that any such right-of-way, or portion thereof, is embraced within a public 

highway no later than one year after a determination of abandonment or forfeiture, as 

provided under such Act.

(d) (1) All rights-of-way, or portions thereof, retained by the United States pursuant to 

subsection (c) which are located within the boundaries of a conservation system unit or 

a National Forest shall be added to 

and incorporated within such unit or National Forest and managed in accordance with 

applicable provisions of law, including this Act.

(2) All such retained rights-of-way, or portions thereof, which are located outside the 

boundaries of a conservation system unit or a National Forest but adjacent to or 

contiguous with any portion of the public lands shall be managed pursuant to the 

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of l976 and other applicable law, including 

this section.

(3) All such retained rights-of-way, or portions thereof, which are located outside the 

boundaries of a conservation system unit or National Forest which the Secretary of the 

Interior determines suitable for use as a public recreational trail or other recreational 

purposes shall be managed by the Secretary for such uses, as well as for such other uses 
as the Secretary determines to be appropriate pursuant to applicable laws, as long as 

such uses do not preclude trail use.

(e) (l) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized where appropriate to release and 

quitclaim to a unit of government or to another entity meeting the requirements of this 

subsection any and all right, title, and interest in the surface estate of any portion of any 

right-of-way to the extent any such right, title, and interest was retained by the United 

States pursuant to subsection (c), if such portion is not located within the boundaries of 

any conservation system unit or National Forest. Such release and quitclaim shall be 

made only in response to an application therefor by a unit of State or local government 

or another entity which the Secretary of the Interior determines to be legally and 

financially qualified to manage the relevant portion for public recreational purposes. 

Upon receipt of such an application, the Secretary shall publish a notice concerning such 

application in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the relevant portion 

is located. Such release and quitclaim shall be on the following conditions: 

(A) If such unit or entity attempts to sell, convey, or otherwise transfer such right, title, 

or interest or attempts to permit the use of any part of such portion for any purpose 

incompatible with its use for public recreation, then any and all right, title, and interest 

released and quitclaimed by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection shall revert to the 

United States.

(B) Such unit or entity shall assume full responsibility and hold the United States 

harmless for any legal liability which might arise with respect to the transfer, 

possession, use, release, or quitclaim of such right-of-way.

(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States shall be under no duty 

to inspect such portion prior to such release and quitclaim, and shall incur no legal 

liability with respect to any hazard or any unsafe condition existing on such portion at 

the time of such release and quitclaim.

(2) The Secretary is authorized to sell any portion of a right-of-way retained by the 

United States pursuant to subsection (c) located outside the boundaries of a 

conservation system unit or National Forest if any such portion is --

(A) not adjacent to or contiguous with any portion of the public lands; or

(B) determined by the Secretary, pursuant to the disposal criteria established by section 

203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of l976, to be suitable for sale.

Prior to conducting any such sale, the Secretary shall take appropriate steps to afford a 

unit of State or local government or any other entity an opportunity to seek to obtain 

such portion pursuant to paragraph (l) of this subsection.
(3) All proceeds from sales of such retained rights of way shall be deposited into the 

Treasury of the United States and credited to the Land and Water Conservation Fund as 

provided in section 2 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of l965.

(4) The Secretary of the Interior shall annually report to the Congress the total proceeds 

from sales under paragraph (2) during the preceding fiscal year. Such report shall be 

included in the President's annual budget submitted to the Congress.

(f) As used in this section --

(1) The term "conservation system unit" has the same meaning given such term in the 

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96-487; 94 Stat. 237l et 

seq.), except that such term shall also include units outside Alaska.

(2) The term "public lands" has the same meaning given such term in the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of l976.

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 10. [16USC1249] (a) (1) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the 

acquisition of lands or interests in lands not more than $5,000,000 for the Appalachian 

National Scenic Trail and not more than $500,000 for the Pacific Crest National Scenic 

Trail. From the appropriations authorized for fiscal year 1979 and succeeding fiscal 

years pursuant to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (78 Stat. 897), as 

amended, not more than the following amounts may be expended for the acquisition of 

lands and interests in lands authorized to be acquired pursuant to the provisions of this 

Act: for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, not to exceed $30,000,000 for fiscal year 

1979, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, except 

that the difference between the foregoing amounts and the actual appropriations in any 

one fiscal year shall be available for appropriation in subsequent fiscal years.

(2) It is the express intent of the Congress that the Secretary should substantially 

complete the land acquisition program necessary to insure the protection of the 

Appalachian Trail within three complete fiscal years following the date of enactment of 

this sentence. 

(b) For the purposes of Public Law 95-42 (91 Stat. 211), the lands and interests therein 

acquired pursuant to this section shall be deemed to qualify for funding under the 

provisions of section 1, clause 2, of said Act.

(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. 

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated such 

sums as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Act relating to the trails 

designated by section 5(a). Not more than $500,000 may be appropriated for the 

purposes of acquisition of land and interests therein for the trail designated by section 

5(a)(12) of this Act, and not more than $2,000,000 may be appropriated for the 

purposes of the development of such trail. The administrating agency for the trail shall 

encourage volunteer trail groups to participate in the development of the trail.

VOLUNTEER TRAILS ASSISTANCE

SEC. 11. [16USC1250] (a) (1) In addition to the cooperative agreement and other 

authorities contained in this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 

Agriculture, and the head of any Federal agency administering Federal lands, are 

authorized to encourage volunteers and volunteer organizations to plan, develop, 

maintain, and manage, where appropriate, trails throughout the Nation.

(2) Wherever appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the Secretaries are 

authorized and encouraged to utilize the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969, the 

Volunteers in the Forests Act of 1972, and section 6 of the Land and Water Conservation 

Fund Act of 1965 (relating to the development of Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor 

Recreation Plans).

(b) Each Secretary or the head of any Federal land managing agency, may assist 

volunteers and volunteers organizations in planning, developing, maintaining, and 

managing trails. Volunteer work may include, but need not be limited to--

(1) planning, developing, maintaining, or managing (A) trails which are components of 

the national trails system, or (B) trails which, if so developed and maintained, could 

qualify for designation as components of the national trails system; or

(2) operating programs to organize and supervise volunteer trail building efforts with 

respect to the trails referred to in paragraph (1), conducting trail-related research 

projects, or providing education and training to volunteers on methods of trails 

planning, construction, and maintenance.

(c) The appropriate Secretary or the head of any Federal land managing agency may 

utilize and to make available Federal facilities, equipment, tools, and technical 
assistance to volunteers and volunteer organizations, subject to such limitations and 

restrictions as the appropriate Secretary or the head of any Federal land managing 

agency deems necessary or desirable.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 12. [16USC1251] As used in this Act:

(1) The term "high potential historic sites" means those historic sites related to the 

route, or sites in close proximity thereto, which provide opportunity to interpret the 

historic significance of the trail during the period of its major use. Criteria for 

consideration as high potential sites include historic significance, presence of visible 

historic remnants, scenic quality, and relative freedom from intrusion.

(2) The term "high potential route segments" means those segments of a trail which 

would afford high quality recreation experience in a portion of the route having greater 

than average scenic values or affording an opportunity to vicariously share the 

experience of the original users of a historic route.

(3) The term "State" means each of the several States of the United States, the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 

other territory or possession of the United States.

(4) The term "without expense to the United States" means that no funds may be 

expended by Federal agencies for the development of trail related facilities or for the 

acquisition of lands or interest in lands outside the exterior boundaries of Federal areas. 

For the purposes of the preceding sentence, amounts made available to any State or 

political subdivision under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 or any 

other provision of law shall not be treated as an expense to the United States.

END