II 

Calendar No. 391 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 594 

[Report No. 118–175] 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

MAY 16, 2024 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Trail Completion Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

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

8 Mexico Stat. 73–2–27. 

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

10 grant-merced’’ means a community land grant 

11 issued under the laws or customs of the Government 

12 of Spain or Mexico that is recognized under chapter 

13 49 of New Mexico Stat. (or a successor statute). 

14 (3) OPTIMAL LOCATION REVIEW.—The term 

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

16 in accordance with the process described in the 

17 guide entitled ‘‘Continental Divide National Scenic 

18 Trail Optimal Location Review Guide’’ and dated 

19 November 2017. 

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

21 means each of the Secretary and the Secretary of 

22 the Interior. 

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

24 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

25 Chief of the Forest Service. 


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

2 Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 

3 Trail completion team established under section 

4 3(b). 

5 (7) TRAIL.—The term ‘‘Trail’’ means the Con6 tinental Divide National Scenic Trail established by 

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

8 (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(5)). 

9 SEC. 3. CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL. 

10 (a) COMPLETION OF TRAIL.— 

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

12 10, 2028, the Secretaries shall, to the maximum ex13 tent practicable, ensure the completion of the Trail 

14 as a contiguous route, consistent with sections 

15 3(a)(2), 5(a)(5), and 7 of the National Trails Sys16 tem Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)(2), 1244(a)(5), 1246). 

17 (2) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretaries 

18 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, carry out 

19 necessary activities to achieve the goal described in 

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

21 the following order of priority: 

22 (A) Complete the Trail by acquiring land 

23 or an interest in land, entering into easement 

24 agreements, or encouraging a State or local 

25 government to enter into a cooperative agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 May 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S594.RS S594

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1 ment to acquire any interest in land, that is 

2 necessary— 

3 (i) to eliminate gaps between sections 

4 of the Trail; and 

5 (ii) to maintain the nature and pur6 poses of the Trail. 

7 (B) If appropriate and supported by local 

8 affected stakeholders, optimize the Trail by re9 locating, consistent with the nature and pur10 poses of the Trail, existing incompatible por11 tions of the Trail onto Federal land as nec12 essary to provide for— 

13 (i) maximum outdoor recreation po14 tential; 

15 (ii) the conservation and enjoyment of 

16 the nationally significant scenic, historic, 

17 natural, or cultural qualities of the areas 

18 through which the Trail passes; 

19 (iii) continuity in land ownership, if 

20 desired by the owner of the affected land; 

21 and 

22 (iv) segments of the Trail that are 

23 comparable in length to the segments of 

24 the Trail being relocated. 


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1 (C) Publish maps of the completed corridor 

2 of the Trail. 

3 (b) TRAIL COMPLETION TEAM.— 

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

5 (a), not later than 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretaries shall establish a 

7 joint Forest Service and Bureau of Land Manage8 ment Trail completion team to work in coordination 

9 with the administrator of the Trail to facilitate the 

10 completion and optimization of the Trail, pursuant 

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

12 Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)(2)), con13 sistent with the nature and purposes of the Trail. 

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

15 (A) carry out land and right-of-way acqui16 sitions, easement acquisitions, relocations, and 

17 Trail construction activities, consistent with any 

18 optimal location reviews, giving priority to land 

19 that— 

20 (i) eliminates gaps between segments 

21 of the Trail; 

22 (ii) may be acquired for the Trail by 

23 the Secretary or the Secretary of the Inte24 rior by— 

25 (I) purchase from a willing seller; 


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1 (II) donation; 

2 (III) exchange; 

3 (IV) cooperative agreement; or 

4 (V) easement agreement; 

5 (iii) is best suited for inclusion in the 

6 Trail corridor in accordance with the pur7 poses, policy, and provisions of the Na8 tional Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 

9 et seq.); 

10 (iv) if appropriate and supported by 

11 local affected stakeholders, has been identi12 fied as a segment of the Trail on Federal 

13 land that should be relocated to provide for 

14 maximum outdoor recreation potential and 

15 the conservation and enjoyment of the na16 tionally significant scenic, historic, natural, 

17 or cultural qualities of the areas through 

18 which the Trail passes; 

19 (v) mitigates land use conflicts; 

20 (vi) would support the development of 

21 rural communities through use as a trail; 

22 and 

23 (vii) minimizes the distance to connect 

24 compatible segments of the Trail; 


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1 (B) provide the necessary administrative 

2 and technical support to complete conveyances 

3 of the Trail corridor under subsection (a); 

4 (C) as appropriate, consult with other Fed5 eral agencies, Governors of the affected States, 

6 affected Indian Tribes, local governments, af7 fected land owners, land-grant mercedes, 

8 acequias, and applicable owners or users of a 

9 land grant-merced or acequia, the Continental 

10 Divide Trail Coalition, and other volunteer and 

11 nonprofit organizations that assist in the devel12 opment, maintenance, and management of the 

13 Trail; and 

14 (D) support the Secretary in the develop15 ment of the comprehensive development plan 

16 for the Trail under subsection (c) and annual 

17 reports under subsection (f). 

18 (c) COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.— 

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

20 the date of establishment of the Team under sub21 section (b), the Secretary shall submit to the Com22 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

24 House of Representatives a comprehensive develop25 ment plan for the Trail. 


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1 (2) RECOMMENDED INCLUSIONS.—The plan 

2 submitted under paragraph (1) should— 

3 (A) identify any gaps in the Trail with re4 spect to which the Secretaries have not been 

5 able to acquire land or interests in land by pur6 chase from a willing seller, donation, exchange, 

7 cooperative agreement, or easement agreement; 

8 (B) include a plan for closing the gaps 

9 identified under paragraph (1) by acquiring 

10 land or interests in land or entering into an 

11 easement agreement; and 

12 (C) include general and site-specific devel13 opment plans, including anticipated costs. 

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

15 section, the Secretaries— 

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

17 by— 

18 (A) purchase from a willing seller with do19 nated or appropriated funds; 

20 (B) donation; 

21 (C) exchange; 

22 (D) cooperative agreement; or 

23 (E) easement agreement; and 

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

25 by eminent domain. 


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1 (e) MAINTAINING EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS.—In 

2 carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall continue to 

3 maintain and develop working relationships with volunteer 

4 and nonprofit organizations that assist in the develop5 ment, maintenance, and management of the Trail. 

6 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than September 30, 2024, 

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

8 until the date on which the comprehensive development 

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

10 fully implemented, the Secretary shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

12 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

13 of Representatives a report that includes the following: 

14 (1) A description of the progress of the Secre15 taries in acquiring land or interests in land to com16 plete the Trail consistent with this Act. 

17 (2) The quantity of land or interests in land ac18 quired during the fiscal year and the amount ex19 pended for the land or interests in land. 

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

21 planned for acquisition in the subsequent fiscal year 

22 and the estimated cost of the land or interests in 

23 land. 

24 (4) The estimated quantity of land or interests 

25 in land remaining to be acquired after taking into 


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1 account the acquisitions under paragraphs (2) and 

2 (3). 

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

4 on Federal land that need to be relocated to provide 

5 for— 

6 (A) maximum outdoor recreation potential; 

7 and 

8 (B) conservation and enjoyment of the na9 tionally significant scenic, historic, natural, or 

10 cultural qualities of the areas through which 

11 the Trail passes. 

12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Continental Divide Na14 tional Scenic Trail Completion Act’’. 

15 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

19 (2) TRAIL.—The term ‘‘Trail’’ means the Conti20 nental Divide National Scenic Trail. 

21 (3) TRAIL COMPLETION TEAM.—The term ‘‘Trail 

22 Completion Team’’ means the joint Forest Service-Bu23 reau of Land Management Trail completion team es24 tablished under section 4(a). 


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1 SEC. 3. COMPLETION OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL 

2 SCENIC TRAIL. 

3 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec4 retary and the Secretary of the Interior shall seek to com5 plete the Trail as a continuous route not later than the 50th 

6 anniversary of the date of designation of the Trail as a na7 tional scenic trail. 

8 SEC. 4. TRAIL COMPLETION TEAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary 

11 of the Interior shall establish a joint Forest Service-Bureau 

12 of Land Management Trail completion team to work in co13 ordination with the administrator of the Trail— 

14 (1) to facilitate the completion and optimization 

15 of the Trail, consistent with the purposes of the Trail; 

16 and 

17 (2) to assist in the development of the com18 prehensive development plan for the Trail under sec19 tion 5. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION.—As appropriate, the Trail Com21 pletion Team shall consult with other Federal agencies, af22 fected State, Tribal, and local governments, landowners, af23 fected land-grant mercedes owners and users, acequias, and 

24 other interested parties in— 

25 (1) the completion and optimization of the Trail; 

26 and 


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1 (2) the development and completion of the com2 prehensive development plan for the Trail under sec3 tion 5. 

4 SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE 

5 CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL SCENIC 

6 TRAIL. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

8 date of establishment of the Trail Completion Team under 

9 section 4(a), the Secretary shall complete a comprehensive 

10 development plan for the Trail. 

11 (b) PLAN INCLUSIONS.—The comprehensive develop12 ment plan under subsection (a) shall— 

13 (1) identify any gaps in the Trail for which the 

14 Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior have not 

15 been able to acquire land; 

16 (2) identify opportunities for the use of ease17 ments acquired from willing sellers to facilitate com18 pletion of the Trail; and 

19 (3) include general and site-specific Trail devel20 opment plans, including anticipated costs of the 

21 plans. 

22 SEC. 6. PARTNERSHIPS. 

23 The Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall 

24 seek to enter into agreements with volunteer and nonprofit 


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1 organizations, as appropriate, to facilitate the completion 

2 and administration of the Trail. 

3 SEC. 7. EFFECT. 

4 Nothing in this Act— 

5 (1) provides any authority to acquire land or in6 terests in land for inclusion in the Trail beyond the 

7 authorities provided for the Trail in the National 

8 Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.), including 

9 acquisition by eminent domain; or 

10 (2) makes the acquisition of land or interests in 

11 land for the Trail a priority over other land acquisi12 tion authorizations. 


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Calendar No. 391 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 594 

[Report No. 118–175] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

Trail, and for other purposes. tion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the compleMAY 16, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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