49–010 

Calendar No. 401 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 109–239 

TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL 

APRIL 20, 2006.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the Senate of April 7, 2006 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1970] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1970) to amend the National Trails System Act 

to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared 

for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the 

inclusion of new trail segments, land components and campgrounds 

associated with that trail, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 

recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following: 

SECTION 1. REVISION OF FEASIBILITY AND SUITABILITY STUDY OF TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL. 

Section 5(a)(16) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(16)) is 

amended— 

(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘subsections’’ and inserting ‘‘sections’’; 

and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(C) STUDY OF ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS.—Not later than 3 complete fiscal 

years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress a study regarding the feasibility and suitability 

of designating, as additional components of the Trail of Tears National Historic 

Trail, the following routes and land components by which the Cherokee Nation 

was removed to Oklahoma: 

‘‘(i) The Benge and Bell routes. 

‘‘(ii) The land components of the designated water routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. 


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‘‘(iii) The routes from the collection forts in Alabama, Georgia, North 

Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots. 

‘‘(iv) Related campgrounds located along those routes and in those land 

components.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 1970, as ordered reported, is to amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility study for the 

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

S. 1970 authorizes a feasibility study to evaluate whether certain 

sites recently identified by scholars and local trail enthusiasts are 

suitable for inclusion in the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail 

(Trail). 

The Trail commemorates the forcible removal of more than 

16,000 Cherokee, black slaves, and other tribes from their homelands (in northwest Georgia and adjacent Tennessee, Alabama, and 

North Carolina) to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 

1838 and 1839. The impact to the Cherokee and other travelers 

was devastating. Hundreds of Cherokee died during their trip west, 

and thousands more perished from the consequences of relocation. 

In 1987, when Congress authorized the Trail, it consisted of the 

primary land route and primary water route used by many of the 

Cherokee. Although the original feasibility study recognized that 

other sites and routes existed, at that time there was not enough 

evidence to locate and confirm them. 

In the years since 1987, scholars and trail enthusiasts have 

amassed a significant amount of information that have helped to 

identify these additional routes and sites, and even new components of the two designated routes. 

New routes include (1) the Bell Route traveled by John Bell’s 

Treaty Party across Tennessee and Arkansas to Ft. Gibson, Indian 

Territory; and (2) the Benge Route, used by Cherokee leader John 

Benge’s detachment. Benge’s Route started in Ft. Payne, Alabama 

and traversed Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and northern Arkansas, before arriving in Oklahoma. 

Recent research has also identified the following sites: (1) land 

sites along a water route (known as the Water Route) that traveled 

the Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi, and Arkansas Rivers through 

Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; (2) routes from collection and internment forts in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, 

and Tennessee to emigration depots; and (3) campgrounds along 

those routes. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1970 was introduced by Senators Coburn, Frist, and Alexander on November 7, 2005. The Subcommittee on National Parks 

held a hearing on S. 1970 on February 16, 2006. At its business 

meeting on March 8, 2006, the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources ordered S. 1970 favorably reported as amended. 


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COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on March 8, 2006, by unanimous voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1970, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During consideration of S. 1970, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute strikes 

authority given to the Secretary to designate trail additions after 

the suitability study is completed and instead requires that she report the results to Congress within three years of the date the bill 

is enacted into law. The amendment also deleted any reference to 

appropriations. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 amends section 5(a)(16) of the National Trail System 

Act (which designates the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail) to 

add a new subparagraph, (C). 

Subparagraph (C) requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a study of the feasibility and suitability of additions to the trail within three years of the enactment of the bill. 

S. 1970 does not specify an amount to be appropriated. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of this 

measure has been requested but was not received at the time the 

report was filed. When the report is available, the Chairman will 

request it to be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice 

of the Senate. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 1970. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 1970, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration on S. 1970 were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on February 16, 2006. This testimony follows: 


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STATEMENT OF JOHN PARSONS, ASSOCIATE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, NATIONAL PARK

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you today to 

present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 1970. 

The bill would amend the National Trails System Act to 

update the feasibility and suitability study of the Trail of 

Tears National Historic Trail (NHT). 

We thank Senators Tom Coburn, Bill Frist, and Lamar 

Alexander for their interest in and support of the commemoration of the Trail of Tears NHT. The Department 

supports updating the feasibility and suitability study for 

the Trail of Tears NHT; however, we recommend that S. 

1970 be amended to remove the automatic designation of 

any additions to the original trail the study determines to 

be eligible. In a time of austere budgets and a refocusing 

on the core mission of the National Park Service (NPS), we 

believe that available funding should be first directed toward taking care of what we already own. 

S. 1970 would update the feasibility and suitability 

study for the Trail of Tears NHT through the examination 

of additional routes, land components, and campgrounds 

associated with that trail not included in the initial study. 

The Secretary of the Interior would determine if some or 

all of these components are eligible additions to the trail 

at the completion of the study. Further, it would authorize 

the Secretary to make designations of any of these additional routes, land components and campgrounds that she 

found eligible. The National Trails System Act does not 

provide for additions to trails subsequent to their designation by Congress. 

A network of 24 scenic and historic trails has been created since the enactment of the National Trails System 

Act in 1968. These trails provide for outdoor recreation 

needs, providing enjoyment and appreciation, which in 

turn, promotes good health and well-being. They traverse 

resources that connect us to history and provide an important opportunity for local communities to become involved 

in a national effort by encouraging public access and citizen involvement. 

In 1987, Congress designated the Trail of Tears National 

Historic Trail. The trail encompassed the primary water 

route and northern land route used during the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from its homelands in the 

southeast to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The 

trail is administered by the NPS. 

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 mandated the removal 

of all Indian tribes from east of the Mississippi River to 

lands west of Arkansas and Missouri. Of the Five Civilized 

Tribes, the Cherokee were perhaps the most successful at 

resisting the Act’s implementation. But their fate was 

sealed in 1838 when the U.S. government was determined 

to complete the Removal. The roundup began in May, as 


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thousands of Cherokee families were brought by force to 

nearby military forts or camps, and subsequently marched 

to the principal emigration depots at Ross’s Landing or 

Fort Cass in Tennessee, or Fort Payne in Alabama. From 

there, they either walked overland or rode river steamboats, flatboats, and keelboats to Indian Territory. By the 

spring of 1839, nearly the entire Cherokee Nation, comprising some 16,000 individuals from all levels of society, 

had been removed west. 

The 1992 Comprehensive Management and Use Plan for 

the Trail of Tears NHT identified the need to study two 

additional major routes of Cherokee Removal, the Bell and 

Benge Routes in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma as possible additions to 

the existing trail. Both of these routes are included in S. 

1970. Subsequently, the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern 

Band of Cherokee Indians, the Trail of Tears Association, 

and other trail supporters have urged the NPS to include 

additional important routes of Cherokee Removal in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. 

These routes lead from the many removal forts established 

by the military during the roundup of the Cherokee to the 

major embarkation sites from which the Cherokee people 

left on their tragic journey to Indian Territory. The roundup of the Cherokee is a major part of the story of the Trail 

of Tears, and it is not adequately represented by the current trail. 

The Department recognizes the importance of telling the 

complete story of the Trail of Tears. Updating the feasibility and suitability study would cost approximately 

$175,000. Also, the NPS estimates that it would require an 

additional $295,000 per year to adequately provide funding 

for staff, travel, supplies, and other costs to administer the 

new routes. 

Historic trails cross public and private lands, and the intent of the National Trails System Act is one of respecting 

private property rights. In so doing, the development of 

strong partnerships is critical to administering and managing the historic trails and achieving preservation of trail 

resources and interpretation of the trail to the public. The 

Trail of Tears NHT demonstrates the results of this type 

of effort. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be 

happy to answer any questions you or other committee 

members might have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1970, as 

ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 

omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 

italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 


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Public Law 90–543—Oct. 2, 1968 

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 1. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Trails System 

Act’’. 

* * * * * * * 

NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

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

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

Trails: 

* * * * * * * 

(16)(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 1838 and 1839, 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 1986. 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 øsubsections¿1sections 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. 

(C) STUDY OF ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS.—Not later than 

3 complete fiscal years after the date of enactment of this 

subparagraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to 

Congress a study regarding the feasibility and suitability of 

designating, as additional components of the Trail of Tears 

National Historic Trail, the following routes and land components by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to 

Oklahoma: 

(i) The Benge and Bell routes. 

(ii) The land components of the designated water 

routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. 

(iii) The routes from the collection forts in Alabama, 

Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots. 


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(iv) Related campgrounds located along those routes 

and in those land components. 

Æ 


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