IB 

Union Calendar No. 603 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 845 

[Report No. 114–770, Part I] 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal Register 

a strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners 

in National Forest System trail maintenance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2015 

Mrs. LUMMIS (for herself and Mr. WALZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. RIBBLE, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, 

Mr. NOLAN, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. ZINKE, 

Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. POLIS, Mr. BARR, Mr. NEWHOUSE, 

Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. ASHFORD, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PEARCE, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. HILL, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. KLINE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. AMODEI, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. TONKO, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. HONDA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, Mr. AUSTIN

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. WALDEN, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. YOUNG

of Alaska, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mrs. 

LOVE, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. COSTELLO of 


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Pennsylvania, Ms. JENKINS of Kansas, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. EMMER of Minnesota, Mr. YOUNG

of Iowa, Ms. MOORE, Mr. TOM PRICE of Georgia, Ms. KUSTER, and Mr. 

PAYNE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with an amendment 

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

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

The Committee on Natural Resources discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 10, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the 

Federal Register a strategy to significantly increase the 

role of volunteers and partners in National Forest System trail maintenance, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na5 tional Forest System Trails Stewardship Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. National forest system trails volunteer and partnership strategy. 

Sec. 5. Priority trail maintenance program. 

Sec. 6. Cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 7. Stewardship credits for outfitters and guides. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds as follows: 

10 (1) The National Forest System features a 

11 world-class trail system with over 157,000 miles of 

12 trails that provide world-class opportunities for hik13 ing, horseback riding, hunting, mountain bicycling, 

14 motorized vehicles, and other outdoor activities. 

15 (2) According to the Government Accountability 

16 Office, the Forest Service is only able to maintain 

17 about one-quarter of National Forest System trails to 

18 the agency standard, and the agency faces a trail 

19 maintenance backlog of $314,000,000, and an addi20 tional backlog of $210,000,000 in annual mainte21 nance, capital improvements, and operations. 


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1 (3) The lack of maintenance on National Forest 

2 System trails threatens access to public lands, and 

3 may cause increased environmental damage, threaten 

4 public safety, and increase future maintenance costs. 

5 (4) Federal budget limitations require solutions 

6 to National Forest System trail maintenance issues 

7 that make more efficient use of existing resources. 

8 (5) Volunteers, partners, and outfitters and 

9 guides play an important role in maintaining Na10 tional Forest System trails, and a comprehensive 

11 strategy is needed to ensure that volunteers and part12 ners are used as effectively as possible. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Admin16 istrative Unit’’ means a national forest or national 

17 grassland. 

18 (2) OUTFITTER OR GUIDE.—The term ‘‘outfitter 

19 or guide’’ means an individual, organization, or busi20 ness who provides outfitting or guiding services, as 

21 defined in section 251.51 of title 36, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations. 

23 (3) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means a 

24 non-Federal entity that engages in a partnership. 


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1 (4) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘partnership’’ 

2 means arrangements between the Department of Agri3 culture or the Forest Service and a non-Federal entity 

4 that are voluntary, mutually beneficial, and entered 

5 into for the purpose of mutually agreed upon objec6 tives. 

7 (5) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’ 

8 means a well-defined region on National Forest Sys9 tem land selected by the Secretary under section 5(a). 

10 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

12 (7) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘strategy’’ means the 

13 National Forest System Trails Volunteer and Part14 nership Strategy authorized by section 4(a). 

15 (8) TRAIL MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘‘trail 

16 maintenance’’ means any activity to maintain the 

17 usability and sustainability of trails within the Na18 tional Forest System, including— 

19 (A) ensuring trails are passable by the users 

20 for which they are managed; 

21 (B) preventing environmental damage re22 sulting from trail deterioration; 

23 (C) protecting public safety; and 

24 (D) averting future deferred maintenance 

25 costs. 


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1 (9) VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘‘volunteer’’ means 

2 an individual whose services are accepted by the Sec3 retary without compensation under the Volunteers in 

4 the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 558a et 

5 seq.). 

6 SEC. 4. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM TRAILS VOLUNTEER 

7 AND PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish 

10 in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly increase 

11 the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. 

12 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by 

13 subsection (a) shall— 

14 (1) augment and support the capabilities of Fed15 eral employees to carry out or contribute to trail 

16 maintenance; 

17 (2) provide meaningful opportunities for volun18 teers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in 

19 each region of the Forest Service; 

20 (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism 

21 and partnerships in trail maintenance identified by 

22 volunteers, partners, and others; 

23 (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and part24 nerships in trail maintenance in those regions with 

25 the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where 


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1 trail maintenance backlogs are jeopardizing access to 

2 National Forest lands; and 

3 (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volun4 teers and partners by 100 percent by the date that is 

5 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—As a component of 

7 the strategy, the Secretary shall study opportunities to im8 prove trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use 

9 fire crews in trail maintenance activities in a manner that 

10 does not jeopardize firefighting capabilities, public safety, 

11 or resource protection. Upon a determination that trail 

12 maintenance would be advanced by use of fire crews in trail 

13 maintenance, the Secretary shall incorporate these pro14 posals into the strategy, subject to such terms and condi15 tions as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

16 (d) VOLUNTEER LIABILITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Volunteers in 

18 the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 558c) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(e) For the purposes of subsections (b), (c), and (d), 

22 the term ‘volunteer’ includes a person providing volunteer 

23 services to the Secretary who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is recruited, trained, and supported by a co2 operator under a mutual benefit agreement with the 

3 Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(2) performs such volunteer services under the 

5 supervision of the cooperator as directed by the Sec6 retary in the mutual benefit agreement, including di7 rection that specifies— 

8 ‘‘(A) the volunteer services to be performed 

9 by the volunteers and the supervision to be pro10 vided by the cooperator; 

11 ‘‘(B) the applicable project safety standards 

12 and protocols to be adhered to by the volunteers 

13 and enforced by the cooperator; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the on-site visits to be made by the 

15 Secretary, when feasible, to verify that volunteers 

16 are performing the volunteer services and the co17 operator is providing the supervision agreed 

18 upon.’’. 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

20 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary shall adopt regulations implementing this 

22 section. These regulations shall ensure that the finan23 cial risk from claims or liability associated with vol24 unteers undertaking trail maintenance is shared by 

25 all administrative units. 


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1 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop the 

2 strategy in consultation with volunteer and partner trail 

3 maintenance organizations, a broad array of outdoor recre4 ation stakeholders, and other relevant stakeholders. 

5 (f) VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP COORDINATION.— 

6 The Secretary shall require each administrative unit to de7 velop a volunteer and partner coordination implementation 

8 plan for the strategy which clearly defines roles and respon9 sibilities for the administrative unit and district staff, and 

10 includes strategies to ensure sufficient coordination, assist11 ance, and support for volunteers and partners to improve 

12 trail maintenance. 

13 (g) REPORT.— 

14 (1) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall prepare a 

15 report on— 

16 (A) the effectiveness of the strategy in ad17 dressing the trail maintenance backlog; 

18 (B) the increase in volunteerism and part19 nership efforts on trail maintenance as a result 

20 of the strategy; 

21 (C) the miles of National Forest System 

22 trails maintained by volunteers and partners, 

23 and the approximate value of the volunteer and 

24 partnership efforts; 


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1 (D) the status of the stewardship credits for 

2 outfitters and guides pilot program described in 

3 section 7 that includes the number of partici4 pating sites, total amount of the credits offered, 

5 estimated value of trail maintenance performed, 

6 and suggestions for revising the program; and 

7 (E) recommendations for further increasing 

8 volunteerism and partnerships in trail mainte9 nance. 

10 (2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

12 submit the report required by paragraph (1) to— 

13 (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy 

15 and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Agriculture and the 

17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

18 Representatives. 

19 SEC. 5. PRIORITY TRAIL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) SELECTION.—In accordance with subsections (b) 

21 and (c), not later than 6 months after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall select 

23 no fewer than 9 and no more than 15 priority areas for 

24 increased trail maintenance accomplishments. 


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1 (b) CRITERIA.—Priority areas shall include a well-de2 fined region on National Forest System land where the lack 

3 of trail maintenance has— 

4 (1) reduced access to public land; 

5 (2) led to an increase, or risk of increase, in 

6 harm to natural resources; 

7 (3) jeopardized public safety; 

8 (4) resulted in trails being impassible by the in9 tended managed users; or 

10 (5) increased future deferred trail maintenance 

11 costs. 

12 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting priority areas, the 

13 Secretary shall— 

14 (1) consider any public input on priority areas 

15 received within 3 months of the date of enactment of 

16 this Act; 

17 (2) consider the range of trail users (including 

18 motorized and non-motorized trail users); and 

19 (3) include at least one priority area in each re20 gion of the United States Forest Service. 

21 (d) INCREASED TRAIL MAINTENANCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months of the selec23 tion of priority areas under subsection (a), and in ac24 cordance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall de25 velop an approach to substantially increase trail 


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1 maintenance accomplishments within each priority 

2 area. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—In developing the approach 

4 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

5 (A) consider any public input on trail 

6 maintenance priorities and needs within any 

7 priority area; 

8 (B) consider the costs and benefits of in9 creased trail maintenance within each priority 

10 area; and 

11 (C) incorporate partners and volunteers in 

12 the trail maintenance. 

13 (3) REQUIRED TRAIL MAINTENANCE.—Utilizing 

14 the approach developed under paragraph (1), the Sec15 retary shall substantially increase trail maintenance 

16 within each priority area. 

17 (e) COORDINATION.—The regional volunteer and part18 nership coordinators may be responsible for assisting part19 ner organizations in developing and implementing volun20 teer and partnership projects to increase trail maintenance 

21 within priority areas. 

22 (f) REVISION.—The Secretary shall periodically review 

23 the priority areas to determine whether revisions are nec24 essary and may revise the priority areas, including the seVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Sep 21, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H845.RH H845

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1 lection of new priority areas or removal of existing priority 

2 areas, at his sole discretion. 

3 SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a co5 operative agreement with any State, tribal, local govern6 mental, and private entity to carry out this Act. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—Cooperative agreements authorized 

8 under this section may— 

9 (1) improve trail maintenance in a priority 

10 area; 

11 (2) implement the strategy; or 

12 (3) advance trail maintenance in a manner 

13 deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 

14 SEC. 7. STEWARDSHIP CREDITS FOR OUTFITTERS AND 

15 GUIDES. 

16 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Within 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, in accordance with this section, 

18 the Secretary shall establish a pilot program on not less 

19 than 20 administrative units to offset all or part of the land 

20 use fee for an outfitting and guiding permit by the cost 

21 of the work performed by the permit holder to construct, 

22 improve, or maintain National Forest System trails, 

23 trailheads, or developed sites that support public use under 

24 terms established by the Secretary. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing the 

2 pilot program authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 (1) select administrative units where the pilot 

5 program will improve trail maintenance; and 

6 (2) establish appropriate terms and conditions, 

7 including meeting National Quality Standards for 

8 Trails and the Trail Management Objectives identi9 fied for the trail. 


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Union Calendar No. 603 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 845 

[Report No. 114–770, Part I] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in 

for other purposes. National Forest System trail maintenance, and increase the role of volunteers and partners in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with an 

amendment 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

The Committee on Natural Resources discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS