I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 845 

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 

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. 

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 

5 ‘‘National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) The National Forest System features a 

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

5 trails that provide world-class opportunities for hik6 ing, horseback riding, hunting, mountain bicycling, 

7 motorized vehicles, and other outdoor activities. 

8 (2) According to the Government Accountability 

9 Office, the Forest Service is only able to maintain 

10 about one-quarter of National Forest System trails 

11 to the agency standard, and the agency faces a trail 

12 maintenance backlog of $314,000,000, and an addi13 tional backlog of $210,000,000 in annual mainte14 nance, capital improvements, and operations. 

15 (3) The lack of maintenance on National Forest 

16 System trails threatens access to public lands, and 

17 may cause increased environmental damage, threat18 en public safety, and increase future maintenance 

19 costs. 

20 (4) Federal budget limitations require solutions 

21 to National Forest System trail maintenance issues 

22 that make more efficient use of existing resources. 


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1 (5) Volunteers, partners, and outfitters and 

2 guides play an important role in maintaining Na3 tional Forest System trails, and a comprehensive 

4 strategy is needed to ensure that volunteers and 

5 partners are used as effectively as possible. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Ad9 ministrative Unit’’ means a national forest or na10 tional grassland. 

11 (2) OUTFITTER OR GUIDE.—The term ‘‘out12 fitter or guide’’ means an individual, organization, 

13 or business who provides outfitting or guiding serv14 ices, as defined in section 251.51 of title 36, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations. 

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

17 non-Federal entity that engages in a partnership. 

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

19 means arrangements between the Department of Ag20 riculture or the Forest Service and a non-Federal 

21 entity that are voluntary, mutually beneficial, and 

22 entered into for the purpose of mutually agreed 

23 upon objectives. 

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

25 means a well-defined region on National Forest SysVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H845.IH H845

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1 tem land selected by the Secretary under section 

2 5(a). 

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

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

6 the National Forest System Trails Volunteer and 

7 Partnership Strategy authorized by section 4(a). 

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

9 maintenance’’ means any activity to maintain the 

10 usability and sustainability of trails within the Na11 tional Forest System, including— 

12 (A) ensuring trails are passable by the 

13 users for which they are managed; 

14 (B) preventing environmental damage re15 sulting from trail deterioration; 

16 (C) protecting public safety; and 

17 (D) averting future deferred maintenance 

18 costs. 

19 (9) VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘‘Volunteer’’ has 

20 the same meaning given that term in section 

21 553.101 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations. 

22 SEC. 4. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM TRAILS VOLUNTEER 

23 AND PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY. 

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

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H845.IH H845

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1 lish in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly in2 crease the role of volunteers and partners in trail mainte3 nance. 

4 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—The strategy required 

5 by subsection (a) shall— 

6 (1) augment and support the capabilities of 

7 Federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail 

8 maintenance; 

9 (2) provide meaningful opportunities for volun10 teers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in 

11 each region of the Forest Service; 

12 (3) address the barriers to increased vol13 unteerism and partnerships in trail maintenance 

14 identified by volunteers, partners, and others; 

15 (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and part16 nerships in trail maintenance in those regions with 

17 the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where 

18 trail maintenance backlogs are jeopardizing access to 

19 National Forest lands; and 

20 (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volun21 teers and partners by 100 percent by the date that 

22 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act. 

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

25 the strategy, the Secretary shall study opportunities to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H845.IH H845

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1 prove trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use 

2 fire crews in trail maintenance activities in a manner that 

3 does not jeopardize firefighting capabilities, public safety, 

4 or resource protection. Upon a determination that trail 

5 maintenance would be advanced by use of fire crews in 

6 trail maintenance, the Secretary shall incorporate these 

7 proposals into the strategy, subject to such terms and con8 ditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

9 (d) VOLUNTEER LIABILITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(d) of the Volun11 teers in the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 

12 U.S.C. 558c(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including 

13 a volunteer affiliated with a partner organization,’’ 

14 after ‘‘this Act’’. 

15 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

16 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act, the Secretary shall adopt regulations imple18 menting this section. These regulations shall ensure 

19 that the financial risk from claims or liability associ20 ated with volunteers undertaking trail maintenance 

21 is shared by all administrative units. 

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

23 strategy in consultation with volunteer and partner trail 

24 maintenance organizations, a broad array of outdoor 

25 recreation stakeholders, and other relevant stakeholders. 


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1 (f) VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP COORDINA2 TION.—The Secretary shall require each administrative 

3 unit to develop a volunteer and partner coordination im4 plementation plan for the strategy which clearly defines 

5 roles and responsibilities for the administrative unit and 

6 district staff, and includes strategies to ensure sufficient 

7 coordination, assistance, and support for volunteers and 

8 partners to improve trail maintenance. 

9 (g) REPORT.— 

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

11 report on— 

12 (A) the effectiveness of the strategy in ad13 dressing the trail maintenance backlog; 

14 (B) the increase in volunteerism and part15 nership efforts on trail maintenance as a result 

16 of the strategy; 

17 (C) the miles of National Forest System 

18 trails maintained by volunteers and partners, 

19 and the approximate value of the volunteer and 

20 partnership efforts; 

21 (D) the status of the stewardship credits 

22 for outfitters and guides pilot program de23 scribed in section 7 that includes the number of 

24 participating sites, total amount of the credits 

25 offered, estimated value of trail maintenance 


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1 performed, and suggestions for revising the pro2 gram; and 

3 (E) recommendations for further increas4 ing volunteerism and partnerships in trail main5 tenance. 

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

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall submit the report required by paragraph (1) 

9 to— 

10 (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri11 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on En12 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Agriculture and the 

14 Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

15 of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 5. PRIORITY TRAIL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. 

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

18 and (c), not later than 6 months after the date of the en19 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall se20 lect no fewer than 9 and no more than 15 priority areas 

21 for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. 

22 (b) CRITERIA.—Priority areas shall include a well-de23 fined region on National Forest System land where the 

24 lack of trail maintenance has— 

25 (1) reduced access to public land; 


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

2 harm to natural resources; 

3 (3) jeopardized public safety; 

4 (4) resulted in trails being impassible by the in5 tended managed users; or 

6 (5) increased future deferred trail maintenance 

7 costs. 

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

9 Secretary shall— 

10 (1) consider any public input on priority areas 

11 received within 3 months of the date of enactment 

12 of this Act; 

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

14 motorized and non-motorized trail users); and 

15 (3) include at least one priority area in each re16 gion of the United States Forest Service. 

17 (d) INCREASED TRAIL MAINTENANCE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months of the se19 lection of priority areas under subsection (a), and in 

20 accordance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

21 develop an approach to substantially increase trail 

22 maintenance accomplishments within each priority 

23 area. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—In developing the approach 

25 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) consider any public input on trail 

2 maintenance priorities and needs within any 

3 priority area; 

4 (B) consider the costs and benefits of in5 creased trail maintenance within each priority 

6 area; and 

7 (C) incorporate partners and volunteers in 

8 the trail maintenance. 

9 (3) REQUIRED TRAIL MAINTENANCE.—Utilizing 

10 the approach developed under paragraph (1), the 

11 Secretary shall substantially increase trail mainte12 nance within each priority area. 

13 (e) COORDINATION.—The regional volunteer and 

14 partnership coordinators may be responsible for assisting 

15 partner organizations in developing and implementing vol16 unteer and partnership projects to increase trail mainte17 nance within priority areas. 

18 (f) REVISION.—The Secretary shall periodically re19 view the priority areas to determine whether revisions are 

20 necessary and may revise the priority areas, including the 

21 selection of new priority areas or removal of existing pri22 ority areas, at his sole discretion. 

23 SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a 

25 cooperative agreement (within the meaning of chapter 63 


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1 of title 31, United States Code) with any State, tribal, 

2 local governmental, and private entity to carry out this 

3 Act. 

4 (b) CONTENTS.—Cooperative agreements authorized 

5 under this section may— 

6 (1) improve trail maintenance in a priority 

7 area; 

8 (2) implement the strategy; or 

9 (3) advance trail maintenance in a manner 

10 deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 7. STEWARDSHIP CREDITS FOR OUTFITTERS AND 

12 GUIDES. 

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

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

15 the Secretary shall establish a pilot program on not less 

16 than 20 administrative units to offset all or part of the 

17 land use fee for an outfitting and guiding permit by the 

18 cost of the work performed by the permit holder to con19 struct, improve, or maintain National Forest System 

20 trails, trailheads, or developed sites that support public 

21 use under terms established by the Secretary. 

22 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 

23 the pilot program authorized by subsection (a), the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (1) select administrative units where the pilot 

2 program will improve trail maintenance; and 

3 (2) establish appropriate terms and conditions, 

4 including meeting National Quality Standards for 

5 Trails and the Trail Management Objectives identi6 fied for the trail. 

Æ 


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