I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3755 

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the route of the 

Smoky Hill Trail, an overland trail across the Great Plains during 

pioneer days in Kansas and Colorado, for study for potential addition 

to the national trails system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2009 

Mr. MORAN of Kansas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the 

route of the Smoky Hill Trail, an overland trail across 

the Great Plains during pioneer days in Kansas and 

Colorado, for study for potential addition to the national 

trails system. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smoky Hill National 

5 Historic Trail Study Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF TRAIL FOR STUDY. 

2 Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(ll) SMOKY HILL TRAIL.—The Smoky Hill 

6 Trail, extending approximately 640 miles along the 

7 route from Atchison and Leavenworth, Kansas, to 

8 Denver, Colorado, which was an overland trail route, 

9 including all of it various branches, tributaries, and 

10 connecting routes to the Santa Fe Trail, across the 

11 Great Plains during pioneer days beginning in 1859 

12 and ending with the arrival of the railroad in Denver 

13 in 1870.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTIONS. 

15 (a) ALTERNATIVES TO PROTECT PRIVATE PROP16 ERTY.—In conducting the study required by the amend17 ment made by section 2, the Secretary shall not consider 

18 any alternative that would— 

19 (1) require any private property owner to allow 

20 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov21 ernment access) to such private property; 

22 (2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or 

23 local law with regard to public access to or use of 

24 private property; 

25 (3) create any liability, or have any effect on 

26 any liability under any other law, of any private 


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1 property owner with respect to any persons injured 

2 on such private property; 

3 (4) modify the authority of Federal, State, or 

4 local governments to regulate land use; 

5 (5) require the owner of any private property to 

6 participate in or be associated with any addition to 

7 the National Parks System; 

8 (6) result in the reduction in value of property 

9 held by a private property owner; or 

10 (7) require or allow the Federal Government to 

11 acquire lands, or interests therein, outside the exte12 rior boundaries of any federally administered area, 

13 except with the consent of the owner thereof. 

14 (b) IMPACTS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.—The study 

15 shall include an analysis and documentation regarding 

16 whether each alternative proposed has potential or actual 

17 impact on private property located within or abutting the 

18 trail area. 

19 SEC. 4. PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER NOTIFICATION. 

20 Not less than 30 days before the Secretary of the In21 terior begins the study required by the amendment made 

22 by section 2, the Secretary shall notify all private property 

23 owners whose land will be studied that the study will be 

24 conducted. 

Æ 


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