National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act

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. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act (b) Table of contents The table of contents for 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. 2. Findings Congress finds as follows: (1) The National Forest System features a world-class trail system with over 157,000 miles of trails that provide world-class opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, mountain bicycling, motorized vehicles, and other outdoor activities. (2) According to the Government Accountability Office, the Forest Service is only able to maintain about one-quarter of National Forest System trails to the agency standard, and the agency faces a trail maintenance backlog of $314,000,000, and an additional backlog of $210,000,000 in annual maintenance, capital improvements, and operations. (3) The lack of maintenance on National Forest System trails threatens access to public lands, and may cause increased environmental damage, threaten public safety, and increase future maintenance costs. (4) Federal budget limitations require solutions to National Forest System trail maintenance issues that make more efficient use of existing resources. (5) Volunteers, partners, and outfitters and guides play an important role in maintaining National Forest System trails, and a comprehensive strategy is needed to ensure that volunteers and partners are used as effectively as possible. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrative unit The term Administrative Unit (2) Outfitter or guide The term outfitter or guide (3) Partner The term partner (4) Partnership The term partnership (5) Priority area The term priority area (6) Secretary The term Secretary (7) Strategy The term strategy (8) Trail maintenance The term trail maintenance (A) ensuring trails are passable by the users for which they are managed; (B) preventing environmental damage resulting from trail deterioration; (C) protecting public safety; and (D) averting future deferred maintenance costs. (9) Volunteer The term Volunteer 4. National forest system trails volunteer and partnership strategy (a) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. (b) Required elements The strategy required by subsection (a) shall— (1) augment and support the capabilities of Federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance; (2) provide meaningful opportunities for volunteers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the Forest Service; (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and partnerships in trail maintenance identified by volunteers, partners, and others; (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in trail maintenance in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where trail maintenance backlogs are jeopardizing access to National Forest lands; and (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and partners by 100 percent by the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Additional requirement As a component of the strategy, the Secretary shall study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance activities in a manner that does not jeopardize firefighting capabilities, public safety, or resource protection. Upon a determination that trail maintenance would be advanced by use of fire crews in trail maintenance, the Secretary shall incorporate these proposals into the strategy, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary. (d) Volunteer liability (1) In general Section 3(d) of the Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. 558c(d) , including a volunteer affiliated with a partner organization, this Act (2) Additional requirement Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall adopt regulations implementing this section. These regulations shall ensure that the financial risk from claims or liability associated with volunteers undertaking trail maintenance is shared by all administrative units. (e) Consultation The Secretary shall develop the strategy in consultation with volunteer and partner trail maintenance organizations, a broad array of outdoor recreation stakeholders, and other relevant stakeholders. (f) Volunteer and partnership coordination The Secretary shall require each administrative unit to develop a volunteer and partner coordination implementation plan for the strategy which clearly defines roles and responsibilities for the administrative unit and district staff, and includes strategies to ensure sufficient coordination, assistance, and support for volunteers and partners to improve trail maintenance. (g) Report (1) Contents The Secretary shall prepare a report on— (A) the effectiveness of the strategy in addressing the trail maintenance backlog; (B) the increase in volunteerism and partnership efforts on trail maintenance as a result of the strategy; (C) the miles of National Forest System trails maintained by volunteers and partners, and the approximate value of the volunteer and partnership efforts; (D) the status of the stewardship credits for outfitters and guides pilot program described in section 7 that includes the number of participating sites, total amount of the credits offered, estimated value of trail maintenance performed, and suggestions for revising the program; and (E) recommendations for further increasing volunteerism and partnerships in trail maintenance. (2) Submission Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit the report required by paragraph (1) to— (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 5. Priority trail maintenance program (a) Selection In accordance with subsections (b) and (c), not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall select no fewer than 9 and no more than 15 priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. (b) Criteria Priority areas shall include a well-defined region on National Forest System land where the lack of trail maintenance has— (1) reduced access to public land; (2) led to an increase, or risk of increase, in harm to natural resources; (3) jeopardized public safety; (4) resulted in trails being impassible by the intended managed users; or (5) increased future deferred trail maintenance costs. (c) Requirements In selecting priority areas, the Secretary shall— (1) consider any public input on priority areas received within 3 months of the date of enactment of this Act; (2) consider the range of trail users (including motorized and non-motorized trail users); and (3) include at least one priority area in each region of the United States Forest Service. (d) Increased trail maintenance (1) In general Within 6 months of the selection of priority areas under subsection (a), and in accordance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall develop an approach to substantially increase trail maintenance accomplishments within each priority area. (2) Contents In developing the approach under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— (A) consider any public input on trail maintenance priorities and needs within any priority area; (B) consider the costs and benefits of increased trail maintenance within each priority area; and (C) incorporate partners and volunteers in the trail maintenance. (3) Required trail maintenance Utilizing the approach developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall substantially increase trail maintenance within each priority area. (e) Coordination The regional volunteer and partnership coordinators may be responsible for assisting partner organizations in developing and implementing volunteer and partnership projects to increase trail maintenance within priority areas. (f) Revision The Secretary shall periodically review the priority areas to determine whether revisions are necessary and may revise the priority areas, including the selection of new priority areas or removal of existing priority areas, at his sole discretion. 6. Cooperative agreements (a) In general The Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement (within the meaning of chapter 63 (b) Contents Cooperative agreements authorized under this section may— (1) improve trail maintenance in a priority area; (2) implement the strategy; or (3) advance trail maintenance in a manner deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 7. Stewardship credits for outfitters and guides (a) Pilot program Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance with this section, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program on not less than 20 administrative units to offset all or part of the land use fee for an outfitting and guiding permit by the cost of the work performed by the permit holder to construct, improve, or maintain National Forest System trails, trailheads, or developed sites that support public use under terms established by the Secretary. (b) Additional requirements In establishing the pilot program authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall— (1) select administrative units where the pilot program will improve trail maintenance; and (2) establish appropriate terms and conditions, including meeting National Quality Standards for Trails and the Trail Management Objectives identified for the trail.

Summary: National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publish a national strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. Requires the strategy to: (1) augment and support the capabilities of federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance; (2) provide opportunities for volunteers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the Forest Service; (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and partnerships; (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where backlogs are jeopardizing access to national forest lands; and (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and partners by 100% within 5 years. Directs USDA to study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance activities. Deems a volunteer with a partner organization to be considered a federal employee for the purposes of civil claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer services. Sets forth provisions for the selection of priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. Directs USDA to establish a pilot program to offset all or part of the land use fee for outfitting and guiding permits.