II 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 845 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 
Received 
AN 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 Sys-
tem trail maintenance, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 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. 
SEC. 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 hik-
ing, 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 million, and an addi-
tional backlog of $210 million in annual mainte-
nance, 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, threat-
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en 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 Na-
tional Forest System trails, and a comprehensive 
strategy is needed to ensure that volunteers and 
partners are used as effectively as possible. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE
UNIT.—The term ‘‘Ad-
ministrative Unit’’ means a national forest or na-
tional grassland. 
(2) OUTFITTER
OR
GUIDE.—The term ‘‘out-
fitter or guide’’ means an individual, organization, 
or business who provides outfitting or guiding serv-
ices, as defined in section 251.51 of title 36, Code 
of Federal Regulations. 
(3) PARTNER.—The term ‘‘partner’’ means a 
non-Federal entity that engages in a partnership. 
(4) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘partnership’’ 
means arrangements between the Department of Ag-
riculture or the Forest Service and a non-Federal 
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entity that are voluntary, mutually beneficial, and 
entered into for the purpose of mutually agreed-upon 
objectives. 
(5) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’ 
means a well-defined region on National Forest Sys-
tem land selected by the Secretary under section 
5(a). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(7) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘strategy’’ means 
the National Forest System Trails Volunteer and 
Partnership Strategy authorized by section 4(a). 
(8) TRAIL
MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘‘trail 
maintenance’’ means any activity to maintain the 
usability and sustainability of trails within the Na-
tional Forest System, including— 
(A) ensuring trails are passable by the 
users for which they are managed; 
(B) preventing environmental damage re-
sulting from trail deterioration; 
(C) protecting public safety; and 
(D) averting future deferred maintenance 
costs. 
(9) VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘‘volunteer’’ means 
an individual whose services are accepted by the Sec-
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retary without compensation under the Volunteers in 
the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 558a 
et seq.). 
SEC. 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 pub-
lish in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly in-
crease the role of volunteers and partners in trail mainte-
nance. 
(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 volun-
teers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in 
each region of the Forest Service; 
(3) address the barriers to increased vol-
unteerism and partnerships in trail maintenance 
identified by volunteers, partners, and others; 
(4) prioritize increased volunteerism and part-
nerships in trail maintenance in those regions with 
the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where 
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trail maintenance backlogs are jeopardizing access to 
National Forest lands; and 
(5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volun-
teers 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 im-
prove 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 con-
ditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 
(d) VOLUNTEER LIABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Volunteers 
in the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
558c) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(e) For the purposes of subsections (b), (c), and (d), 
the term ‘volunteer’ includes a person providing volunteer 
services to the Secretary who— 
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‘‘(1) is recruited, trained, and supported by a 
cooperator under a mutual benefit agreement with 
the Secretary; and 
‘‘(2) performs such volunteer services under the 
supervision of the cooperator as directed by the Sec-
retary in the mutual benefit agreement, including di-
rection that specifies— 
‘‘(A) the volunteer services to be performed 
by the volunteers and the supervision to be pro-
vided by the cooperator; 
‘‘(B) the applicable project safety stand-
ards and protocols to be adhered to by the vol-
unteers and enforced by the cooperator; and 
‘‘(C) the on-site visits to be made by the 
Secretary, when feasible, to verify that volun-
teers are performing the volunteer services and 
the cooperator is providing the supervision 
agreed upon.’’. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENT.—Not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall adopt regulations imple-
menting this section. These regulations shall ensure 
that the financial risk from claims or liability associ-
ated with volunteers undertaking trail maintenance 
is shared by all administrative units. 
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(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
COORDINA-
TION.—The Secretary shall require each administrative 
unit to develop a volunteer and partner coordination im-
plementation 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 ad-
dressing the trail maintenance backlog; 
(B) the increase in volunteerism and part-
nership 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; 
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(D) the status of the stewardship credits 
for outfitters and guides pilot program de-
scribed 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 pro-
gram; and 
(E) recommendations for further increas-
ing volunteerism and partnerships in trail main-
tenance. 
(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, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Agriculture and the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives. 
SEC. 5. PRIORITY TRAIL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) SELECTION.—In accordance with subsections (b) 
and (c), not later than 6 months after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall se-
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lect no fewer than 9 and no more than 15 priority areas 
for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. 
(b) CRITERIA.—Priority areas shall include a well-de-
fined 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 in-
tended 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 re-
gion of the United States Forest Service. 
(d) INCREASED TRAIL MAINTENANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months of the se-
lection of priority areas under subsection (a), and in 
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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 in-
creased 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 mainte-
nance within each priority area. 
(e) COORDINATION.—The regional volunteer and 
partnership coordinators may be responsible for assisting 
partner organizations in developing and implementing vol-
unteer and partnership projects to increase trail mainte-
nance within priority areas. 
(f) REVISION.—The Secretary shall periodically re-
view the priority areas to determine whether revisions are 
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necessary and may revise the priority areas, including the 
selection of new priority areas or removal of existing pri-
ority areas, at his sole discretion. 
SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a 
cooperative agreement with any State, tribal, local govern-
mental, and private entity to carry out this Act. 
(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. 
SEC. 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 con-
struct, improve, or maintain National Forest System 
trails, trailheads, or developed sites that support public 
use under terms established by the Secretary. 
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(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing 
the pilot program authorized by subsection (a), the Sec-
retary 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 identi-
fied for the trail. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 
2016. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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