I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5926 
To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Pacific Northwest 
National Scenic Trail. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2008 
Mr. DICKS (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. INSLEE, and Mr. 
MCDERMOTT) 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 
Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Northwest Na-
tional Scenic Trail Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) in accordance with section 5(c)(22) of the 
National 
Trails 
System 
Act 
(16 
U.S.C. 
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1244(c)(22)), a feasibility study of the proposed Pa-
cific Northwest Trail was— 
(A) conducted by the Director of the Na-
tional Park Service and the Chief of the Forest 
Service; and 
(B) completed in June 1980; 
(2) the feasibility study contained— 
(A) a conclusion that the Pacific North-
west Trail ‘‘would have the scenic and rec-
reational qualities needed for designation as a 
National Scenic Trail’’; but 
(B) a recommendation against the designa-
tion of the Pacific Northwest Trail, citing as 
obstacles factors that are present in every other 
national scenic trail that has been designated 
under the National Trails System Act (16 
U.S.C. 1241 et seq.); 
(3) undaunted, the founder of the Pacific 
Northwest Trail and many supporters— 
(A) moved forward with the creation of the 
Pacific Northwest Trail; and 
(B) established a private volunteer organi-
zation to build, maintain, and promote the Pa-
cific Northwest Trail; 
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(4) similar to each other national scenic trail 
designated under the National Trails System Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.), the Pacific Northwest 
Trail stands as an outstanding example of the rec-
reational opportunities that can be provided through 
a partnership among the Federal Government, State 
and local governments, private nonprofit trail orga-
nizations, individual volunteers, and landowners; 
(5) today, approximately 950 miles of the Pa-
cific Northwest Trail are completed and provide sig-
nificant outdoor recreational experiences to citizens 
and visitors of the United States, thus providing on- 
the-ground proof of the feasibility and desirability of 
designating the Pacific Northwest Trail as a na-
tional scenic trail, as required under section 5(b) of 
the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
1244(b)); 
(6) three segments of the Pacific Northwest 
Trail have already been designated by Congress as 
national recreation trails; and 
(7) because the entire route of the Pacific 
Northwest Trail was found to qualify for designation 
as a national scenic trail, Congress should— 
(A) designate the entire Pacific Northwest 
Trail as a national scenic trail; and 
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(B) provide administrative, technical, and 
financial assistance in accordance with the Na-
tional Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et 
seq.). 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL 
SCENIC TRAIL. 
Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 
U.S.C. 1244(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(26) PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL SCENIC 
TRAIL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Pacific Northwest 
National Scenic Trail, a trail of approximately 
1,200 miles, extending from the Continental Di-
vide in Glacier National Park, Montana, to the 
Pacific Ocean Coast in Olympic National Park, 
Washington, following the route depicted on the 
map entitled ‘Pacific Northwest National Scenic 
Trail: Proposed Trail’, numbered T12/80,000, 
and dated February 2008 (referred to in this 
paragraph as the ‘map’). 
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY
OF
MAP.—The map 
shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in the appropriate offices of the National 
Park Service. 
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‘‘(C) 
ADMINISTRATION.—The 
Pacific 
Northwest National Scenic Trail shall be ad-
ministered by the Secretary of the Interior. 
‘‘(D) LAND
ACQUISITION.—The United 
States shall not acquire for tide Pacific North-
west National Scenic Trail any land or interest 
in land outside the exterior boundary of any 
federally managed area without the consent of 
the owner of the land or interest in land.’’. 
Æ 
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