National Discovery Trails Act
Bill: S.4693 | Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. (D-DE)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
National Discovery Trails Act
This bill amends the National Trails System Act to include national discovery trails as part of the national trails system. Such trails (1) shall be extended, continuous, interstate trails located to provide for outstanding outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities; (2) shall provide for the conservation and enjoyment of significant natural, cultural, and historic resources and be so located as to represent metropolitan, urban, rural, and back country regions of the Nation; and (3) may be designated on federal lands and, with the owner's consent, on nonfederal lands.
The 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, splitting into northern and southern routes near Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoining at Denver, Colorado, is designated as a national discovery trail.
The bill sets forth requirements for designation of a trail as a national discovery trail.
The appropriate federal department for each national discovery trail shall (1) administer the trail in cooperation with at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the trail's protection, management, development, and use.

To amend the National Trails System Act to include national discovery 
   trails and designate the American Discovery Trail, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Discovery Trails Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a) National Discovery Trails.--Section 3(a) of the National Trails 
System Act (16 U.S.C. 1242(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph 
(4) the following:
            ``(5) National discovery trails, established under section 
        5, which--
                    ``(A) shall be extended, continuous, interstate 
                trails so located as to provide for outstanding outdoor 
                recreation and travel and to connect representative 
                examples of America's trails and communities;
                    ``(B) should provide for the conservation and 
                enjoyment of significant natural, cultural, and 
                historic resources associated with each trail and 
                should be so located as to represent metropolitan, 
                urban, rural, and back country regions of the Nation;
                    ``(C) may be designated on Federal lands and, with 
                the consent of the owner thereof, on any non-Federal 
                lands; and
                    ``(D) shall not be construed to modify, enlarge, or 
                diminish any authority of the Federal, State, or local 
                governments to regulate any use of land as provided for 
                by law or regulation.''.
    (b) Designation of the American Discovery Trail as a National 
Discovery Trail.--Section 5(a) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(__) The American Discovery Trail, a trail of 
        approximately 6,000 miles extending from Cape Henlopen State 
        Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in 
        California, extending westward through Delaware, Maryland, the 
        District of Columbia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, where 
        near Cincinnati it splits into two routes. The Northern Midwest 
        route traverses Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and 
        Colorado, and the Southern Midwest route traverses Indiana, 
        Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. After the two routes 
        rejoin in Denver, Colorado, the route continues through 
        Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. The trail is generally 
        described in Volume 2 of the National Park Service feasibility 
        study dated June 1995 which shall be on file and available for 
        public inspection in the office of the Director of the National 
        Park Service, Department of the Interior, the District of 
        Columbia. The American Discovery Trail shall be administered by 
        the Secretary of the Interior in cooperation with at least one 
        competent trailwide volunteer-based organization and other 
        affected Federal land managing agencies, and State and local 
        governments, as appropriate. No lands or interests outside the 
        exterior boundaries of federally administered areas may be 
        acquired by the Federal Government solely for the American 
        Discovery Trail. The provisions of sections 7(e), 7(f), and 
        7(g) shall not apply to the American Discovery Trail.''.
    (c) Comprehensive National Discovery Trail Plan.--Section 7 of such 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1246) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l)(1) For purposes of subsection (5)(b), a trail shall not be 
considered feasible and desirable for designation as a national 
discovery trail unless it meets all of the following criteria:
            ``(A) The trail must link one or more areas within the 
        boundaries of a metropolitan area (as those boundaries are 
        determined under section 134(c) of title 23, United States 
        Code). It should also join with other trails, connecting the 
        National Trails System to significant recreation and resources 
        areas.
            ``(B) The trail must be supported by at least one competent 
        trailwide volunteer-based organization. Each trail should have 
        extensive local and trailwide support by the public, by user 
        groups, and by affected State and local governments.
            ``(C) The trail must be extended and pass through more than 
        one State. At a minimum, it should be a continuous, walkable 
        route.
    ``(2) The appropriate Secretary for each national discovery trail 
shall administer the trail in cooperation with at least one competent 
trailwide volunteer-based organization. Where the designation of 
discovery trail is aligned with other units of the National Trails 
System, or State or local trails, the designation of a discovery trail 
shall not affect the protections or authorities provided for the other 
trail or trails, nor shall the designation of a discovery trail 
diminish the values and significance for which those trails were 
established. Not later than three complete fiscal years after the date 
of the enactment of any law designating a national discovery trail, the 
appropriate Secretary shall submit a comprehensive plan for the 
protection, management, development, and use of the trail, to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the United States Senate. The responsible Secretary shall ensure that 
the comprehensive plan for the entire trail does not conflict with 
existing agency direction and shall consult with the affected land 
managing agencies, the Governors of the affected States, affected 
county and local political jurisdictions, and local organizations 
maintaining components of the trail. Components of the comprehensive 
plan include--
            ``(A) policies and practices to be observed in the 
        administration and management of the trail, including the 
        identification of all significant natural, historical, and 
        cultural resources to be preserved, model agreements necessary 
        for joint trail administration among and between interested 
        parties, and an identified carrying capacity for critical 
        segments of the trail and a plan for their implementation where 
        appropriate;
            ``(B) general and site-specific trail-related development 
        including costs; and
            ``(C) the process to be followed by the volunteer-based 
        organization, in cooperation with the appropriate Secretary, to 
        implement the trail marking authorities in subsection (c) 
        conforming to approved trail logo or emblem requirements. 
        Nothing in this Act may be construed to impose or permit the 
        imposition on any landowner on the use of any non-Federal lands 
        without the consent of the owner thereof. Neither the 
        designation of a national discovery trail nor any plan relating 
        thereto shall affect or be considered in the granting or denial 
        of a right of way or any conditions relating thereto.''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    The National Trails System Act is amended--
            (1) in section 2(b) (16 U.S.C. 1241(b)), by striking 
        ``scenic and historic'' and inserting ``scenic, historic, and 
        discovery'';
            (2) in the section heading to section 5 (16 U.S.C. 1244), 
        by striking ``and national historic'' and inserting ``, 
        national historic, and national discovery'';
            (3) in section 5(a) (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)), in the matter 
        preceding paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and national historic'' and 
                inserting ``, national historic, and national 
                discovery''; and
                    (B) by striking ``and National Historic'' and 
                inserting ``, National Historic, and National 
                Discovery'';
            (4) in section 5(b) (16 U.S.C. 1244(b)), in the matter 
        preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``or national historic'' 
        and inserting ``, national historic, or national discovery'';
            (5) in section 5(b)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1244(b)(3)), by striking 
        ``or national historic'' and inserting ``, national historic, 
        or national discovery'';
            (6) in section 7(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1246(a)(2)), by striking 
        ``and national historic'' and inserting ``, national historic, 
        and national discovery'';
            (7) in section 7(b) (16 U.S.C. 1246(b)), by striking ``or 
        national historic'' each place such term appears and inserting 
        ``, national historic, or national discovery'';
            (8) in section 7(c) (16 U.S.C. 1246(c))--
                    (A) by striking ``scenic or national historic'' 
                each place it appears and inserting ``scenic, national 
                historic, or national discovery'';
                    (B) in the second proviso, by striking ``scenic, or 
                national historic'' and inserting ``scenic, national 
                historic, or national discovery''; and
                    (C) by striking ``, and national historic'' and 
                inserting ``, national historic, and national 
                discovery'';
            (9) in section 7(d) (16 U.S.C. 1246(d)), by striking ``or 
        national historic'' and inserting ``national historic, or 
        national discovery'';
            (10) in section 7(e) (16 U.S.C. 1246(e)), by striking ``or 
        national historic'' each place such term appears and inserting 
        ``, national historic, or national discovery'';
            (11) in section 7(f)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1246(f)(2)), by striking 
        ``National Scenic or Historic Trail'' and inserting ``national 
        scenic, historic, or discovery trail'';
            (12) in section 7(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1246(h)(1)), by striking 
        ``or national historic'' and inserting ``national historic, or 
        national discovery''; and
            (13) in section 7(i) (16 U.S.C. 1246(i)), by striking ``or 
        national historic'' and inserting ``national historic, or 
        national discovery''.
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