An Act to amend the National Trails System Act, and for other purposes.
PL 95-248 (H.R.8803), enacted 03/21/1978

PUBLIC LAW 95-24«—MAR. 21, 1978 
92 STAT. 159 
Public Law 95-248 
95th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the National Trails System Act, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the National 
Trails System Act (82 Stat. 919; 16 U.S.C. 1241), as amended (90 
Stat. 2481; 16 U.S.C. 1244), is further amended as follows: 
(1) Amend section 5(a)(3) to read as follows: 
"(3) The Secretary of the Interior shall establish within sixty days 
of the enactment of this subsection an Advisory Council for the 
Appalachian National Scenic Trail which shall terminate one hun-
dred and twenty months from the date of enactment of this subsec-
tion. The Secretaiy of the Interior shall consult with such Council 
from time to time with respect to matters relating to the Trail, includ-
ing the selection of rights-of-way, standards for the erection and 
maintenance of markers along the Trail, and the administration of 
the Trail. The members of the Advisory Council, which shall not 
exceed thirty-five in number, shall serve for a term of two years 
without compensation as such, but the Secretary may pay, upon 
vouchers signed by the Chairman of the Council, the expenses rea-
sonably incurred by the Council and its members in carrjdng out 
their responsibilities under this section. Members of the Council shall 
be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior as follows : 
"(i) a member appointed to represent each Federal depart-
ment or independent agency administering lands through which 
the Trail route passes and each appointee shall be the person 
designated by the head of such department or agency; 
"(ii) a member appointed to represent each State through 
which the Trail passes and such appointments shall be made from 
the recommendations of the Governors of such States; 
"(iii) one or more members appointed to represent private 
organizations, including corporate and individual landowners 
and land users, that, in the opinion of the Secretary, have an 
established and recognized interest in the Trail and such appoint-
ments shall be made from recommendations of the heads of such 
organizations: Provided., That the Appalachian Trail Confer-
ence shall be represented by a sufficient number of persons to 
represent the various sections of the country through which the 
Appalachian Trail passes; and 
"(iv) the Secretary shall designate one member to be chair-
man and shall fill vacancies in the same manner as the original 
appointment.". 
(2) Amend section 5 by adding the following new subsection (d) : 
"(d) Within two years of the date of enactment of this subsection, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall, after full consultation with the 
Governors of the affected States, the Advisory Council, and the Appa-
lachian Trail Conference, submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives, a comprehensive 
Mar. 21, 1978 
[H.R. 8803] 
National Trails 
System Act, 
amendment. 
Advisory Council 
for the 
Appalachian 
National Scenic 
Trail. 
Establishment; 
termination. 
Membership. 
Appalachian 
Trail, plans for; 
submittal to 
congressional 
committees. 
92 STAT. 160 
PUBLIC LAW 95-248—MAR. 21, 1978 
1 r if-'-.U'jj'ji'' 
16 use 1246. 
Condemnation 
proceedings. 
16 use 1249. 
16 use 460/-4 
note. 
Land acquisition 
program, 
completion time. 
Information to 
congressional 
committees. 
plan for the management, acquisition, development, and use of the 
Appalachian Trail, including but not limited to, the following items: 
" (1) specific objectives and practices to be observed in the man-
agement of the Trail, including the identification of all significant 
natural, historical, and cultural resources to be preserved; details 
of anticij)ated cooperative agreements to be consummated with 
other entities; and identification of carrying capacity and use 
. 
patterns of the Trail; 
I 
"(2) an acquisition or protection plan, by fiscal year, for all 
lands to be acquired by fee title or lesser interest, along with 
detailed explanation of anticipated necessary cooperative agree-
ments for any lands not to be acquired; and 
"(3) general and site-specific development plans, including 
anticipated costs.". 
(3) Amend section 7(d) by changing the colon to a period and by 
deleting the proviso. 
(4) Amend section 7(g) by deleting the first proviso and inserting 
in lieu thereof '''"Provided^ That condemnation proceedings may not be 
utilized to acquire fee title or lesser interests to more than an average 
of one hundred and twenty-five acres per mile:". 
(5) Amend section 10, by adding at the end thereof the following: 
"From the appropriations authorized for fiscal year 1979 and succeed-
ing fiscal years pursuant to the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
Act (78 Stat. 897), as amended, not more than the following amounts 
may be expended for the acquisition of lands and interests in lands 
authorized to be acquired pursuant to the provisions of this Act: 
"(a)(1) The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, not to exceed 
$30,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and 
$30,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, except that the difference between the 
foregoing amounts and the actual appropriations in any one fiscal 
year shall be available for appropriation in the subsequent fiscal year. 
It is the express intent of the Congress that the Secretary should sub-
stantially complete the land acquisition program necessary to insure 
the protection of the Trail within three complete fiscal years following 
the date of enactment of this sentence. Until the entire acquisition 
program is completed, he shall transmit in writing at the close of 
each fiscal year the following information to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate and to the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives: 
" (A) the amount of land acquired during the fiscal year and 
the amount expended therefor; 
"(B) the estimated amount of land remaining to be acquired; 
and 
" (C) the amount of land planned for acquisition in the ensuing 
fiscal year and the estimated cost thereof. 
^. \ 
PUBLIC LAW 95-24«—MAR. 21, 1978 
92 STAT. 161 
"(2) Until the entire acquisition program is completed, the Report to 
Appalachian Trail Conference shall transmit a report at the close of congressional 
each fiscal year to the Committee on Energy and Natural Eesources committees, 
of the Senate and to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 
of the House of Representatives which shall include but not be limited 
to comments on— 
"(A) the manner in which negotiations for the acquisition 
program are being conducted for every section of the Trail; 
i V 
"(B) the attitudes of the landowners with whom negotiations 
have been undertaken; and 
"(C) whether in any case larger interests in land are being 
acquired than are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
, 
" (b) For the purposes of Public Law 95^2 (91 Stat. 211), the lands 
and interests therein acquired pursuant to this section shall be deemed 
to qualify for funding under the provisions of section 1, clause 2, of 
saidActA 
& 
x- 
16USC460/-7. 
Approved March 21, 1978. 
I -* 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
^ 
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-734 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 95-636 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 123 (1977): Oct. 25, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 124 (1978): Feb. 22, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Mar. 7, House concurred in Senate amendment. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS: 
Vol. 14, No. 12 (1978): Mar. 22, Presidential statement. 
V'fi