[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1069 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1069

        Entitled the ``National Discovery Trails Act of 1997''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 1997

  Mr. Murkowski (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        Entitled the ``National Discovery Trails Act of 1997''.

    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 of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT AMENDMENTS.

    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 as provided in 
        section 5, which will 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. National discovery trails 
        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.''. Any such trail may be designated on federal 
        lands and, with the consent of the owner thereof, on any non 
        federal lands: Provided, That such consent may be revoked at 
        any time. The Congress does not intend for the establishment of 
        a National Discovery Trail to lead to the creation of 
        protective perimeters or buffer zones adjacent to a National 
        Discovery Trail. The fact that there may be activities or uses 
        on lands adjacent to the trail that would not be permitted on 
        the trail shall not preclude such activities or uses on such 
        lands adjacent to the trail to the extent consistent with other 
        applicable law.
    (2) Feasibility Requirements; Cooperative Management Requirement.--
Section 5 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(g)(1) For purposes of subsection (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 a competent trailwide 
        nonprofit 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 not including any non-federal property for which the 
        owner had not provided consent for inclusion and use.
    ``(2) The appropriate Secretary for each national discovery trail 
shall administer the trail in cooperation with a competent trailwide 
nonprofit organization.''.
    (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--
            (1) by re-designating the paragraph relating to the 
        California National Historic Trail as paragraph (18);
            (2) by re-designating the paragraph relating to the Pony 
        Express National Historic Trail as paragraph (19); and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(20) 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 a competent 
        trailwide nonprofit organization and other affected land 
        managing agencies. 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. 
        This trail is specifically exempted from the provisions of 
        sections 7(e), 7(f), and 7(g).''
    (c) Comprehensive National Discovery Trail Plan.--Section 5 of such 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(h) Within three complete fiscal years after the date of 
enactment of any law designating a national discovery trail, the 
administering Federal agency shall, in cooperation with a comprehensive 
plan for the protection, management, development, and use of the 
federal portions of the trail, and provide technical assistance to 
states and local units of government and private landowners, as 
requested, for non-federal portions of the trail, to the Committee on 
Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate. 
The Secretary shall ensure that the comprehensive plan for the entire 
trail does not conflict with any existing agency direction and that the 
nonprofit organization consults with affected land managing agencies, 
the Governors of the affected States, county and local political 
jurisdictions, and local organizations maintaining components of the 
trail. Mandatory components of the comprehensive plan include--
            ``(1) specific objectives 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 of the trail and a 
        plan for its implementation;
            ``(2) general and site-specific development plans including 
        anticipated costs; and
            ``(3) the process to be followed by the nonprofit 
        organization, in cooperation with the appropriate Secretary, to 
        implement the trial marking authorities in section 7(c) 
        conforming to approved trail logo or emblem requirements.''. 
        Nothing in this Act may be construed to impose or permit the 
        imposition of any landowner on the use of any non federal lands 
        without the consent of the owner thereof, which consent may be 
        revoked at any time. 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'' 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''.
                                 <all>