[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 734 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                 S. 734


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 2000

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
          Entitled ``National Discovery Trails Act of 1999''.

    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 
1999''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a)(1) 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.''.
    (2) Feasibility Requirements; Cooperative Management Requirement.--
Section 5(b) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) 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 at least one 
                competent trailwide volunteer-based organization. Each 
                trail should have extensive local and trailwide support 
                by the public, by users 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.
            ``(13) 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.''.
    (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);
            (3) by re-designating the paragraph relating to the Selma 
        to Montgomery National Historic Trail as paragraph (20); and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) 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 5 of such 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(g) Within three complete fiscal years after the date of 
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 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--
            ``(1) 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;
            ``(2) general and site-specific trail-related development 
        including costs; and
            ``(3) the process to be followed by the volunteer-based 
        organization, in cooperation with the appropriate Secretary, to 
        implement the trail 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. 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''.

            Passed the Senate November 19, 1999.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.