II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 974 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 28, 2005 Mr. Allard introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the National Trails System Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the System, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as National Trails System Willing Seller Act.

2.

Authority to acquire lands from willing sellers for certain trails

(a)

Oregon national historic trail

Section 5(a)(3) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail.. (b)

Mormon pioneer national historic trail

Section 5(a)(4) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail.. (c)

Continental divide national scenic trail

Section 5(a)(5) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail.. (d)

Lewis and clark national historic trail

Section 5(a)(6) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(6)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail.. (e)

Iditarod national historic trail

Section 5(a)(7) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail.. (f)

North country national scenic trail

Section 5(a)(8) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(8)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof.. (g)

Ice age national scenic trail

Section 5(a)(10) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(10)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof.. (h)

Potomac heritage national scenic trail

Section 5(a)(11) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof.. (i)

Nez perce national historic trail

Section 5(a)(14) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(14)) is amended by adding at the end the following: No lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any Federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail except with the consent of the owner thereof. The authority of the Federal government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an average of not more than one-quarter mile on either side of the trail..

3.

Conforming amendment

Section 10(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1249(c)) is amended to read as follows: (c)(1)Except as otherwise provided in this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Act relating to the trails designated by section 5(a). (2)Not more than $500,000 may be appropriated for the purposes of land acquisition and interests therein for the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail designated by section 5(a)(12) of this Act, and not more than $2,000,000 may be appropriated for the purposes of the development of such trail. The administering agency for the trail shall encourage volunteer trail groups to participate in the development of the trail. .