[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 845 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.845

                     One Hundred Fourteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
           the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen


                                 An Act


 
    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal 
Register a strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and 
  partners in National Forest System trail maintenance, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Forest 
System Trails Stewardship Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. National forest system trails volunteer and partnership 
          strategy.
Sec. 5. Priority trail maintenance program.
Sec. 6. Cooperative agreements.
Sec. 7. Stewardship credits for outfitters and guides.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds as follows:
        (1) The National Forest System features a world-class trail 
    system with over 157,000 miles of trails that provide world-class 
    opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, mountain 
    bicycling, motorized vehicles, and other outdoor activities.
        (2) According to the Government Accountability Office, the 
    Forest Service is only able to maintain about one-quarter of 
    National Forest System trails to the agency standard, and the 
    agency faces a trail maintenance backlog of $314 million, and an 
    additional backlog of $210 million in annual maintenance, capital 
    improvements, and operations.
        (3) The lack of maintenance on National Forest System trails 
    threatens access to public lands, and may cause increased 
    environmental damage, threaten public safety, and increase future 
    maintenance costs.
        (4) Federal budget limitations require solutions to National 
    Forest System trail maintenance issues that make more efficient use 
    of existing resources.
        (5) Volunteers, partners, and outfitters and guides play an 
    important role in maintaining National Forest System trails, and a 
    comprehensive strategy is needed to ensure that volunteers and 
    partners are used as effectively as possible.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Administrative unit.--The term ``Administrative Unit'' 
    means a national forest or national grassland.
        (2) Outfitter or guide.--The term ``outfitter or guide'' means 
    an individual, organization, or business who provides outfitting or 
    guiding services, as defined in section 251.51 of title 36, Code of 
    Federal Regulations.
        (3) Partner.--The term ``partner'' means a non-Federal entity 
    that engages in a partnership.
        (4) Partnership.--The term ``partnership'' means arrangements 
    between the Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service and a 
    non-Federal entity that are voluntary, mutually beneficial, and 
    entered into for the purpose of mutually agreed-upon objectives.
        (5) Priority area.--The term ``priority area'' means a well-
    defined region on National Forest System land selected by the 
    Secretary under section 5(a).
        (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    Agriculture.
        (7) Strategy.--The term ``strategy'' means the National Forest 
    System Trails Volunteer and Partnership Strategy authorized by 
    section 4(a).
        (8) Trail maintenance.--The term ``trail maintenance'' means 
    any activity to maintain the usability and sustainability of trails 
    within the National Forest System, including--
            (A) ensuring trails are passable by the users for which 
        they are managed;
            (B) preventing environmental damage resulting from trail 
        deterioration;
            (C) protecting public safety; and
            (D) averting future deferred maintenance costs.
        (9) Volunteer.--The term ``volunteer'' means an individual 
    whose services are accepted by the Secretary without compensation 
    under the Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
    558a et seq.).
SEC. 4. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM TRAILS VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP 
STRATEGY.
    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 
Register a strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers 
and partners in trail maintenance.
    (b) Required Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) 
shall--
        (1) augment and support the capabilities of Federal employees 
    to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance;
        (2) provide meaningful opportunities for volunteers and 
    partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the 
    Forest Service;
        (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and 
    partnerships in trail maintenance identified by volunteers, 
    partners, and others;
        (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in trail 
    maintenance in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance 
    needs, and where trail maintenance backlogs are jeopardizing access 
    to National Forest lands; and
        (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and 
    partners by 100 percent by the date that is 5 years after the date 
    of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Additional Requirement.--As a component of the strategy, the 
Secretary shall study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by 
addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance 
activities in a manner that does not jeopardize firefighting 
capabilities, public safety, or resource protection. Upon a 
determination that trail maintenance would be advanced by use of fire 
crews in trail maintenance, the Secretary shall incorporate these 
proposals into the strategy, subject to such terms and conditions as 
the Secretary determines to be necessary.
    (d) Volunteer Liability.--
        (1) In general.--Section 3 of the Volunteers in the National 
    Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 558c) is amended by adding at the 
    end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) For the purposes of subsections (b), (c), and (d), the term 
`volunteer' includes a person providing volunteer services to the 
Secretary who--
        ``(1) is recruited, trained, and supported by a cooperator 
    under a mutual benefit agreement with the Secretary; and
        ``(2) performs such volunteer services under the supervision of 
    the cooperator as directed by the Secretary in the mutual benefit 
    agreement, including direction that specifies--
            ``(A) the volunteer services to be performed by the 
        volunteers and the supervision to be provided by the 
        cooperator;
            ``(B) the applicable project safety standards and protocols 
        to be adhered to by the volunteers and enforced by the 
        cooperator; and
            ``(C) the on-site visits to be made by the Secretary, when 
        feasible, to verify that volunteers are performing the 
        volunteer services and the cooperator is providing the 
        supervision agreed upon.''.
        (2) Additional requirement.--Not later than 2 years after the 
    date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall adopt 
    regulations implementing this section. These regulations shall 
    ensure that the financial risk from claims or liability associated 
    with volunteers undertaking trail maintenance is shared by all 
    administrative units.
    (e) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the strategy in 
consultation with volunteer and partner trail maintenance 
organizations, a broad array of outdoor recreation stakeholders, and 
other relevant stakeholders.
    (f) Volunteer and Partnership Coordination.--The Secretary shall 
require each administrative unit to develop a volunteer and partner 
coordination implementation plan for the strategy which clearly defines 
roles and responsibilities for the administrative unit and district 
staff, and includes strategies to ensure sufficient coordination, 
assistance, and support for volunteers and partners to improve trail 
maintenance.
    (g) Report.--
        (1) Contents.--The Secretary shall prepare a report on--
            (A) the effectiveness of the strategy in addressing the 
        trail maintenance backlog;
            (B) the increase in volunteerism and partnership efforts on 
        trail maintenance as a result of the strategy;
            (C) the miles of National Forest System trails maintained 
        by volunteers and partners, and the approximate value of the 
        volunteer and partnership efforts;
            (D) the status of the stewardship credits for outfitters 
        and guides pilot program described in section 7 that includes 
        the number of participating sites, total amount of the credits 
        offered, estimated value of trail maintenance performed, and 
        suggestions for revising the program; and
            (E) recommendations for further increasing volunteerism and 
        partnerships in trail maintenance.
        (2) Submission.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
    enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit the report 
    required by paragraph (1) to--
            (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
        and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
        Senate; and
            (B) the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on 
        Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 5. PRIORITY TRAIL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
    (a) Selection.--In accordance with subsections (b) and (c), not 
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall select no fewer than 9 and no more than 
15 priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments.
    (b) Criteria.--Priority areas shall include a well-defined region 
on National Forest System land where the lack of trail maintenance 
has--
        (1) reduced access to public land;
        (2) led to an increase, or risk of increase, in harm to natural 
    resources;
        (3) jeopardized public safety;
        (4) resulted in trails being impassible by the intended managed 
    users; or
        (5) increased future deferred trail maintenance costs.
    (c) Requirements.--In selecting priority areas, the Secretary 
shall--
        (1) consider any public input on priority areas received within 
    3 months of the date of enactment of this Act;
        (2) consider the range of trail users (including motorized and 
    non-motorized trail users); and
        (3) include at least one priority area in each region of the 
    United States Forest Service.
    (d) Increased Trail Maintenance.--
        (1) In general.--Within 6 months of the selection of priority 
    areas under subsection (a), and in accordance with paragraph (2), 
    the Secretary shall develop an approach to substantially increase 
    trail maintenance accomplishments within each priority area.
        (2) Contents.--In developing the approach under paragraph (1), 
    the Secretary shall--
            (A) consider any public input on trail maintenance 
        priorities and needs within any priority area;
            (B) consider the costs and benefits of increased trail 
        maintenance within each priority area; and
            (C) incorporate partners and volunteers in the trail 
        maintenance.
        (3) Required trail maintenance.--Utilizing the approach 
    developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall substantially 
    increase trail maintenance within each priority area.
    (e) Coordination.--The regional volunteer and partnership 
coordinators may be responsible for assisting partner organizations in 
developing and implementing volunteer and partnership projects to 
increase trail maintenance within priority areas.
    (f) Revision.--The Secretary shall periodically review the priority 
areas to determine whether revisions are necessary and may revise the 
priority areas, including the selection of new priority areas or 
removal of existing priority areas, at his sole discretion.
SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.
    (a) In General.--The Secretary may enter into a cooperative 
agreement with any State, tribal, local governmental, and private 
entity to carry out this Act.
    (b) Contents.--Cooperative agreements authorized under this section 
may--
        (1) improve trail maintenance in a priority area;
        (2) implement the strategy; or
        (3) advance trail maintenance in a manner deemed appropriate by 
    the Secretary.
SEC. 7. STEWARDSHIP CREDITS FOR OUTFITTERS AND GUIDES.
    (a) Pilot Program.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, in accordance with this section, the Secretary shall 
establish a pilot program on not less than 20 administrative units to 
offset all or part of the land use fee for an outfitting and guiding 
permit by the cost of the work performed by the permit holder to 
construct, improve, or maintain National Forest System trails, 
trailheads, or developed sites that support public use under terms 
established by the Secretary.
    (b) Additional Requirements.--In establishing the pilot program 
authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
        (1) select administrative units where the pilot program will 
    improve trail maintenance; and
        (2) establish appropriate terms and conditions, including 
    meeting National Quality Standards for Trails and the Trail 
    Management Objectives identified for the trail.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.