[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.