[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 845 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 845

   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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2015

 Mrs. Lummis (for herself and Mr. Walz) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
  the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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 $314,000,000, and 
        an additional backlog of $210,000,000 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'' has the same meaning 
        given that term in section 553.101 of title 29, Code of Federal 
        Regulations.

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(d) of the Volunteers in the 
        National Forests Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 558c(d)) is amended by 
        inserting ``, including a volunteer affiliated with a partner 
        organization,'' after ``this Act''.
            (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 (within the meaning of chapter 63 of title 31, United States 
Code) 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.
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