[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 845 Received in Senate (RDS)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 845
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27, 2016
Received
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 2016.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.