[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3749-H3751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BENTON MACKAYE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY ACT OF 2026

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2768) to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the 
Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study on the feasibility of 
designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2768

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Benton MacKaye National 
     Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2026''.

[[Page H3750]]

  


     SEC. 2. BENTON MACKAYE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL FEASIBILITY 
                   STUDY.

       Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(50) Benton mackaye trail.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Benton MacKaye Trail, a scenic, 
     nonmotorized trail that traverses approximately 287 miles in 
     the States of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
       ``(B) Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Agriculture, in 
     consultation with interested organizations, including the 
     Benton MacKaye Trail Association, shall complete and submit 
     to Congress the feasibility study for designating the Benton 
     MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. 
Stansbury) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to add 
extraneous material on H.R. 2786.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2768, the Benton MacKaye 
National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2026, sponsored by 
Representative Fleischmann.
  Named after the American forester who envisioned the Appalachian 
Trail, the Benton MacKaye Trail, or BMT for short, is a roughly 280-
mile backcountry trail that extends across Georgia, Tennessee, and 
North Carolina.
  Beginning at Springer Mountain in northern Georgia, the BMT crosses 
several national forests and ultimately connects with the Appalachian 
Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Approximately 95 percent 
of the trail is on land managed by the Forest Service or the National 
Park Service.
  H.R. 2768 authorizes a study to evaluate the feasibility of 
designating the BMT as a National Scenic Trail. There are currently 11 
National Scenic Trails across the country. These routes generally 
extend 100 miles or more, are primarily nonmotorized, and offer 
exceptional recreational opportunities. This legislation will evaluate 
the BMT to ensure that it meets the criteria for designation as a 
National Scenic Trail before any designation is made. Importantly, this 
bill will not add any land to the Federal estate, and any designation 
of the BMT would require a separate act of Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Representative Fleischmann for his 
bipartisan work on this effort. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
2768, and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1450

  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2768 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture 
to study the feasibility of designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a 
National Scenic Trail.
  This study is the first step toward securing a well-deserved national 
designation for this historic ``sister trail'' of the Appalachian 
Trail.
  Honoring the legacy of Benton MacKaye, the visionary regional planner 
who first proposed the Appalachian Trail and cofounded The Wilderness 
Society, the Benton MacKaye Trail spans nearly 300 miles across 
Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, running through some of the 
most treasured national landscapes, including 93 miles within the Great 
Smoky Mountains National Park.
  This is exactly the type of trail meant for this official designation 
under the National Trails System Act, and it is encouraging to see 
bipartisan enthusiasm for the potential of expanding this system.
  I recognize and thank Representative Cohen, who was the former 
sponsor of this bill, for his leadership and dedication to this issue.
  I am strongly supportive of efforts to designate new trails and 
expand the conservation of our public lands. As we navigate the 
escalating biodiversity and climate crises, protecting these natural 
spaces and ensuring public access and recreation is more critical than 
ever. It is my sincere hope that we will work more frequently together 
on a bipartisan basis to pass conservation efforts just like this one 
moving forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann), the lead sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. The Benton MacKaye Trail 
runs approximately 287 miles from Springer Mountain in north Georgia 
through east Tennessee and western North Carolina into the Great Smoky 
Mountains National Park, ending in Big Creek in the northeast corner of 
the park.
  The Benton MacKaye Trail provides numerous opportunities for easy, 
moderate, and challenging day hikes, many routes for multiday 
backpacking and camping, and of course, for the most serious hikers, 
end-to-end hikes.
  More than 200 volunteers do maintenance work on the trail each year, 
generating approximately 8,000 hours of volunteer maintenance annually.
  It offers quite an alternative to the heavily used section of the 
Appalachian Trail from north Georgia to the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park.
  Congress has not designated a new National Scenic Trail since 2009. 
This trail is long overdue for that recognition.
  The feasibility study is the next step. It is a low-cost, low-
footprint measure. The trail is already on Federal land for about 95 
percent of its length and would be administered by the Forest Service. 
This is bipartisan legislation that passed committee with unanimous 
consent.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this great bill.
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Stansbury for yielding, and I 
appreciate her mentioning me in her remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I was the original sponsor of this bill, and I am happy 
that Mr. Fleischmann, whose district is much closer to it and probably 
encompasses part of it, accepted the proud sponsorship that has got it 
to this point.
  The Benton MacKaye Trail is a beautiful and long trail. It is the 
longest trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It overlaps 
the Appalachian Trail at six separate points and passes through three 
national forests. It would be a good idea for the Federal Government to 
make this a national trail, and this just sets up the study.
  It is good work on Mr. Fleischmann's part to get the study 
considered. Hopefully, the study will come up with the right answer, 
which is yes to the trail and take care of it.
  North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee all have parts in the trail, 
and a lot of residents from Chattanooga, Knoxville, Asheville, and 
Atlanta visit for camping and adventures. I am pleased to be a 
cosponsor and appreciate that.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, once again, I commend Representative Fleischmann and 
Representative Cohen for their leadership on behalf of Mr. 
Fleischmann's constituents. This legislation initiates an important 
process to evaluate a prominent trail in the South for potential 
designation as a National Scenic Trail.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2768, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.

[[Page H3751]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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