[Senate Report 107-276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 595
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-276
======================================================================



 
               NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM WILLING SELLER ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 12, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1069]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1069) to amend the National Trails System 
Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition 
from willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the 
System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 2, line 13, strike ``area.'' and insert ``area, 
including the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age 
National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic 
Trail.''.
    2. On page 2, line 14, strike ``these nine trails'' and 
insert ``the North Country National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age 
National Scenic Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic 
Trail''.
    3. Beginning on page 3, line 15 strike all that follows 
through the end of the bill and insert the following:

    ``(a) Limited Acquisition Authority.--
          ``(1) North country national scenic trail.--Section 
        5(a)(8) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1244(a)(8)) is amended by adding at the end: ``No lands 
        or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of 
        any federally administered area may be acquired by the 
        Federal government for the trail except with the 
        consent of the owner thereof.''.
          ``(2) Ice age national scenic trail.--Section 
        5(a)(10) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1244(a)(10)) is amended by adding at the end: ``No 
        lands or interests therein outside the exterior 
        boundaries of any federally administered area may be 
        acquired by the Federal government for the trail except 
        with the consent of the owner thereof.''.
          ``(3) Potomac heritage national scenic trail.--
        Section 5(a)(11) of the National Trails System Act (16 
        U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)) is amended by adding at the end: 
        ``No lands or interests therein outside the exterior 
        boundaries of any federally administered area may be 
        acquired by the Federal government for the trail except 
        with the consent of the owner thereof.''.
    ``(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 10(c)(1) of the 
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1249(c)(1)) is amended by 
striking ``the North Country National Scenic Trail, The Ice Age 
National Scenic Trail.''.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1069, as ordered reported, is to amend 
the National Trails System Act to provide Federal land 
acquisition authority from willing sellers for the North 
Country, Ice Age and Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trails.

                          Background and Need

    Congress enacted the National Trails System Act in 1968 to 
provide for the increasing outdoor recreation needs and to 
promote the preservation of outdoor areas and historic 
resources of the Nation by instituting a national system of 
recreation, scenic and historic trails.
    Most of the 22 national and scenic trails in the system 
provide for Federal acquisition authority to complete the 
trails, in many cases from willing sellers only. There is no 
existing Federal acquisition authority, however, for nine of 
the trails.
    During the late 1970's and early 1980's, proposed new 
national historic and national scenic trails were seen as 
primarily commemorative with no need for acquisition authority. 
In addition, some supporters of the trails did not believe 
their Federal partners would need acquisition authority to 
complete their proposed trails.
    As a result, amendments to the National Trails System Act 
between 1978 and 1983 banned the use of federal funds for any 
trail corridor outside Federal boundaries for nine trails.
    In the absence of willing seller acquisition authority, 
federal trail managers are unable to purchase lands or 
easements to protect trails when development threatens 
important links in the landscapes of the national scenic or 
historic trails. In some cases, sections of the trails can be 
moved from roads and critical historic sites can be preserved 
through willing seller authority.
    As ordered reported, S. 1069 would enable the Federal 
Government to acquire lands from willing sellers for three of 
the affected trails in the System: the North Country National 
Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the 
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1069 was introduced by Senators Levin, Kohl, Feingold, 
Schumer, Johnson, and Stabenow on June 20, 2001. Companion 
legislation, H.R. 834, was introduced by Representatives 
McInnis on March 1, 2001 and passed the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 409-3 on March 13, 2001. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1069 and 
H.R. 834 on March 7, 2002. At the business meeting on July 31, 
2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 
1069, as amended, favorably reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on July 31, 2002, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1069, if amended as 
described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During the consideration of S. 1069, the Committee adopted 
three amendments. As introduced, the bill would have provided 
Federal acquisition authority, on a willing seller basis, for 
all nine trails lacking such authority. Amendment #3 limits the 
acquisition authority to three of the nine trails: the North 
County National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic 
Trail, and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. 
Amendments #1 and #2 make conforming changes.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``National Trails 
System Willing Seller Act.''
    Section 2 contains congressional findings.
    Section 3 is a Sense of the Congress stating that the 
Secretary with jurisdiction over a national scenic or historic 
trail should cooperate with appropriate State and local 
officials and private persons, and should have sufficient 
authority to purchase lands and interests therein from willing 
sellers.
    Section 4(a) amends section 5(a) of the National Trails 
System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, 
to acquire lands on a willing seller basis for the North County 
National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and 
the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
    Subsection (b) makes a conforming amendment to section 
10(c)(1) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
1249(c)(1)).

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 15, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1069, the National 
Trails System Willing Seller Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 1069--National Trails System Willing Seller Act

    S. 1069 would amend the National Trails System Act to allow 
the federal government to purchase land from willing sellers 
for three national trails. Under current law, the National Park 
Service (NPS) generally is not authorized to spend federal 
funds to acquire land for these trails that is outside of 
existing federal areas such as national parks.
    The costs of implementing S. 1069 are uncertain because the 
NPS has not completed land protection plans for the three 
trails cited in the bill. CBO expects that relatively little 
land along the nearly 5,000 miles composing the three trails 
would be acquired because most land can probably be protected 
in other ways, as it is for other trails in the system. 
Nevertheless, acquisition costs for at least one trail--the 
3,200-mile North Country National Scenic Trail--could exceed 
$100 million, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. 
For the two shorter trails, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail 
and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, CBO expects 
that costs would be much lower. In any case, all acquisition 
funding would be subject to the appropriation of the necessary 
amounts and would probably be spent over a period of several 
years. This estimate is based on information provided by the 
National Park Service.
    S. 1069 would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no 
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1069. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 1069, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee 
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive 
agency recommendations relating to S. 1069 is set forth below:

                        Department of the Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                     Washington, DC, July 29, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the 
Department of the Interior on S. 1069 and H.R. 834, identical 
bills, both of which would amend the National Trails System Act 
to clarify federal authority relating to land acquisition from 
willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the System.
    The Department supports S. 1069 and H.R. 834 with four 
technical amendments to the National Trails System Act included 
at the end of this letter. These bills would amend the National 
Trails System Act to make the act's land protection authorities 
more uniform. It would be impossible to estimate funding 
requirements at this time, as the number of willing sellers is 
unknown and the cost of the land segments for each trail would 
vary due to geographic location. The Administration will 
identify the costs to acquire and maintain the land segments to 
each trail on a case by case basis.
    The National Trails Systems Act was developed by Congress 
principally to offer Federal assistance and support for 
protecting the land base of the Appalachian National Scenic 
Trail. When the act was passed in 1968, both the previously 
existing Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails 
were established as the two initial components of the National 
Trails System and 14 more trails were proposed for study as 
potential additions to the National Trail System. The core 
authorities of the act addressed how to establish nationally 
significant trails.
    Supporters of some of the subsequent trails, such as the 
North Country National Scenic Trail, did not feel that their 
Federal partners would need acquisition authority to complete 
their proposed trails. In addition, national historic trails 
being proposed at that time were seen as primarily 
commemorative with no need for acquisition authority. As a 
result, amendments were added to the National Trails System Act 
between 1978 and 1983 to ban the use of Federal funds for any 
trail corridor outside Federal boundaries for nine of the next 
trails established. This meant that none of these trails, 
including both scenic and historic trails, could complete trail 
authorizations.
    Since 1983, most of the trails established under the 
National Trails System Act have had language similar to the 
following clause: ``No lands or interests therein outside the 
exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be 
acquired by the United States for the Pony Express National 
Historic Trail except with the consent of the owner thereof.'' 
This ``willing seller authority'' provides a workable middle 
ground between the full land acquisition authority used to 
protect the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic 
Trails and the complete ban on acquiring lands for the next 
nine trails added to the system.
    S. 1069 and H.R. 834 would create consistent land 
protection powers, to the degree possible for most of the 
component trails of the National Trails System. These bills are 
supported by a broad coalition of trail organizations across 
America.
    From its beginning, the National Trails System was premised 
on the establishment, operation, and maintenance of national 
trails as a collaborative partnership effort. For land 
protection, specifically, state governments and nonprofit 
partners are encouraged to protect what they can of the 
national trails, with the Federal government embarking on land 
acquisition only as a last resort. Many states assume national 
trail protection to be considered a Federal effort. Further, 
trail nonprofit partners have been encouraged to develop land 
trusts to acquire critical lands, but there has been limited 
success.
    For example, in Wisconsin, an arrangement was set up for 
the Ice Age National Scenic Trail under which the State of 
Wisconsin took the lead in acquiring trail lands, with support 
from the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation and coordination by 
the National Park Service. However, this process has been 
cumbersome and slow while land values have escalated quickly 
near urban areas. Along historic trails, the major means of 
protecting the trail corridor has been through a voluntary 
certification process. These five-year renewable agreements 
between the Federal trail agency and the landowner have enabled 
trail sites and segments to remain in private ownership and use 
with some degree of public access. Such arrangements tend to be 
short term in nature and offer no long-term protection for 
significant sites.
    No national trails other than the Appalachian and Pacific 
Crest National Scenic Trails have land protection plans or pre-
acquisition services (surveys, tract maps, inventories, 
priority lists) because the prohibition on using funds to 
acquire lands also meant that funds could not be expended for 
these activities. This has meant that when landowners wished to 
donate lands for these trails to the Federal government, such 
transactions could not occur.
    There is not a statistical inventory of trail sites and 
properties that have not been protected because of the lack of 
Federal funds for land protection. However, there are instances 
where lack of funding has meant that properties were sold to 
those uninterested in the trail, causing relocations, 
threatening the integrity and continuity of the trail, and in 
the instance of historic trails, threatening the loss of 
irreplaceable resources. Without the ownership mapping and 
other pre-acquisition information in hand, Federal agencies and 
nonprofit partners have been unable to accept donations of 
lands and easements.
    If S. 1069 or H.R. 834 is passed, there will be at least 
five significant benefits for nearby residents and visitors to 
national trail corridors:
    1. More uniform resource protection and protection 
authorities among all the national trails.
    2. A more complete ``tool kit'' for Federal agencies and 
partners to help protect, as Congress intended, the significant 
cultural resources and natural areas associated with America's 
national trails.
    3. Full market value available to landowners who wish to 
sell lands for inclusion in national trails if neither state 
agencies nor nonprofit partners are able to acquire the land.
    4. Increased likelihood of moving dangerous on-road 
sections of national trails to safer, more appropriate off-road 
locations.
    5. Increased protection for historically significant sites 
and segments of national trails.
    The National Park Service has found that administering 
trails with the current limitations on types of land protection 
and with limited means to negotiate directly with landowners 
has meant that many of these trails are little more than 
``paper trails.'' If the National Trails System is to operate 
as a system, certain authorities within the act should be 
applied with consistency. The two national trail designations 
established in 1968 and all of the trails established since 
1983 have had authority to spend Federal funds on lands with 
the consent of the owner. S. 1069 and H.R. 834 strive to apply 
that same principle to the trails established between 1978 and 
1983.
    The existing funding mechanisms for trail corridor 
protection of national trails are not enough to ensure that the 
trails will ever be completed or fully operational. Passage of 
willing seller authority will help establish parity among the 
trails and enable Federal trail administrators to use all the 
available authorities to complete the trails and trail 
corridors as they were originally designated.
    We recommend four technical amendments to the National 
Trails System Act, which correct a few spelling and other 
grammatical errors. These amendments are attached to this 
letter.
    The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
no objection to the presentation of this report from the 
standpoint of the Administration's program.
            Sincerely,
                                              Craig Manson.
               Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

            Technical Amendments to H.R. 834 and/or S. 1069

    On page 7, after 2, add the following new section:

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT.

    The National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241) is amended 
as follows:
    (1) In Section 5(c)(19) by striking ``Kissimme'' and 
inserting ``Kissimmee'';
    (2) In Section 5(c)(40)(D) by striking ``later that'' and 
inserting ``later than'';
    (3) In the first sentence of Section 5(d) by striking 
``establishment.''; and
    (4) In Section 10(c)(1) by striking ``The Ice Age'' and 
inserting ``the Ice Age''.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill/S. 1069, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                     A. NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT


             (Public Law 90-543; Approved October 2, 1968)


 AN ACT To establish a national trails system, and for other purposes.

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

                              SHORT TITLE

    Section 1. This Act may be cited as the ``National Trails 
System Act''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


             NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

    Sec. 5. (a) National scenic and national historic trails 
shall be authorized and designated only by Act of Congress. 
There are hereby established the following National Scenic and 
National Historic Trails:
    (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (8) \1\ The North Country National Scenic Trail, a trail of 
approximately thirty-two hundred miles, extending from eastern 
New York State to the vicinity of Lake Sakakawea in North 
Dakota, following the approximate route depicted on the map 
identified as ``Proposed North Country Trail-Vicinity Map'' in 
the Department of the Interior ``North Country Trail Report'', 
dated June 1975. The map shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the office of the Director, National Park 
Service, Washington, District of Columbia. The trail shall be 
administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or 
interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any 
federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal 
government for the trail except with the consent of the owner 
thereof.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Paragraph (8) was added by section 101(b) of Public Law 96-199 
(94 Stat. 67). However, Public Law 96-199 did not directly amend the 
National Trails System Act, but instead amended section 551(9) of the 
National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-625; 92 Stat. 
3512), which had earlier amended the National Trails System Act by 
adding new paragraphs (3) through (7). Although this amendment 
technique is unorthodox, the amendment was executed without comment by 
the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives and various 
commercial publications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (9) * * *
    (10) The Ice Age National Scenic Trail, a trail of 
approximately one thousand miles, extending from Door County, 
Wisconsin, to Interstate Park in Saint Croix County, Wisconsin, 
generally following the route described in ``On the Trail of 
the Ice Age--A Hiker's and Biker's Guide to Wisconsin's Ice Age 
National Scientific Reserve and Trail'', by Henry S. Reuss, 
Member of Congress, dated 1980. The guide and maps shall be on 
file and available for public inspection in the Office of the 
Director, National Park Service, Washington, District of 
Columbia. Overall administration of the trail shall be the 
responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 
section 5(d) of this Act. The State of Wisconsin, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, may, subject 
to the approval of the Secretary, prepare a plan for the 
management of the trail which shall be deemed to meet the 
requirements of section 5(e) of this Act. Notwithstanding the 
provisions of section 7(c), snowmobile use may be permitted on 
segments of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail where deemed 
appropriate by the Secretary and the managing authority 
responsible for the segment. No lands or interest therein 
outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered 
area may be acquired by the Federal government for the trail 
except with the consent of the owner thereof.
    (11) The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, a corridor 
of approximately seven hundred and four miles following the 
route a generally depicted on the map identified as ``National 
Trails System, Proposed Potomac Heritage Trail'' as ``The 
Potomac Heritage Trail'', a report prepared by the Department 
of the Interior and dated December 1974, except that no 
designation of the trail shall be made in the State of West 
Virginia. The map shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the office of the Director of the National Park 
Service, Washington, District of Columbia. The trail shall 
initially consist of only those segments of the corridor 
located within the exterior boundaries of federally 
administered areas. No lands or interests therein outside the 
exterior boundaries of any federally administered area may be 
acquired by the Federal Government for the Potomac Heritage 
Trail. The Secretary of the Interior may designate lands 
outside of federally administered areas as segments of the 
trail, only upon application from the States or local 
governmental agencies involved, if such segments meet the 
criteria established in this Act and are administered by such 
agencies without expenses to the United States. The trail shall 
be administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No lands or 
interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of any 
federally administered area may be acquired by the Federal 
government for the trail except with the consent of the owner 
thereof.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                    AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

    Sec. 10. (a)(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) \1\ (1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary to implement the provisions of 
this Act relating to the trails designated by paragraphs 5(a) 
(3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10): Provided, That no 
such funds are authorized to be appropriated prior to October 
1, 1978: And provided further, That notwithstanding any other 
provisions of this Act or any other provisions of law, no funds 
may be expended by Federal agencies for the acquisition of 
lands or interests in lands outside the exterior boundaries of 
existing Federal areas for the Continental Divide National 
Scenic Trail, [the North Country National Scenic Trail, The \2\ 
Ice Age National Scenic Trail,] the Oregon National Historic 
Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Lewis 
and Clark National Historic Trail, and the Iditarod National 
Historic Trail, except that funds may be expended for the 
acquisition of lands or interests therein for the purpose of 
providing for one trail interpretation site, as described in 
section 7(c), along with such trail in each State crossed by 
the trail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Subsection (c) was amended to read as follows by section 
101(b)(4) of Public Law 96-199 (94 Stat. 68). However, Public Law 96-
199 did not directly amend the National Trails System Act, but instead 
amended section 551(23) of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 
1978 (Public Law 95-625; 92 Stat. 3517), which had earlier amended the 
National Trails System Act by adding this subsection. Although this 
amendment technique is unorthodox, the amendment was executed without 
comment by the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives and 
various commercial publications.
    [\2\ In paragraph (1), the word ``The'' before ``Ice Age National 
Scenic Trail'' should be lower case.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

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