[House Report 110-841]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-841
======================================================================
NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM WILLING SELLER ACT
_______
September 11, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1847]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1847) 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, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Trails System Willing Seller
Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE LAND FROM WILLING SELLERS FOR CERTAIN
TRAILS.
(a) Oregon National Historic Trail.--Section 5(a)(3) of the National
Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the
end the following: ``No land or interest in land 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
of the land or interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited
to an average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of the
trail.''.
(b) Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.--Section 5(a)(4) of the
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(4)) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ``No land or interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited
to an average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of the
trail.''.
(c) Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.--Section 5(a)(5) of the
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(5)) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ``No land or interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited
to an average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of the
trail.''.
(d) Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.--Section 5(a)(6) of the
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(6)) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ``No land or interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited
to an average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of the
trail.''.
(e) 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 the following: ``No land or interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land.''.
(f) 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 the following: ``No land or interest in land 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
of the land or interest in land.''.
(g) Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.--Section 5(a)(11) of the
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)) is amended--
(1) by striking the fourth and fifth sentences; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``No land or interest
in land 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 of the land or
interest in land.''.
(h) Nez Perce National Historic Trail.--Section 5(a)(14) of the
National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(14)) is amended--
(1) by striking the fourth and fifth sentences; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``No land or interest
in land 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 of the land or
interest in land. The authority of the Federal Government to
acquire fee title under this paragraph shall be limited to an
average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of the
trail.''.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Section 10 of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1249) is
amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act,
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to implement the provisions of this Act relating to
the trails designated by section 5(a).
``(2) Natchez trace national scenic trail.--
``(A) In general.--With respect to the Natchez Trace
National Scenic Trail (referred to in this paragraph as
the `trail') designated by section 5(a)(12)--
``(i) not more than $500,000 shall be
appropriated for the acquisition of land or
interests in land for the trail; and
``(ii) not more than $2,000,000 shall be
appropriated for the development of the trail.
``(B) Participation by volunteer trail groups.--The
administering agency for the trail shall encourage
volunteer trail groups to participate in the
development of the trail.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1847 is 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.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 1847 amends the National Trails System Act to provide
authority to purchase lands from willing sellers for nine
designated trails that currently lack such authority.
Congress enacted the National Trails System Act in 1968 (16
U.S.C. 1241 et seq.) to provide for increased outdoor
recreation needs and ``to promote the preservation of, public
access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the
open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation''
by instituting a national system for recreational, scenic, and
historic trails.
Section 7(f)(2) of the National Trails System Act addresses
land acquisition by stating, ``In acquiring lands or interests
in lands for a National Scenic or Historic Trail, the
appropriate Secretary may, with the consent of a landowner,
acquire whole tracts notwithstanding that parts of such tracts
may lie outside the area of trail acquisition.''
Section 7(g) of the National Trails System Act gives the
appropriate Secretary the authority to ``utilize condemnation
authority to acquire private lands or interests therein
pursuant to this section only in cases where, in his judgment,
all reasonable efforts to acquire such lands or interests
therein have failed . . .''. However, in the past several
years, legislation designating new trails has limited
acquisition authority to acquisition from willing sellers only.
Nonetheless, for nine trails that are part of the system--
the Oregon National Historic Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National
Historic Trail, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail,
the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Iditarod
National Historic Trail, the North Country National Scenic
Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Potomac Heritage
National Scenic Trail, and the Nez Perce National Historic
Trail--the United States has no acquisition authority.
Because these nine trails do not have acquisition
authority, federal trail managers are unable to purchase lands
or easements to ensure public access or to protect these trails
from inappropriate development. Enactment of H.R. 1847 will
provide the same authority to these nine trails as that which
exists for the rest of the trails in the system.
Committee Action
H.R. 1847 was introduced on March 29, 2007, by
Representative Mark Udall (D-CO). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On
July 10, 2008, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill
during which the Administration testified in support of the
bill.
On July 23, 2008, the Subcommittee was discharged from
further consideration of H.R. 1847 and the full Natural
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee
Chairman Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the nature of
a substitute that made minor technical changes to the bill to
conform it to the companion measure reported by the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ranking Member Young
(R-AK) then offered an amendment to the substitute that would
exclude the Iditarod National Historic Trail from the
provisions of H.R. 1847. The Young amendment was adopted by
voice vote. Representative Lamborn (R-CO) then offered an
amendment to the substitute on behalf of Representative Sali
(R-ID) that would make all lands within the designated trails
identified in the bill exclusively governed by relevant state
and local laws regarding the possession or use of a weapon,
including a concealed weapon. The Lamborn amendment was not
adopted by a roll call vote of 8 yeas to 15 nays, as follows:
The Grijalva amendment in the nature of a substitute, as
amended, was then adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended,
was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the
``National Trails System Willing Seller Act''.
Section 2. Authority to acquire land from willing sellers for certain
trails
Section 2 amends the sections of the National Trails System
Act (16 U.S.C. 1244) for the Oregon National Historic Trail,
the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Continental
Divide National Scenic Trail, the Lewis and Clark National
Historic Trail, the North Country National Scenic Trail, the
Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Potomac Heritage National
Scenic Trail, and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail to
require the consent of the owner to acquire private land for
these trails.
Section 3. Conforming amendment
Section 3 amends the National Trails System Act to
authorize appropriations for the trails designated in section
5(a), authorizes supplemental appropriations for the Natchez
Trace National Scenic Trail and requires that the agencies
administering trails encourage volunteer trail groups to
participate in trail development.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is 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.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 1847--National Trails System Willing Seller Act
H.R. 1847 would amend the National Trails System Act to
allow the federal government to purchase land from willing
sellers for eight of the 25 national trails currently in the
system. Under current law, federal agencies are not authorized
to spend funds to acquire land or other property interests for
eight national trails that are outside of existing federal
areas, such as national forests or parks. (An exception to this
prohibition is that one site in each state crossed by each
trail may be acquired for an interpretive site.)
The costs of implementing H.R. 1847 are uncertain because
the federal agencies that administer the national trails have
not completed land protection plans for most of the trails that
would be affected by the legislation. CBO expects that
relatively little land along the 16,000 miles composing the
eight trails would be acquired because most land can probably
be protected in other ways, as it is for most other trails in
the system. Under the bill, total acquisition costs could be
significant, however, because some of the longest trails would
probably require larger areas to be purchased. For example,
land acquisition for multistate trails such as the 3,200-mile
North Country National Scenic Trail could cost over $100
million, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. For
some of the shorter trails, especially those located primarily
on state or federal land, costs would be much lower. In any
case, all acquisition funding would be subject to future
appropriations and would be spent over a period of several
years. This estimate is based on information provided by the
National Park Service and the Forest Service, which administer
most of the national trails affected by the bill.
Enacting H.R. 1847 would not affect direct spending or
revenues. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
On August 3, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
169, the National Trails System Willing Seller Act, as ordered
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources on July 25, 2007. S. 169 and H.R. 1847 are very
similar. The cost of implementing H.R. 1847 could be less than
that of S. 169 because the House bill includes one fewer trail
(the Iditarod National Historic Trail in Alaska), but CBO
estimates that the difference in costs would be small because
the Alaska trail is located primarily on public land that would
not need to be purchased.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 1847 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as 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):
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) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) The Oregon National Historic Trail, a route of
approximately two thousand miles extending from near
Independence, Missouri, to the vicinity of Portland,
Oregon, following a route as depicted on maps
identified as ``Primary Route of the Oregon Trail 1841-
1848'', in the Department of the Interior's Oregon
Trail study report dated April 1977, and which shall be
on file and available for public inspection in the
office of the Director of the National Park Service.
The trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the
Interior. No land or interest in land 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 of the land or
interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph
shall be limited to an average of not more than \1/4\
mile on either side of the trail.
(4) The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a
route of approximately one thousand three hundred miles
extending from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City,
Utah, following the primary historical route of the
Mormon Trail as generally depicted on a map, identified
as, ``Mormon Trail Vicinity Map, figure 2'' in the
Department of the Interior Mormon Trail study report
dated March 1977, and which shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the office of the
Director, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. The
trail shall be administered by the Secretary of the
Interior. No land or interest in land 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 of the land or
interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph
shall be limited to an average of not more than \1/4\
mile on either side of the trail.
(5) The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, a
trail of approximately thirty-one hundred miles,
extending from the Montana-Canada border to the New
Mexico-Mexico border, following the approximate route
depicted on the map, identified as ``Proposed
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail'' in the
Department of the Interior Continental Divide Trail
study report dated March 1977 and which shall be on
file and available for public inspection in the office
of the Chief, Forest Service, Washington, D.C. The
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail shall be
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7(c), the use
of motorized vehicles on roads which will be designated
segments of the Continental Divide National Scenic
Trail shall be permitted in accordance with regulations
prescribed by the appropriate Secretary. No land or
interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land.
The authority of the Federal Government to acquire fee
title under this paragraph shall be limited to an
average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of
the trail.
(6) The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, a
trail of approximately three thousand seven hundred
miles, extending from Wood River, Illinois, to the
mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon, following the
outbound and inbound routes of the Lewis and Clark
expedition depicted on maps identified as, ``Vicinity
Map, Lewis and Clark Trail'' study report dated April
1977. The map shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the office of the Director, National Park
Service, Washington, D.C. The trail shall be
administered by the Secretary of the Interior. No land
or interest in land 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 of the land or interest in land.
The authority of the Federal Government to acquire fee
title under this paragraph shall be limited to an
average of not more than \1/4\ mile on either side of
the trail.
* * * * * * *
(8) 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 land or interest in land 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 of the land or interest
in land.
* * * * * * *
(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 land or interest in land 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 of the land
or interest in land.
(11) The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, a
corridor of approximately seven hundred and four miles
following the route as generally depicted on the map
identified as ``National Trails System, Proposed
Potomac Heritage Trail'' in ``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 initally 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 land or interest
in land 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 of the land or interest in land.
* * * * * * *
(14) The Nez Perce National Historic Trail, a route
of approximately eleven hundred and seventy miles
extending from the vicinity of Wallowa Lake, Oregon, to
Bear Paw Mountain, Montana, as generally depicted in
``Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) Trail Study Report'' prepared
by the Department of Agriculture and dated March 1982.
The report shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest
Service, Washington, District of Columbia. The trail
shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.
[No lands or interests therein outside the exterior
boundaries of any federally administered area may be
acquired by the Federal Government for the Nez Perce
National Historic Trail. The Secretary of Agriculture
may designate lands outside of federally administered
areas as segments of the trail 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 expense
to the United States.] So that significant route
segments and sites recognized as associated with the
Nez Perce Trail may be distinguished by suitable
markers, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to
accept the donation of suitable markers for placement
at appropriate locations. Any such markers associated
with the Nez Perce Trail which are to be located on
lands administered by any other department or agency of
the United States may be placed on such lands only with
the concurrence of the head of such department or
agency. No land or interest in land 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 of the land or
interest in land. The authority of the Federal
Government to acquire fee title under this paragraph
shall be limited to an average of not more than \1/4\
mile on either side of the trail.
* * * * * * *
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 10. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(c)(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 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.
[(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, there is
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to
implement the provisions of this Act relating to the trails
designated by section 5(a). Not more than $500,000 may be
appropriated for the purposes of acquisition of land and
interests therein for the trail designated by section 5(a)(12)
of this Act, and not more than $2,000,000 may be appropriated
for the purposes of the development of such trail. The
administering agency for the trail shall encourage volunteer
trail groups to participate in the development of the trail.]
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this
Act, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as are necessary to implement the provisions of this
Act relating to the trails designated by section 5(a).
(2) Natchez trace national scenic trail.--
(A) In general.--With respect to the Natchez
Trace National Scenic Trail (referred to in
this paragraph as the ``trail'') designated by
section 5(a)(12)--
(i) not more than $500,000 shall be
appropriated for the acquisition of
land or interests in land for the
trail; and
(ii) not more than $2,000,000 shall
be appropriated for the development of
the trail.
(B) Participation by volunteer trail
groups.--The administering agency for the trail
shall encourage volunteer trail groups to
participate in the development of the trail.
* * * * * * *