National Trails System Act Amendments of 1981

Summary

Title I: Limitation on Authorizations - Makes authorization of appropriations under this title effective on October 1, 1981. Limits contractual obligations under this Act to the authority provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Title II: Amendments to the National Trails System Act - National Trails System Act Amendments of 1980 - Amends the National Trails System Act to state as an additional purpose of such Act the encouragement of volunteer citizen involvement in the development and management of national trails. Provides that national scenic trails may be located so as to represent various natural areas which exhibit significant characteristics of the physiographic regions of the United States. Defines the term "extended trails" for purposes of this Act. Permits national recreation trails to be designated on private land if the owners consent. Designates the following as national trails: (1) the Santa Fe National Historic Trail; (2) the Chisolm, Shawnee, and Western National Historic Trails, Texas and Kansas; (3) the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail; (4) the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Tennessee and Mississippi; and (5) the Florida National Scenic Trail, Florida. Requires the feasibility of designating a trail to be based on an evaluation of the physical possibility and financial feasibility of developing a trail along a route being studied. Requires the appropriate Secretary to inform specified congressional committees if a proposed route is not feasible for designation as a national trail. Permits the Secretary to terminate further study by notice in the Federal Register unless one committee adopts a resolution of disapproval within 30 days of being informed. Designates the following routes for consideration as national scenic trails: (1) the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, California; (2) the Trail of Tears, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois; (3) the Illinois Trail, Illinois; (4) the Jedediah Smith Trail, Wyoming, California, Utah, and Washington; (5) the General Crook Trail, Arizona; and (6) the Beale Wagon Road, Arizona. Requires the appropriate Secretary to notify the appropriate congressional committees if a trail advisory council cannot be established because of lack of public interest. Redefines the Federal members of trail advisory councils. Requires additional information in the comprehensive management plans for national historic trails. Removes the requirement that connecting or side trails provide additional points of access. Permits the location of such trails on private lands if the owners consent. Requires the appropriate Secretary to consult with all affected State and Federal agencies in the management of a trail. Allows management transfer of any specified trail segment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for trail interpretation at historic sites. Authorizes the acquisition, if the owner consents, of an entire tract of land when such tract lies partly outside and partly within a right-of-way. Permits lands acquired outside the right-of-way to be exchanged for non-Federal lands within the right-of-way or to be disposed of under existing sales authorities. Provides that cooperative agreements to develop and maintain national trails may include financial assistance provisions, or volunteer status provisions, or both. Requires Federal consultation with State and local governments to encourage the development of laws to regulate land practices and to protect private landowners from trespass, unnecessary personal liability, and property damage caused by trail use. Specifies some activities and vehicle types allowed on designated components of the national trails system. Requires certain Federal officials to encourage the establishment of national trails using the provisions of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. Provides that the interim use of a railroad right-of-way for trail use shall not constitute an abandonment of the use of the right-of-way for railroad purposes. Authorizes the expenditure of land acquisition funds to provide for one trail interpretation site in each State crossed by the trail. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for the national trails designated in this Act. Limits the funds available for land acquisition for the Natchez Trace Trail and for development of the Natchez Trace Trail system. Authorizes the establishment of a volunteer action trails demonstration program administered by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. Authorizes each Secretary to make grants to volunteer trail groups involved in the maintenance or development of national trails or trails which could qualify as national trails. Specifies the permissible uses for such grant money. Sets forth application requirements for volunteer trail groups. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to carry out this program. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to prohibit the imposition of Federal entrance fees at national recreation areas, units of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or units of the National Trails System. Prohibits the continued imposition of Federal entrance fees at national parks where the collection costs exceeded the receipts in calendar year 1979. Permits the Secretary of the Interior to continue an entrance fee at a national park unit, upon notice to specified congressional committees, if the Secretary determines before April 1, 1981, that the fee is necessary to protect park resources.

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Documents

4 official files

• Reported to Senate with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 23 September 1982

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• Passed House amended

  summary · EN · 11 May 1982

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• Reported to House with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 7 October 1981

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• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 16 January 1981

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