Sec. 5. Improving covered trail planning and development
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Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall identify 1 or more methods to assess visitation on covered trails. For purposes of identifying methods under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with a variety of land managers and cooperative management partners for covered trails, including— in the Department of Agriculture, the Chief of the Forest Service and the Under Secretary for Rural Development; in the Department of the Interior, representatives from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; representatives from State agencies participating in cooperative management systems; representatives from gateway communities and tourism boards that support covered trails, such as through agency and nongovernmental partnerships; representatives from the Federal Highway Administration; representatives from the Interagency Council on the National Trails System;
Designated Operational Partners; and other nongovernmental cooperative management partners for covered trails. Not later than 5 years after the date on which methods are identified under paragraph (1), and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available to cooperative management partners of the applicable covered trail and the public a report describing the estimated visitation at each covered trail for the period covered by the report.
The carrying capacity of a covered trail that is subject to subsection
(e)or
(f)of section 5 of the National Trails System Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1244 ) shall be considered to be the desired use conditions of the applicable covered trail, as determined in accordance with applicable guidelines established by the Interagency Council on Visitor Use Management. The carrying capacity for a covered trail not described in clause
(i)shall be determined using the visitation numbers for the applicable covered trail identified by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture in the initial report under subparagraph (A). The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Designated Operational Partner for a covered trail, if applicable, shall, on an ongoing basis, monitor— the number of visitors to, and the character of visitor use of, each covered trail, using the 1 or more methods identified under paragraph (1); and the effectiveness of management actions in achieving and maintaining desired conditions for the covered trail. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall identify 1 or more methods to assess the economic impact of covered trails on gateway communities. In identifying methods under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall, to the maximum extent practicable— aggregate and extrapolate economic impact information from existing data, such as data from land units on which covered trails are located; use State and county economic impact information; partner with State and local governments; and leverage the cooperative management systems of the covered trails and local and landscape-wide partnerships to obtain and process relevant information and report any relevant findings. Congress finds that— the designation of a covered trail is the onset of the long-term development and planning for the covered trail, rather than the conclusion of those activities; and the cultivation of partnerships, the acquisition of land, including interests in land and land use agreements, the conduct of accessible and inclusive interpretation, and the development of recreational facilities, as appropriate for covered trails, are needed to advance the purposes of the National Trails System Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq. ) to meet the ever-expanding outdoor recreation needs of the United States. The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting jointly, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives— not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, a report that describes the successes and challenges in developing and planning covered trails; and not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, a report that assesses the desired conditions and use of facilities on each covered trail with respect to— visitor usage of specific segments or sites of the covered trail, including the extent to which visitors use the covered trail in groups of not fewer than 10 individuals; proposed priority segments or sites for additional facilities or protection of additional land or resources identified by relevant cooperative management partners, which shall be considered to be included on a proposed priority list for the covered trail if the covered trail has an identified Designated Operational Partner; and any activities that the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture determine are necessary to advance the development of and planning for the covered trail consistent with the model used for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. In preparing the reports under paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with— communities located in the vicinity of the proposed segments and sites described in paragraph (2)(B)(ii); federally recognized Indian Tribes; any Federal and State agencies that manage land traversed by covered trails; and Designated Operational Partners and other cooperative management partners of covered trails. Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to any committee established before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act to carry out activities under this section. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030— such sums as are necessary— to identify the methods under subsections
(a)and (b); and to prepare the reports required under subsection (c); and such sums as are necessary for the acquisition, construction, and development of facilities (including the acquisition of land or interests in land) for covered trails.
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