Bill > S1376

This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail within one year of the bill's enactment. The bill provides extensive background on the trail, which is a 287-mile nonmotorized hiking trail traversing Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The trail passes through significant natural areas including six designated Wilderness Areas, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and three National Forests. Congress highlights the trail's scenic qualities, including diverse landscapes like high-elevation peaks, mature forests, and waterfalls, and notes its potential economic benefits for rural communities. The bill emphasizes that the trail is already well-established, with 95 percent of its route on federal land and a long history of successful maintenance by the Benton MacKaye Trail Association since 1980. The feasibility study will be conducted in consultation with interested organizations, including the trail's namesake association, and will assess the potential for officially designating the trail as a national scenic trail under the National Trails System Act, which would provide additional recognition and potentially more formal protection and management support.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1376/all-info