The law › Title 16, Conservation › Chapter 27

16 U.S.C. 1246: Administration and development of national trails system

Created in 1968 by Public Law 90-543. Changed by 5 later laws. No bill we track in this Congress changes it.

1 other section of the Code cite this one, including 16 U.S.C. 1244.

2 parts of federal rules cite it as their authority, written by Forest Service, Department of Agriculture (1), Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior (1).

How it got hereLaws that created or changed it, newest first

2014Pub. L. 113-287

1983Pub. L. 98-11

1979Pub. L. 96-87

1978Pub. L. 95-625

1978Pub. L. 95-248

1968Pub. L. 90-543created it

16 U.S.C. 1246Administration and development of national trails system

(a)Consultation of Secretary with other agencies; transfer of management responsibilities; selection of rights-of-way; criteria for selection; notice; impact upon established uses

(b)Relocation of segment of national, scenic or historic, trail right-of-way; determination of necessity with official having jurisdiction; necessity for Act of Congress

(c)Facilities on national, scenic or historic, trails; permissible activities; use of motorized vehicles; trail markers; establishment of uniform marker; placement of uniform markers; trail interpretation sites

(d)Use and acquisition of lands within exterior boundaries of areas included within right-of-way

(e)Right-of-way lands outside exterior boundaries of federally administered areas; cooperative agreements or acquisition; failure to agree or acquire; agreement or acquisition by Secretary concerned; right of first refusal for original owner upon disposal

(f)Exchange of property within the right-of-way by Secretary of the Interior; property subject to exchange; equalization of value of property; exchange of national forest lands by Secretary of Agriculture; tracts lying outside trail acquisition area

(g)Condemnation proceedings to acquire private lands; limitations; availability of funds for acquisition of lands or interests therein; acquisition of high potential, route segments or historic sites

(h)Development and maintenance of national, scenic or historic, trails; cooperation with States over portions located outside of federally administered areas; cooperative agreements; participation of volunteers; reservation of right-of-way for trails in conveyances by Secretary of the Interior

(i)Regulations; issuance; concurrence and consultation; revision; publication; violations; penalties; utilization of national park or national forest authorities

(j)Types of trail use allowed

(k)Donations or other conveyances of qualified real property interests

This CongressBills that change it or would

None we track

past change
enacted this Congress
proposed

This Congress

No bill we track in the 119th Congress changes this section.

How it got here

2014

Pub. L. 113–287 substituted "section 102301 of title 54" for "the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969" in introductory provisions. Law text · (h)

1983

Pub. L. 98–11, §207(a), designated existing provisions as par. (2), added par. (1), and in par. (2) substituted "shall publish notice of the availability of appropriate maps or descriptions in the Federal Register" for "shall publish notice thereof in the Federal Register, together wit… · (a)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(b), inserted "of the availability of appropriate maps or descriptions" after "After publication of notice", and struck out "together with appropriate maps and descriptions," after "Federal Register,". · (b)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(c), inserted provision that the appropriate Secretary may also provide for trail interpretation sites, which shall be located at historic sites along the route of any national scenic or national historic trail, in order to present information to the public about the… · (c)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(d), in first sentence, substituted "subsection (f) of this section" for "subsection (g) of this section", and inserted a further proviso authorizing the appropriate Secretary to acquire lands or interests therein from local governments or governmental corporations w… · (e)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(e), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). · (f)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(f), substituted "Except for designated protected components of the trail, no land or site located" for "No land or site located" in last sentence. · (g)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(g), designated the first of two sentences of existing provisions as par. (1) and the last sentence as par. (2); and in par. (1), as so designated, substituted "and maintain any portion of such a trail either within" for "and maintain any portion of a national scenic… · (h)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(h), added direction that the Secretary responsible for the administration of any segment of any component of the National Trails System also utilize authorities related to units of the national park system or the national forest system in carrying out his administra… · (i)
Pub. L. 98–11, §207(i), added subsecs. (j) and (k). · (j), (k)

1979

Pub. L. 96–87 made technical amendments to section 551(18) and (21) of Pub. L. 95–625 the net result of which expanded the provisions which had been added to subsecs. (c) and (g) of this section in 1978 by section 551(18) and (21) of Pub. L. 95–625. See 1978 Amendments note below. · (c), (g)

1978

Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), substituted "national scenic and national historic trails" for "National Scenic Trails" in first sentence. · (a)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), substituted "scenic or national historic" for "scenic" in two places. · (b)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), (18), as amended Pub. L. 96–87, §401(m)(2), substituted in first sentence "scenic or national historic" for "scenic", in second proviso "recreation, national scenic, or national historic" for "recreation or scenic" and in fifth sentence "recreation, national s… · (c)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), substituted "recreation, national scenic, or national historic" for "recreation or scenic". · (d)
Pub. L. 95–248, §1(3), struck out proviso relating to acreage limitation of acquisition. · (d)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), (19), inserted "or national historic" after "scenic" in two places and struck out from first proviso "within two years" before "after notice of the selection of the right-of-way". · (e)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(20), (21), as amended Pub. L. 96–87, §401(m)(3), struck out second proviso ": Provided further, That condemnation is prohibited with respect to all acquisition of lands or interest in lands for the purposes of the Pacific Crest Trail" after "connecting trail right-… · (g)
Pub. L. 95–248, §1(4), substituted "an average of one hundred and twenty-five acres per mile" for "twenty-five acres in any one mile", and struck out limitation on exercise of authority with respect to a connecting trail right-of-way. · (g)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), substituted "recreation, national scenic, or national historic" for "recreation or scenic" in first sentence, and inserted "or national historic" after "scenic" in second sentence. · (h)
Pub. L. 95–625, §551(17), substituted "recreation, national scenic, or national historic" for "recreation or scenic". · (i)

Text, outline and history from the official U.S. Code (2024 edition) on GovInfo, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Changes made after that edition appear under This Congress.