16 USC 1250 – Volunteer trails assistance

§ 1250

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–11, § 209(5), designated existing
provisions as par. (1), inserted provision 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 1246(c) of this
title, and added par. (2).
1980—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–370 substituted ‘‘(7), (8),
(9), and (10)’’ for ‘‘(7), and (8)’’ and inserted reference to
the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
Pub. L. 96–199 inserted references to the North Country National Scenic Trail in two places, once by its full
name and once by the designation as the trail ‘‘designated by’’ section 1244(a)(8) of this title, substituted
‘‘appropriated prior to October 1, 1978’’ for ‘‘appropriated prior to October 1, 1979’’, and substituted ‘‘no
funds may be expended by Federal agencies for the acquisition of lands or interests in lands outside the exterior boundaries of existing Federal area’’ for ‘‘no funds
may be expended for the acquisition of lands or interests in lands’’.
1978—Pub. L. 95–248 inserted provisions relating to determinations respecting appropriations authorized for
fiscal year 1979 and succeeding fiscal years.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–625 struck out par. (1) designation, substituted ‘‘in subsequent fiscal years’’ for ‘‘in
the subsequent fiscal year’’ and struck out par. (2)
which provided for transmission of a report to Congressional committees by the Appalachian Trail Conference
at the close of each fiscal year, until entire acquisition
program was completed, covering conduct of negotiations for acquisition program and whether larger interests in land were being acquired than were necessary
for the purposes of this chapter.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–625 added subsec. (c).
EFFECTIVE DATE OF APPROPRIATION AUTHORIZATIONS
UNDER PUB. L. 98–11; CONTRACT AUTHORITY
Pub. L. 98–11, title I, § 101, Mar. 28, 1983, 97 Stat. 42,
provided that: ‘‘Authorizations of appropriations under
this Act [enacting sections 1250 and 1251 of this title,
amending this section and sections 1241 to 1247 of this
title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under
section 1241 of this title] shall be effective only for the
fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1983, and subsequent
fiscal years. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, authority to enter into contracts, and to
make payments, under this Act shall be effective only
to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in
advance in appropriation Acts.’’
APPROPRIATIONS FOR OVERMOUNTAIN VICTORY NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL AND ICE AGE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL; EFFECTIVE DATE; CONTRACT AUTHORITY
Pub. L. 96–370, § 2, Oct. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 1360, provided
that: ‘‘Authorizations of moneys to be appropriated
under this Act [amending sections 1244 and 1249 of this
title] shall be effective on October 1, 1981. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, authority to
enter into contracts, to incur obligations, or to make
payments under this Act shall be effective only to the
extent, and in such amounts, as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts.’’

§ 1250. Volunteer trails assistance
(a) Volunteer planning, development, maintenance, and management of trails
(1) In addition to the cooperative agreement
and other authorities contained in this chapter,
the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture, and the head of any Federal agency
administering Federal lands, are authorized to
encourage volunteers and volunteer organizations to plan, develop, maintain, and manage,
where appropriate, trails throughout the Nation.
(2) Wherever appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of this chapter, the Secretaries are authorized and encouraged to utilize the Volun-

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teers in the Parks Act of 1969 [16 U.S.C. 18g et
seq.], the Volunteers in the Forests Act of 1972
[16 U.S.C. 558a et seq.], and section 460l–8 of this
title (relating to the development of Statewide
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans).
(b) Scope of volunteer work
Each Secretary or the head of any Federal
land managing agency may assist volunteers
and volunteer organizations in planning, developing, maintaining, and managing trails. Volunteer work may include, but need not be limited
to—
(1) planning, developing, maintaining, or
managing (A) trails which are components of
the national trails system, or (B) trails which,
if so developed and maintained, could qualify
for designation as components of the national
trails system; or
(2) operating programs to organize and supervise volunteer trail building efforts with
respect to the trails referred to in paragraph
(1), conducting trail-related research projects,
or providing education and training to volunteers on methods of trails planning, construction, and maintenance.
(c) Use of Federal facilities, equipment, tools,
and technical assistance
The appropriate Secretary or the head of any
Federal land managing agency may utilize and
make available Federal facilities, equipment,
tools, and technical assistance to volunteers and
volunteer organizations, subject to such limitations and restrictions as the appropriate Secretary or the head of any Federal land managing
agency deems necessary or desirable.
(Pub. L. 90–543, § 11, as added Pub. L. 98–11, title
II, § 210, Mar. 28, 1983, 97 Stat. 49.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969, referred to
in subsec. (a)(2), is Pub. L. 91–357, July 29, 1970, 84 Stat.
472, as amended, which is classified generally to subchapter II (§ 18g et seq.) of chapter 1 of this title. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title note set out under section 18g of this title
and Tables.
The Volunteers in the Forests Act of 1972, referred to
in subsec. (a)(2), probably means the Volunteers in the
National Forests Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92–300, May 18,
1972, 86 Stat. 147, as amended, which is classified generally to section 558a et seq. of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
note set out under section 558a of this title and Tables.

§ 1251. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) The term ‘‘high potential historic sites’’
means those historic sites related to the route,
or sites in close proximity thereto, which provide opportunity to interpret the historic significance of the trail during the period of its
major use. Criteria for consideration as high
potential sites include historic significance,
presence of visible historic remnants, scenic
quality, and relative freedom from intrusion.
(2) The term ‘‘high potential route segments’’ means those segments of a trail which
would afford high quality recreation experience in a portion of the route having greater
than average scenic values or affording an op-