201 



(1) Regulations; Issuance; concurrence and con- 

 sultation; revision; publication; violations; 

 penalties 

 1247. State and local area recreation trails 



(a) Secretary of Interior to encourage states. 



political subdivisions, and private Inter- 

 ests; financial assistance for state and 

 local projects 



(b) Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- 



ment to encourage metropolitan and other 

 urban areas, administrative and financial 

 assistance In connection with recreation 

 and transportation planning; administra- 

 tion of urban open-space program 



(c) Secretary of Agriculture to encourage states. 



local agencies, and private Interests 



(d) Designation and marking of trails; approval 



of Secretary of Interior. 



1248 Easements and rights-of-way. conditions; coop- 

 eration of federal agencies with Secretary of In- 

 terior and Secretary of Agriculture. 



1249. Authorization of appropriations 



§1241. National trails system; establishment; Con- 

 gressional declaration of policy; initial com- 

 ponents. 



(a) In order to provide for the ever-Increasing 

 outdoor recreation needs of an expanding popula- 

 tion and in order to promote public access to, travel 

 within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the 

 open-air, outdoor areas of the Nation, trails should 

 be established (i) primarily, near the urban areas of 

 the Nation, and 'ii) secondarily, within established 

 scenic areas more remotely located. 



(b) The purpose of this chapter is to provide the 

 means for attaining these objectives by instituting 

 a national system of recreation and scenic trails, by 

 designating the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific 

 Crest Trail as the initial components of that system, 

 and by prescribing the methods by which, and 

 standards according to which, additional compo- 

 nents may be added to the system. (Pub. L. 90-543, 

 § 2, Oct. 2, 1968, 82 Stat 919.) 



Short Tftle 

 Section 1 of Pub L 90-543 provided that: "This Act 

 [which enacted this chapter] may be cited as the 'Na- 

 tional Trails System Act'." 



§ 1242. Composition of national trails system; recrea- 

 tion trails; scenic trails; connecting or side trails; 

 uniform marlter. 



The national system of trails shall be composed 

 of— 



(a) National recreation trails, established as 

 provided in section 1243 of this title, which will 

 provide a variety of outdoor recreation uses In or 

 reasonably accessible to urban areas. 



(bi National scenic trails, established as pro- 

 vided in section 1244 of this title, which will be 

 extended trails so located as to provide for maxi- 

 mum outdoor recreation potential and for the con- 

 servation and enjoyment of the nationally signif- 

 icant scenic, historic, natural, or cultural qualities 

 of the areas through which such.trails may pass. 



(O Connecting or side trails, established as 

 provided in section 1245 of this title, which will 

 provide additional points of public access to na- 

 tional recreation or national scenic trails or which 

 will provide connections between such trails. 

 The Secretary of the Interior and the Secrp tary of 

 Agriculture, in consultation with appropriate gov- 



ernmental agencies and public and private organiza- 

 tions, shall establish a uniform marker for the 

 national trails system. (Pub. L. 90-543, § 3, Oct. 2. 

 1968, 82 Stat. 919.) 



§1243. National recreation frails; establishment and 

 designation; prerequisites. 



(a) The Secretary of the Interior, or the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture where lands administered by him 

 are involved, may establish and designate national 

 recreation trails, with the consent of the Federal 

 agency. State, or political subdivision having juris- 

 diction over the lands involved, upon finding that — 



(i) such trails are reasonably accessible to 

 urban areas, and, or 



(li) such trails meet the criteria established in 

 this chapter and such supplementary criteria as 

 he may prescribe. 



(b) As provided in this section, trails within park, 

 forest, and other recreation areas administered by 

 the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of 

 Agriculture or in other federally administered areas 

 may be established and designated as "National 

 Recreation Trails " by the appropriate Secretary and, 

 when no Federal land acquisition is involved — 



(i) trails in or reasonably accessible to urban 

 areas may be designated as "National Recreation 

 Trails" by the Secretary of the Interior with the 

 consent of the States, their political subdivisions, 

 or other appropriate administering agencies, and 



(11) trails within park, forest, and other recrea- 

 tion areas owned or administered by States may 

 be designated as "National Recreation Trails" by 

 the Secretary of the Interior with the consent of 

 the State. 

 (Pub. L. 90-543, § 4, Oct. 2, 1968. 82 Stat. 919.) 

 Section RErcRREO to in Other Sections 

 This section Is referred to In section 1242 of this title. 



§ 1244. National scenic trails. 



(a) Establishment and designation; Appalachian 

 Trail; administration; Pacific Crest Trail; admin- 

 istration; advisory councils; composition. 



National scenic trails shall be authorized and 

 designated only by Act of Congress There are hereby 

 established as the initial National Scenic Trails: 



(1) The Appalachian Trail, a trail of approxi- 

 mately two thousand miles extending generally along 

 the Appalachian Mountains from Mount Katahdin. 

 Maine, to Springer Mountain, Georgia. Insofar as 

 practicable, the right-of-way for such trail shall 

 comprise the trail depicted on the maps identified 

 as "Nationwide System of Trails, Proposed Appa- 

 lachian Trail. NST-AT-101-May 1967 ". which shall 

 be on file and available for public inspection in the 

 office of the Director of the National Park Service. 

 Where practicable, such rights-of-way shall include 

 lands protected for it under agreements in effect as 

 of October 2, 1968, to which Federal agencies and 

 States were parties The Appalachian Trail shall be 

 administered primarily as a footpath by the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior. In consultation with the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture. 



(2» The Pacific Crest Trail, a trail of approxi- 

 mately two thousand three hundred fifty miles. 



