S 1376119th CongressIntroduced

Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025

Introduced: Apr 9, 2025

Sponsor: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-North Carolina)

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill would amend the National Trails System Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail. It establishes a short title—the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025—and sets out findings about the trail’s characteristics, location, and potential benefits. The core requirement is that, within one year of enactment, the Secretary (in consultation with interested organizations, including the Benton MacKaye Trail Association) complete and submit to Congress a feasibility study assessing whether the Benton MacKaye Trail should be designated as a National Scenic Trail. The bill frames the trail as a 287-mile, scenic, nonmotorized route across Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, passing through wilderness areas, national parks, and national forests, with potential economic benefits to rural communities and a track record of minimal maintenance costs due to substantial federal land ownership and ongoing association-led management. In short, the bill does not designate the Benton MacKaye Trail as a National Scenic Trail now; it requires a federal feasibility study within a year to evaluate whether such designation is appropriate.

Key Points

1The bill creates the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025, adding a new study requirement to the National Trails System Act.
2It designates the Benton MacKaye Trail as a subject of the feasibility study, describing it as a 287-mile scenic, nonmotorized trail across Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
3It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to complete and submit the feasibility study to Congress not later than one year after enactment, in consultation with interested organizations (including the Benton MacKaye Trail Association).
4The bill adds a new item to the National Trails System Act’s list of designated trails (section 5(c)): “Benton MacKaye Trail” with a study to determine feasibility for designation as a national scenic trail.
5The study process emphasizes collaboration with stakeholders and does not itself designate the trail; it only assesses feasibility for potential future designation.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Hikers and recreationists using the Benton MacKaye Trail and the local communities along the Georgia–Tennessee–North Carolina corridor; the Benton MacKaye Trail Association (the trail’s managing organization).Secondary group/area affected- Federal land management agencies (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service) and state partners involved in managing the lands the trail traverses; local and regional governments in the trail corridor; tourism and rural economies in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.Additional impacts- Potential for increased attention and funding considerations if feasibility is favorable for designation, with possible future implications for trail maintenance, protections, and interagency coordination; the bill notes the trail’s current maintenance efficiency (largely on federal land, long-standing management by the association) and suggests a feasibility review rather than immediate designation.

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