National Trails System Act Amendments of 1981

(Reported to Senate from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with amendment, S. Rept. 97-577)

Title I: Limitation on Appropriations - Makes authorizations of appropriations under this Act effective only for FY 1983 and thereafter. Limits contractual obligations under this Act to the authority provided in advance in appropriation Acts.

Title II: Amendments to the National Trails System Act - National Trails System Act Amendments of 1981 - Amends the National Trails System Act to state as an additional purpose of such Act the encouragement of volunteer citizen involvement in the development and management of national trails.

Provides that national scenic trails may be located so as to represent various natural areas which exhibit significant characteristics of the physiographic regions of the United States. Defines the term "extended trails" for purposes of this Act.

Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, and periodically revise, a comprehensive plan for the national trails system. Requires consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the State Governors, and the trails community on such plan.

Permits national recreation trails to be designated on private land if the owners consent.

Designates the following as national trails: (1) the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail; (2) the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Tennessee and Mississippi; and (3) the Florida National Scenic Trail, Florida.

Requires the feasibility of designating a trail to be based on an evaluation of the physical possibility and financial feasibility of developing a trail along a route being studied.

Designates the following routes for consideration as national scenic trails: (1) the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, California; (2) the Trail of Tears, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; (3) the Illinois Trail, Illinois; (4) the Jedediah Smith Trail, Wyoming, California, Utah, and Washington; (5) the General Crook Trail, Arizona; and (6) the Beale Wagon Road, Arizona.

Requires the appropriate Secretary to notify the appropriate congressional committees if a trail advisory council cannot be established because of lack of public interest. Redefines the Federal members of trail advisory councils.

Requires additional information in the comprehensive management plans for national historic trails.

Removes the requirement that connecting or side trails provide additional points of access. Permits the location of such trails on private lands if the owners consent.

Requires the appropriate Secretary to consult with all affected State and Federal agencies in the management of a trail. Allows management transfer of any specified trail segment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for trail interpretation at historic sites.

Authorizes the acquisition of lands or easements for trail rights-of-way from local governments or governmental corporations with their consent.

Authorizes the acquisition, if the owner consents, of an entire tract of land, even if such tract lies partly outside a right-of-way. Permits lands acquired outside the right-of-way to be exchanged for non-Federal lands within the right-of-way or to be disposed of under procedures prescribed by the appropriate Secretary.

Provides that cooperative agreements to develop and maintain national trails may include financial assistance provisions, or volunteer status provisions, or both. Requires Federal consultation with State and local governments to encourage the development of laws to regulate land practices and to protect private landowners from trespass, unnecessary personal liability, and property damage caused by trail use.

Specifies some activities and vehicle types allowed on designated components of the national trails system. Permits trail accesses for handicapped individuals.

Authorizes landowners to convey qualified real property interests to qualified organizations, pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, in order to preserve national trail areas.

Requires certain Federal officials to encourage the establishment of national trails using the provisions of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. Provides that the interim use of a railroad right-of-way for trail use shall not constitute an abandonment of the use of the right-of-way for railroad purposes.

Authorizes the expenditure of land acquisition funds to provide for one trail interpretation site in each State crossed by the trail.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 and thereafter for the national trails designated in this Act. Limits the funds available for land acquisition for the Natchez Trace Trail and for development of the Natchez Trace Trail system.

Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture and the heads of Federal agencies administering Federal land to assist volunteers and volunteer organizations in the development and maintenance of national trails.

Title III: Designation of the "Bizz Johnson Trail" - Designates the Susanville-Westwood Rails to Trails project in California as the Bizz Johnson Trail. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to place a commemorative marker along the trail. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.

Title IV: Roy Taylor Forest - Designates specified land within the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina as the Roy Taylor Forest. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to place a commemorative marker in the forest. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make references to the forest in Blue Ridge Parkway publications and install appropriate signs along the parkway. Authorizes appropriations to implement this title.