Willing Seller Bill fails due to inaction in House

From the American Hiking Society

Congress did not pass willing seller legislation at the close of the 108th Congress, so new bills will have to be introduced in the 109th Congress which starts in January 2005. In July 2003, the Senate passed S. 651, the National Trails System Willing Seller Act— a bill to provide willing seller authority for the nine trails for which the federal agencies are prohibited from buying land— introduced by Sen. Allard (R-CO). In February 2004, Rep. Peterson (R-PA) introduced H.R. 3860, a companion bill to S. 651, but the bill did not advance because of inaction in the House.

Willing seller land acquisition authority is critical to the completion and protection of our National Trails System. The legislation would not commit the federal government to trail spending but would allow managers to purchase land to protect the national trails as opportunities arise, with money appropriated from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The nine affected trails are: Continental Divide, Ice Age, North Country and Potomac Heritage national scenic trails and the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, Lewis and Clark, Iditarod and Nez Perce national historic trails.

American Hiking strongly supports passage of willing seller legislation for the National Trails System, especially the national scenic trails, and will continue to work with trail leaders and advocates to push Congress to pass these important bills. For more information, visit http://www.americanhiking.org/policy/current/willingsel.html