Hiking the Line: New Bill Mandates Completion of Continental Divide Trail Within 10 Years (Funding Permitting)

This legislation, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail Completion Act, is pretty straightforward: it mandates that the federal government finally finish building the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST) as a single, continuous route. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior have been given a ten-year deadline to get this done, but there’s a big asterisk—it’s all “subject to the availability of appropriations.” Translation: Congress has to actually cough up the cash for it to happen.

The Master Plan: No More Gaps

If you’ve ever hiked parts of the CDNST, you know there are still some annoying gaps where the trail abruptly ends or forces you onto a road walk. This bill aims to fix that by creating a new "Trail Completion Team" within one year of enactment. This team, made up of folks from the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is tasked with drawing up a comprehensive development plan within three years of its formation (Sec. 5).

This plan is the real roadmap. It has to flag every single spot where the trail is incomplete because the necessary land hasn't been acquired. More importantly for landowners, the plan must look for opportunities to secure voluntary easements—basically, agreements where a property owner allows the trail to cross their land without selling it outright. This is a crucial detail because, as we’ll see, the government isn't getting any new heavy-handed tools to force land sales.

Why This Matters for Public Lands and Trail Users

For the dedicated hikers, backpackers, and the towns that rely on trail tourism, this is a huge deal. A continuous trail means a better, safer, and more authentic experience. It formalizes coordination between the two biggest federal land managers (Forest Service and BLM) who often operate in silos, forcing them to work together to meet a decade-long goal (Sec. 3). The bill also pushes the government to seek partnerships with volunteer groups and nonprofits (Sec. 6). This is smart; these groups often do the heavy lifting on trail maintenance, and formalizing their role ensures the trail can actually be maintained once it’s built.

No New Power for Land Grabs

Here’s the part that should reassure private property owners along the route: the bill explicitly states that it does not grant the government any new authority to acquire land or property rights beyond what the existing National Trails System Act already allows (Sec. 7). If the government couldn't use eminent domain before, they still can’t use it now just because of this bill. They are relying on voluntary sales and those voluntary easements mentioned earlier. Furthermore, this project doesn’t get special priority over other land acquisitions the government might be working on.

The Catch: Everything Hinges on Funding

While the 10-year deadline sounds firm, the big sticking point is that “subject to the availability of appropriations” clause. The government can set up all the teams and plans it wants, but if Congress doesn't actually fund the land purchases, the construction, and the maintenance, this deadline becomes meaningless. It’s a classic legislative move: set an ambitious goal, but make sure you can blame the Appropriations Committee if it doesn't happen. If you want to see this trail finished, the real fight isn't over the bill itself, but over the budget line items in the coming years.