Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025
Key claim: The bill requires the U.S. Forest Service to study the feasibility of designating the approximately 287-mile Benton MacKaye Trail in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina as a national scenic trail.
Abstract
(S1376 · 119th Congress) Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025 This bill requires the Forest Service to study the feasibility of designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a national scenic trail. The trail traverses approximately 287 miles in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Latest action (2025-10-27): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 211.
Why this matters
Feasibility studies are the statutory gateway to National Trails System designation, which can layer federal management, easement acquisition authority, and recreation infrastructure onto a corridor that today is largely maintained by volunteers across private, state, and Forest Service lands. For adjacent landowners and builders in GA/TN/NC, designation could eventually affect right-of-way acquisitions, viewshed-adjacent development, and local land-use planning, though the study itself imposes no restrictions. The bill is incremental but sets the procedural clock for any future scenic-trail overlay.