Bay Area Ridge National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act
Key claim: S3720 (Bay Area Ridge National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act) was ordered reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, advancing a study on designating the Bay Area Ridge Trail as a National Scenic Trail.
Abstract
(S3720 · 119th Congress) Latest action (2026-07-29): Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Why this matters
Feasibility studies are the statutory gateway to National Scenic Trail designation, which shapes federal land management, easement acquisition, and recreational access along corridors that often traverse urbanizing regions. In the Bay Area context, a federally designated ridge trail could interact with local zoning, open-space set-asides, and development patterns along the wildland-urban interface, even though the immediate bill only authorizes a study. Tracking this alongside Benton MacKaye and Continental Divide trail actions helps map the pace of scenic-trail expansion and its downstream land-use implications.