S2887-119

What This Bill Does

The bill adds the Route 66 National Historic Trail to the National Trails System, covering all U.S. Highway 66 alignments used between 1926 and 1985 from Chicago to Santa Monica, as shown on a 2017 map kept by Interior. The Interior Secretary must administer the trail while respecting its distinctive character and must actively consult affected Indian Tribes before activities with substantial direct tribal impacts. Outside existing federally managed areas, the United States may acquire land only with owner consent, acquisitions may not average more than one-quarter mile on either side, and eminent domain is prohibited. The designation creates no buffer zone, cannot regulate visible or audible off-trail activity, cannot hinder energy development or transmission, does not convert corridor land into National Park System land for Mineral Leasing Act purposes, preserves all existing right-of-way authority, and triggers no new federal permit solely because of trail status.

Who Benefits and How

Route 66 communities, heritage organizations, tourism businesses, and visitors benefit from a national designation that can support preservation, interpretation, promotion, and travel along the historic corridor. Affected Indian tribal governments benefit from a specific duty of active, meaningful, and timely consultation before Interior undertakes trail activity with substantial direct tribal impacts. Adjacent landowners, energy developers, utilities, and right-of-way applicants benefit from explicit limits on acquisition, condemnation, buffer zones, new permits, and interference with development or easement authority.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Department of the Interior and other federal land-agency administrators must manage and map the 2,400-mile corridor, preserve public access to the map, conduct tribal consultation, and apply the bill's detailed land and right-of-way safeguards. Federal taxpayers bear trail-administration and any consensual acquisition costs, while owners who voluntarily sell an interest must work within the one-quarter-mile average acquisition limit.

Key Provisions

• Designates all historic Route 66 alignments from Chicago to Santa Monica as a National Historic Trail.
• Requires Interior administration that respects the route's distinctive character and timely consultation with affected Indian Tribes.
• Limits land acquisition outside federal areas to willing owners and prohibits eminent domain or condemnation.
• Provides that no buffer zone is created and off-trail land uses may not be controlled merely because they are perceptible from the trail.
• Protects energy development, transportation, transmission, and existing right-of-way authority.
• Exempts the designation from creating new federal permit requirements or specified National Park System land status.