Congress orders study of a hiking trail for national protection
H.R. 2768 — Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025 · Filed by Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 9, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
The bill tells the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the Benton MacKaye Trail. This trail is 287 miles long. It goes through Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The study must be done in 2 years. The study will check if the trail should become a national scenic trail.
Who it affects
The Department of Agriculture must do the study. Hikers and groups that care for the trail will have input. The study costs money but does not change any rules yet.
One thing to notice
The study does not mean the trail will become a national scenic trail. Congress will decide later what to do with the findings.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Apr 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 9, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Mar 5, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Mar 5, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent”
- Jun 2, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3749-3750)”
- Jun 2, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- national scenic trail — A hiking trail protected by the federal government for its natural beauty.
- Department of Agriculture — A federal agency that manages forests, land, and natural resources.
- Benton MacKaye Trail — A 287-mile hiking trail in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (930 characters) on Jul 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-21.
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