# 119-hr-5134: Appalachian Trail Centennial Act

119-hr-5134, Appalachian Trail Centennial Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA); status introduced (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5134
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5134
- Congress: 119
- Title: Appalachian Trail Centennial Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-04
- Sponsor: Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill would establish a federal framework for cooperative management of national historic and scenic trails.** It centers a new Designated Operational Partner role and would require the Secretary to designate the Appalachian Trail Conservancy as the Appalachian Trail's partner within 1 year of enactment. - Volunteers and nonprofit partners: Recognizes volunteer organizations, including Appalachian Trail Maintaining Clubs, as essential for planning, construction, maintenance, and stewardship. It authorizes nonprofits and volunteers to perform non-inherently governmental operational roles and notes the role of tens of thousands of volunteers. - Federal agencies and staff: Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to prioritize broad partnerships and community engagement and permits cooperative management agreements up to 20 years. It narrows the application of certain federal labor and administrative rules to allow more flexible partnership arrangements. - Communities, landowners, and trail users: Requires Designated Operational Partners to develop priority lists for land and resource protection and authorizes federal funds to acquire parcels on those lists. It allows transfer of surplus federal property to partners under strict limits and says visitor capacity must be set by specific trail segments rather than the whole trail.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-12-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2] (D-NC), 2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Appalachian Trail leader and land protections: benefit, low. If enacted, the Secretary would name the Appalachian Trail Conservancy as the lead operational partner within 1 year. That partner could receive federal funds without competition if it meets listed standards, and the Secretary could remove it if it stops meeting them. The partner would submit land‑…
- Clear status and rules for trails: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would define trail "operations" to include planning, building, maintenance, services, research, and volunteer training done under cooperative agreements, without taking over a land manager’s authority. It would also make each covered trail an official unit of the National Trail…
- Funding and planning for national trails: benefit, low. If enacted, the government would be able to spend "such sums as are necessary" from fiscal years 2026–2031 to study visitor capacity, measure economic effects, and buy or build trail lands and facilities. Congress would set the exact amounts later. It would also require one report and economic meth…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5134 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5134)

## Related
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3277)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2550)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5134 (as of 2026-09-21).