# Plain Language Summary: Continental Divide Trail Completion Act

This bill directs the federal government to finish completing the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, a long-distance hiking and recreation trail that stretches roughly 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Rocky Mountains. Right now, the trail has gaps and incomplete sections where hikers can't walk continuously. The bill sets a deadline of November 2028 for the government to acquire the necessary land and easements to connect all these broken pieces into one continuous trail.

To make this happen, the bill requires the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to create a joint team that will identify which pieces of land need to be acquired to fill the gaps. The government can only buy this land from willing sellers—they cannot force landowners to sell through eminent domain (the legal power to seize private property). They can purchase land with government money, accept donations, or trade federal land for private land. The bill also allows the team to relocate certain sections of the trail that already exist on federal land if doing so would improve the hiking experience or protect scenic and natural areas.

The bill requires detailed reporting to Congress about progress, including how much land has been acquired each year and how much money has been spent. It also asks the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, a nonprofit organization involved with the trail, to provide independent progress reports. This ensures Congress and the public can track whether the project is actually moving forward. The bill emphasizes maintaining partnerships with volunteer groups and nonprofits that help maintain and manage the trail, so the completion effort doesn't replace existing community involvement—it works alongside it.

Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act

Continental Divide Trail Completion Act This bill addresses the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which extends from the Montana-Canada border to the New Mexico-Mexico border. No later than November 10, 2028, the Forest Service shall substantially complete the land acquisition program necessary to ensure the completion of the trail. In carrying out the completion of the land acquisition program, the Forest Service, in coordination with the Department of the Interior, shall establish a joint Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land acquisition team. This team shall work in coordination with the trail's administrator to facilitate the completion and optimization of the trail. The Forest Service shall submit a comprehensive acquisition or protection plan to Congress no later than three years after this bill's enactment. The plan should <ul> <li>identify any incomplete segments or gaps where the respective agencies have not been able to acquire access, right-of-ways, easements, or acquisitions to date from willing sellers, donations, or exchanges; </li> <li>include a plan for all lands to be acquired by fee title or lesser interest, along with an explanation of anticipated necessary cooperative agreements for any lands not to be acquired; and </li> <li>include general and site-specific development plans, including anticipated costs.</li> </ul> The team may (1) acquire land only by purchase from a willing seller with donated or appropriated funds, donation, or exchange; and (2) not acquire land by eminent domain. The Forest Service and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition shall transmit specified annual reports to Congress until the completion of the land acquisition program.