Sponsors (4)
The bill creates a long national recreational trail that can boost tourism and preserve local resources, but it offers recognition without funding or clear management authority—raising risks of unfunded local responsibilities, inconsistent implementation, and potential land-use conflicts.
Residents and visitors along the route gain a new 280-mile nationally designated trail, expanding outdoor recreation and access from the Idaho–Utah border to Nephi, UT.
Rural communities and local governments along the corridor can see increased tourism and outdoor-recreation business revenue from national trail designation.
Communities near the historic Lake Bonneville bench receive federal recognition that can help preserve cultural and natural resources along the route.
Local governments and rural communities may face expectations of federal involvement or oversight without accompanying funding or defined responsibilities, creating potential unfunded burdens.
Trail protection, improvements, and consistent management may be delayed or uneven because the designation does not assign administration or land-acquisition authority.
Private landowners along the corridor could face land-use conflicts or perceived restrictions if future implementing actions occur following federal designation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (≈280 miles) to the federal list of National Scenic or Historic Trails without assigning management, funding, or acquisition authority.
Official title: To amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
Introduced May 15, 2025 by Mike Kennedy · Last progress May 15, 2025
Designates the Bonneville Shoreline Trail as a new National Scenic or National Historic Trail, describing a roughly 280-mile system of existing and potential trails stretching from the Idaho–Utah border to Nephi, Utah along the ancient Lake Bonneville bench. The text only adds the trail to the statutory list and does not assign an administering agency, create land acquisition authority, provide funding, or set programmatic details.