H.R. 5118 would direct the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to complete, to the maximum extent possible, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail as a contiguous recreational route. The agencies would be required to prepare a trail acquisition and development plan and report periodically to the Congress on their progress.
The Forest Service and DOI are already undertaking activities to complete the trail, including optimal location review, land acquisition, and trail construction. On that basis, and the costs of similar tasks, CBO estimates that the agencies would need one employee, at an average annual cost of $120,000, to support those activities and complete the required plan. In total, we estimate that implementing H.R. 5118 would cost about $1 million over the 2022-2027 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
