The National Trails System Act of 1968 authorized a feasibility study for a “Potomac Heritage Trail,” subsequently completed and published by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in 1974. In 1983, an amendment to the Act recognized a corridor for development of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail based on the narrative and a generalized map in the feasibility study. Such “authorizing” legislation for the Trail states that, initially, the Trail will be “within the external boundaries of federal facilities.”* The Act also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into agreements with various entitities for management of Trail segments. In 1986, as directed in another amendment to the Act, the Secretary of the Interior designated the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail as a segment of the Trail.
Today, the Departmental Manual delegates responsibility for designation to the National Park Service, which first recognized the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath and the Mount Vernon Trail as segments. Outside federal lands, many segments of the Trail network have been recognized according to guidelines published in the Federal Register in 2002 and subsequent applications for designation by local, regional and state agencies.
*Other parts of the Act indicate that recognition for such Trails segments must be compatible with other management responsibilities.
