Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.

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rivers rather than on making use of local zoning laws to protect the

areas.

Although agreeing that the Wild and Scenic Waterways System has grown costly, USDA said that the GAO study failed to take inflation and soaring land costs into account. Interior asserted that "river managing agencies [need] to develop and fully take advantage of more cost-effective real estate devices," including scenic easements and sell-back, lease-back arrangements, as well as zoning.89 However, both Departments stated that they would implement improvements to make the system more efficient.

NATIONAL RECREATION, SCENIC, AND HISTORIC TRAILS

The "Omnibus Parks" Act 9o also established the first new national trails since two initial national scenic trails were created with the passage of the National Trails System in 1968.91 The 1968 Act established the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails and designated 14 other trails for study.

The 1978 Act established the Continental Divide Trail, spanning a distance of 3,100 miles along the Rocky Mountains from the Canadian to the Mexican borders, and designated the Overmountain and Victory Trail Route in Tennessee and North Carolina for further study. Designation by the Congress of scenic trails insures national recognition and, more importantly, provides a vehicle for their development, preservation, and maintenance.

The 1978 Act also established a new category of trails-National Historic Trails designed to follow as closely as possible original trails or routes of travel of national historic significance. The Act designated four such trails: the 2,000-mile Oregon National Historic Trail, stretching from Independence, Mo., to Portland, Oreg.; the Mormon Pioneer Trail, consisting of 1,300 miles between Nauvoo, Ill., and Salt Lake City, Utah; the 3,700-mile Lewis and Clark Trail, running from Wood River, Ill., to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oreg.; and the 2,000-mile Iditarod Trail, one of the Alaskan Gold Rush Trails, between Seward and Nome, Alaska (see Figure 6-5). The National Trails System also includes National Recreation Trails. These trails provide for a variety of outdoor uses in or around urban areas. Recreation trails may be managed by public agencies or private organizations. A trail is designated by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture and listed in the National Directory of Recreation Trails after assurances are received that the trail will be maintained for at least 10 years. At present there are 275 National Recreation Trails covering a total of nearly 2,900 miles.92

NATIONAL PARKS

Major additions were made to the National Park System during 1978, again due to the passage of the "Omnibus Parks" 93 Act. The Act made 12 additions to the National Park System and resolved the controversy over the proposal for a Mineral King Valley ski area near Los Angeles by adding the valley to Sequoia National Park. The other additions to the National Park System are:

Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, Pa.;

• Saint Paul's Church, Eastchester, N.Y.;

• Kaloko-Konokohau National Historical Park, Hawaii;

• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site, Tex.;

• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Calif.;

• Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, Wash.;

• Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Pa.;

• Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Md.;

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, Va.;

• New River Gorge National River, W. Va.; and

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, La.

The Act also increased the amount of funds that can be spent on land acquisition for three units of the National Park System and increased the authorized funding limits on development of park facilities for 29 units. It authorized the Department of the Interior to study the following areas for possible addition to the National Park System:

• The Crow Creek Village Archeological Site, S.D.;

• The ridgelands area east of San Francisco Bay, Calif.;

• The Oak Creek Canyon area, Ariz.;

• An expansion of Chiricahua National Monument, Ariz.;

• An update of an earlier study for a national seashore, Guam;

• The Mississippi River Delta Region, La.;

• An extension of the New River Gorge National River, W. Va.; and • The area from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach, Calif.

The bill further authorized the National Park Service to purchase the concession facilities in Yellowstone National Park from the Yellowstone Park Company. The move is designed to upgrade the accommodations and services for visitors.

The National Park Access Act,94 signed into law on August 15, 1978, sets up a 3-year pilot program "to make the National Park System more accessible in a manner consistent with the preservation of parks and the conservation of energy." It provides funds for mass transportation demonstration projects for urban visitors to the parks.

WILDLIFE REFUGES

By Executive proclamation on December 1, 1978, the President created two national monuments in Alaska-Yukon Flats (10.6 million acres) and Becharof (1.2 million acres)-which became part