Senate Committee Approves CDT Completion Act

This morning, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced the Continental Divide Trail Completion Act with a voice vote, marking an important step forward for the future of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT). The bill will now move to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

If enacted, the CDT Completion Act would direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to prioritize completing the CDT within ten years, helping move us closer to a safer, more continuous, and more scenic trail experience from Mexico to Canada.

One step closer to closing a 160-mile gap

The CDT was designated a National Scenic Trail in 1978. Nearly fifty years later, about 160 miles of the route remain on highways and busy roadways—sections often referred to as “gap areas.” These gaps are incompatible with the trail’s purpose and can create an unsafe experience for long-distance hikers and horseback riders seeking a continuous path.

Major gap areas remain in all five CDT states, with significant gaps in northern New Mexico, northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and along the Idaho–Montana border.

Completing the CDT isn’t only about long-distance travel, either. For many people who live near the trail, the CDT is a local pathway into public lands—a place to hike, hunt, ride horses, fish, camp, and spend time outside with family and friends.

Bipartisan support for completing the CDT

The CDT Completion Act has bipartisan support from states along the CDT and is sponsored in the Senate by Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

During the committee hearing, Senator Heinrich underscored the wide range of ways people experience the CDT—both as a world-class long-distance trail and as a local community resource:

“The trail is part of the Triple Crown of hiking and brings visitors from around the world to climb the spine of the North American continent. For the mountain towns along the way, the trail really means economic development. It means good jobs, and it means money in their pockets. The Continental Divide Trail is not just for thru-hikers. For many New Mexicans, the CDT is their local trail, the trail where they walk their dog or spend time with their families.”

Committee Chairman Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) described the package of public-lands bills considered today as “targeted, very community-driven measures” that “address real needs in real places.”

A thruhiker road-walking a gap on the CDT near Rawlins, Wyoming

Teresa Martinez, Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, celebrated today’s committee action:

“Today’s vote is a significant step towards completion of the Continental Divide Trail and a powerful example of bipartisan collaboration. The CDT Completion Act is essential to protecting access to the beloved landscapes along the Continental Divide that connect communities to public lands and to each other.”

The legislation now advances for consideration by the full Senate. Here’s a quick rundown of what it would do (and what it wouldn’t do).

What would the CDT Completion Act do?

At its core, the CDT Completion Act focuses on coordination and prioritization to relocate the remaining gap areas onto safe, protected, enjoyable, and scenic trails.

The bill would:

• Direct a Trail Completion Team (US Forest Service + Bureau of Land Management staff) to prioritize relocating road-walk “gap areas.”

• Set a goal to complete the CDT within ten years of enactment.

The bill would not:

• Directly acquire any lands.

• Allow eminent domain (the bill establishes that eminent domain will never be used in completing the CDT).

• Automatically authorize spending (any government spending would remain subject to congressional appropriations).

In the House of Representatives, the bill is sponsored by Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM).

Next steps: How you can help

With today’s committee vote, the next step is consideration by the full U.S. Senate. We’ll continue working alongside partners, agencies, and supporters across the CDT corridor to keep momentum moving in a positive direction.

If you care about safer, more connected public lands access and a completed Continental Divide Trail, here are a few ways to stay involved:

• Sign up for CDTC action alerts so you’re the first to know when it’s time to reach out to your Senators.

• Share this update with your hiking club, gateway community networks, and public lands friends.

• Support CDTC’s work—our community makes this kind of progress possible through stewardship, advocacy, and education.