This story was updated on June 29 to include Virginia in the list of states that the Appalachian Trail goes through.
A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House seeks to designate the Benton MacKaye Trail, which winds through the the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, as a National Scenic Trail.
If passed in the House and Senate and signed by the president, the trail would become the 12th National Scenic Trail in the U.S., which includes the Appalachian Trail, Florida National Scenic Trail and Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail in the South.
The 288-mile Benton MacKaye Trail traces an 82-mile path in Georgia and 206 miles more along the Tennessee/North Carolina border, including lands in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia and Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, according to the Benton MacKaye Trail Association. Almost 100 miles of the trail is contained within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The bill is being co-sponsored by Republicans Chuck Fleischmann and Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee and Chuck Edwards of North Carolina and Democrats Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Lucy McBath and David Scott of Georgia.