MONTPELIER, Vt. — U.S. Reps. Peter Welch of Vermont and Rick Nolan of Minnesota are proposing a reroute of the North Country Scenic Trail that they say would protect Minnesota wetlands and create a unified system of trails from North Dakota to Vermont.

They said the changes would allow hikers to journey the entire 4,600 miles from North Dakota to Vermont.

The North Country National Scenic Trail is the longest of the 11 National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress, running from Sakakawea State Park in North Dakota to Crown Point, New York, passing through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The bill incorporates more than 400 miles of existing trail in the Minnesota Boundary Waters and North Shore of Lake Superior and links the trail to the Appalachian Trail in Middlebury, Vermont.