Gateway Communities Cooperation Act of 2000

Summary: Requires such a manager undertaking land management planning to: (1) seek the participation of elected officials, businesses, and other interested persons in neighboring gateway communities; and (2) provide such persons with an opportunity to participate in the development and implementation of the resulting land management decisions.
Permits such a manager to: (1) enter into a cooperative agreement with the local government of a certified gateway community to coordinate land management and development plans; and (2) make grants to assist such communities with respect to the Federal land use planning process.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gateway Communities Cooperation Act 
of 2000''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS AND GATEWAY 
              COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT COMPATIBLE LAND MANAGEMENT OF BOTH 
              FEDERAL AND ADJACENT LANDS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Communities that are adjacent to or near significant 
        parcels of the Federal lands, such as units of the National 
        Park System, units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, 
        units of the National Forest System, and lands administered by 
        the Bureau of Land Management, are often affected by the 
        management and public use of these Federal lands.
            (2) These nearby communities, commonly known as gateway 
        communities, have social and economic links to these Federal 
        lands and can also affect the activities occurring on these 
        Federal lands.
            (3) Gateway communities often serve as a starting point for 
        persons who visit these Federal lands and are an ideal place 
        for establishment of visitor services, including lodging, food 
        service, fuel, and auto repairs.
            (4) Development in these gateway communities can benefit or 
        adversely affect the management and protection of these Federal 
        lands, depending on the extent to which advance planning for 
        the local development is coordinated between the communities 
        and Federal land managers.
            (5) The management decisions of Federal land managers can 
        have unintended consequences for gateway communities, when the 
        decisions are not adequately communicated to, or coordinated 
        with, the elected officials and residents of gateway 
        communities.
            (6) Experts in land management planning are available to 
        Federal land managers, but persons with technical planning 
        skills are often not readily available to gateway communities, 
        particularly small gateway communities.
    (b) Policy.--It is the policy of the Federal Government that 
Federal land managers should make every effort to support, and 
communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with, gateway communities in 
order to--
            (1) improve the relationship between Federal land managers 
        and elected officials and residents of gateway communities;
            (2) enhance the facilities and services in gateway 
        communities that, while compatible with the management of 
        Federal lands, are available to visitors to Federal lands; and
            (3) result in better land use decisions.
    (c) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Federal land manager.--The term ``Federal land 
        manager'' means the superintendent of a unit of the National 
        Park System, the manager of a national wildlife refuge, the 
        resource area manager of a Bureau of Land Management area, or 
        the supervisor of a unit of the National Forest System.
            (2) Gateway community.--The term ``gateway community'' 
        means a community that--
                    (A) is located adjacent to or near Federal lands 
                administered by a Federal land manager;
                    (B) provides identifiable visitor services to 
                persons using these Federal lands;
                    (C) has identifiable social and economic links to 
                these Federal lands; and
                    (D) contains lands, the use of which could either 
                benefit or adversely affect lands, waters, or other 
                resources of these Federal lands.
            (3) Certified gateway community.--The term ``certified 
        gateway community'' means a gateway community that voluntarily 
        requests the technical assistance of a Federal land manager on 
        matters of land use coordination and planning for, and the 
        appropriate siting of development in, the gateway community.
    (d) Participate in Federal Planning.--Whenever a Federal land 
manager undertakes land management planning regarding Federal lands 
administered by the Federal land manager, the Federal land manager 
shall--
            (1) seek the active involvement of elected officials, 
        businesses, civic organizations, and other interested persons 
        in neighboring gateway communities in the planning process; and
            (2) provide these persons with a meaningful opportunity to 
        participate in the development and implementation of the 
        resulting land management decisions.
    (e) Coordination of Land Use.--A Federal land manager may enter 
into a cooperative agreement with the local government of a certified 
gateway community for the purpose of mutual coordination of land 
management and development plans. At a minimum, such an agreement shall 
provide for the involvement of persons referred to in subsection (d)(1) 
in the Federal planning process and for the Federal land manager to be 
involved in land management planning conducted by the certified gateway 
community.
    (f) Grants To Assist Certified Gateway Communities.--Using funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available to a Federal land manager to 
carry out this section, the Federal land manager may make grants to a 
certified gateway community--
            (1) to enable persons referred to in subsection (d)(1) to 
        participate in the Federal land use planning process;
            (2) to enable the local government of a certified gateway 
        community to obtain professional land use planning assistance;
            (3) to address public infrastructure impacts that are 
        identified through this process as a likely result of the 
        Federal land management decisions and for which sufficient 
        funds are not otherwise available; and
            (4) to address other aspects of local economic development 
        that may affect land use decisions, including programs to 
        educate visitors to the Federal lands about these lands or 
        about the gateway community.