108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 1014
AN ACT
To require Federal land managers to support, and
to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with,
designated gateway communities, to improve the
ability of gateway communities to participate in
Federal land management planning conducted by
the Forest Service and agencies of the Depart-
ment of the Interior, and to respond to the im-
pacts of the public use of the Federal lands ad-
ministered by these agencies, and for other pur-
poses.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 1014
AN ACT
To require Federal land managers to support, and to commu-
nicate, coordinate, and cooperate with, designated gate-
way communities, to improve the ability of gateway com-
munities to participate in Federal land management
planning conducted by the Forest Service and agencies
of the Department of the Interior, and to respond to
the impacts of the public use of the Federal lands admin-
istered by these agencies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gateway Communities
Cooperation Act’’.
SEC. 2. IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERAL
LAND MANAGERS AND GATEWAY COMMU-
NITIES 
TO 
SUPPORT 
COMPATIBLE 
LAND
MANAGEMENT OF BOTH FEDERAL AND ADJA-
CENT LANDS.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Many communities that abut or are near
Federal lands, including units of the National Park
System, units of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem, units of the National Forest System, and lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management,
are vitally impacted by the management and public
use of these Federal lands.
(2) Some of these communities, commonly
known as gateway communities, fulfill an integral
part in the mission of the Federal lands by providing
necessary services, such as schools, roads, search
and rescue, emergency service, medical support,
logistical support, living quarters, and drinking
water and sanitary systems for visitors to the Fed-
(3) result in better local land use planning in
gateway communities and decisions by the relevant
Secretary.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section,
the following definitions apply:
(1) GATEWAY COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘gate-
way community’’ means a county, city, town, village,
or other subdivision of a State, a federally recog-
nized Indian tribe, or Alaska Native village, that—
(A) is incorporated or recognized in a
county or regional land use plan or within tribal
jurisdictional boundaries; and
(B) the relevant Secretary (or the head of
the tourism office for the State) determines is
significantly affected economically, socially, or
environmentally by planning and management
decisions regarding Federal lands administered
by the relevant Secretary.
(2) RELEVANT
SECRETARY—The term ‘‘rel-
evant Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior
or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate.
(d) PARTICIPATION
IN FEDERAL PLANNING
AND
LAND USE.—
(1) PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING.—At the ear-
liest possible time, the relevant Secretary shall solicit
the involvement of elected and appointed officials of
governments of gateway communities in the develop-
ment of land use plans, programs, land use regula-
tions, land use decisions, transportation plans, gen-
eral management plans, and any other plans, deci-
sions, projects, or policies for Federal lands under
the jurisdiction of these Federal agencies that are
likely to have a significant impact on these gateway
communities.
(2) INFORMATION
PROVIDED.—To facilitate
such involvement, the relevant Secretary shall pro-
vide the appropriate officials, at the earliest possible
time but not later than the scoping process, with the
following:
(A) A summary, in nontechnical language,
of the assumptions, purposes, goals, and objec-
tives of the a plan, decision, project, or policy.
(B) A description of any anticipated sig-
nificant impact of the plan, decision, project, or
policy on gateway communities.
(C) Information regarding the technical as-
sistance and training available to the gateway
community.
(3) TRAINING SESSIONS.—At the request of a
gateway community, the relevant Secretary shall
offer training sessions for elected and appointed offi-
cials of gateway communities at which such officials
can obtain a better understanding of—
(A) the agency planning processes; and
(B) the methods by which they can partici-
pate most meaningfully in the development of
the agency plans, decisions, and policies re-
ferred to in paragraph (1).
(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of
a gateway community, the relevant Secretary shall
make available personnel, on a temporary basis, to
assist gateway communities in development of mutu-
ally compatible land use or management plans.
(5) COORDINATION
OF
LAND
USE.—The rel-
evant Secretary may enter into cooperative agree-
ments with gateway communities to coordinate the
management of—
(A) the land use inventory, planning, and
management activities for the Federal lands ad-
ministered by the relevant Secretary; and
(B) the land use planning and manage-
ment activities of other Federal agencies, agen-
cies of the State in which the Federal lands are
located, and local and tribal governments in the
vicinity of the Federal lands.
(6) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND COORDI-
NATION.—To the extent practicable, when the plans
and activities of 2 or more Federal agencies are an-
ticipated to have a significant impact on a gateway
community, the Federal agencies involved shall con-
solidate and coordinate their plans and planning
processes to facilitate the participation of affected
gateway communities in the planning processes.
(7) TREATMENT AS COOPERATING AGENCIES.—
To the earliest extent practicable, but not later than
the scoping process, when a proposed action is deter-
mined to require an environmental impact state-
ment, the relevant Secretary shall allow any affected
gateway communities the opportunity to be recog-
nized as cooperating agencies under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.).
(e) GRANTS TO SMALL GATEWAY COMMUNITIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The relevant Secretary may
make grants to any gateway community with a pop-
ulation of 10,000 or less to carry out the purposes
of this section.
(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR
GRANTMAKING.—There are hereby authorized to be
appropriated $10,000,000 for each fiscal year for
grants under this subsection.
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are hereby authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act (other than for grants under subsection (e)),
$10,000,000 for each fiscal year.
Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 2004.
Attest:
Clerk.