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 Department of the Interior, and to respond to the impacts of the public use of the Federal lands administered by these agencies, and for other purposes.

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 Department of the Interior, and to respond to the impacts of the public use of the Federal lands administered by these agencies, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 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 Federal lands, including 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 vitally impacted by the management and public use of these Federal lands.

(2) 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, medical, provisioning, logistical support, living quarters, and drinking water and sanitary systems, for both visitors to the Federal lands and employees of Federal land management agencies.

(3) Provision of these vital services by gateway communities is an essential ingredient for a meaningful and enjoyable experience by visitors to the Federal lands because Federal land management agencies are unable to provide, or are prevented from providing, these services.

(4) Gateway communities serve as an entry point for persons who visit the Federal lands and are ideal for establishment of visitor services, including lodging, food service, fuel and auto repairs, emergency services, and visitor information.

(5) Development in these gateway communities 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.

(6) The planning and management decisions of Federal land managers can have unintended consequences for gateway communities and the Federal lands, when the decisions are not adequately communicated to, or coordinated with, the elected officials and residents of gateway communities.

(7) 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.

(8) Gateway communities are often affected by the policies and actions of several Federal land agencies and both the communities and the agencies would benefit from greater interagency coordination of those policies and actions.

(9) Persuading gateway communities to make decisions and undertake actions in their communities that would also be in the best interest of the Federal lands is most likely to occur when such decisionmaking and actions are built upon a foundation of cooperation and coordination.

(b) PURPOSE- It is the purpose of this section to require Federal land managers to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with gateway communities in order to--

(1) improve the relationships among Federal land managers, elected officials, and residents of gateway communities;

(2) enhance the facilities and services in gateway communities available to visitors to federal lands when compatible with the management of these lands, including the availability of historical and cultural resources; and

(3) result in better local land use planning and decisions by Federal land managers.

(c) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

(1) GATEWAY COMMUNITY- The term `gateway community' means a county, city, town, village, or other subdivision of a State, or a federally recognized American 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) a Federal land manager (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 that Federal land manager.

(2) FEDERAL LAND AGENCIES- The term `Federal land agencies' means the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

(3) FEDERAL LAND MANAGER- The term `Federal land manager' means--

(A) the superintendent of a unit of the National Park System;

(B) the manager of a national wildlife refuge;

(C) the field office manager of a Bureau of Land Management area; or

(D) the supervisor of a unit of the National Forest System.

(d) PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL PLANNING AND LAND USE-

(1) PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING- The Federal land agencies shall provide for meaningful public involvement at the earliest possible time by elected and appointed officials of governments of local gateway communities in the development of land use plans, programs, land use regulations, land use decisions, transportation plans, general management plans, and any other plans, decisions, projects, or policies for Federal public lands under the jurisdiction of these agencies that will have a significant impact on these gateway communities. To facilitate such involvement, the Federal land agencies shall provide these officials, at the earliest possible time, with a summary in nontechnical language of the assumptions, purposes, goals, and objectives of such a plan, decision, project, or policy and a description of any anticipated significant impact of the plan, decision, project, or policy on gateway communities.

(2) EARLY NOTICE OF PROPOSED DECISIONS- To the extent practicable, the Federal land agencies shall provide local gateway communities with early public notice of proposed decisions of these agencies that may have a significant impact on gateway communities.

(3) TRAINING SESSIONS- The Federal land agencies shall offer training sessions for elected and appointed officials of gateway communities at which such officials can obtain a better understanding of--

(A) agency planning processes; and

(B) the methods by which they can participate most meaningfully in the development of the agency plans, decisions, and policies referred to in paragraph (1).

(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- At the request of the government of a gateway community, a Federal land agency shall assign, to the extent practicable, an agency employee or contractor to work with the community to develop data and analysis relevant to the preparation of agency plans, decisions, and policies referred to in paragraph (1).

(5) REVIEW OF FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT PLANNING- At the request of a gateway community, and to the extent practicable, a Federal land manager shall assist the gateway community to conduct a review of land use, management, or transportation plans of the Federal land manager that are likely to affect the gateway community.

(6) COORDINATION OF LAND USE- To the extent consistent with the laws governing the administration of the Federal public lands, a Federal land manager may enter into a cooperative agreement with a gateway community to provide for coordination between--

(A) the land use inventory, planning, and management activities for the Federal lands administered by the Federal land manager; and

(B) the land use planning and management activities of other Federal agencies, agencies of the State in which the Federal lands are located, and local and tribal governments in the vicinity of the Federal lands.

(7) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND COORDINATION- To the extent practicable, when the plans and activities of two or more Federal land agencies are anticipated to have a significant impact on a gateway community, the Federal land agencies involved shall consolidate and coordinate their plans and planning processes to facilitate the participation of the gateway community in the planning processes.

(8) TREATMENT AS COOPERATING AGENCIES- When a proposed action is determined to require the preparation of an environmental impact statement, the Federal land agencies shall, as soon as practicable, but not later than the scoping process, actively solicit the participation of gateway communities as cooperating agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(e) GRANTS TO ASSIST GATEWAY COMMUNITIES-

(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED; PURPOSES- A Federal land manager may make grants to an eligible gateway community to enable the gateway community--

(A) to participate in Federal land planning or management processes;

(B) to obtain professional land use or transportation planning assistance necessary as a result of Federal action;

(C) to address and resolve public infrastructure impacts that are identified through these processes as a likely result of the Federal land management decisions and for which sufficient funds are not otherwise available; and

(D) to provide public information and interpretive services about the Federal lands administered by the Federal land manager and about the gateway community.

(2) ELIGIBLE GATEWAY COMMUNITIES- To be eligible for a grant under this subsection, a gateway community may not have a population in excess of 10,000 persons.

(f) FUNDING SOURCES-

(1) GENERAL AGENCY FUNDS- A Federal land agency may use amounts available for the general operation of the agency to provide funds to Federal land managers of that agency to make grants under subsection (e).

(2) OTHER PLANNING OR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT FUNDS- Funds available to a Federal land manager for planning, construction, or project development may also be used to fund programs under subsection (d) and make grants under subsection (e).

(3) COMBINATION OF FUNDS- Federal land managers from different Federal land agencies may combine financial resources to make grants under subsection (e).

(g) PLACEMENT OF FACILITIES- Whenever planning new or expanded facilities, including administrative, operational, housing, or visitor information facilities for Federal lands administered by a Federal land management agency, the Federal land management agency shall give priority consideration, to the extent practicable, to locating the facilities in a gateway community.