Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act

Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act

This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to carry out a pilot program to make available to the public, either directly or through partner organizations, data on visits to recreation destinations at

• a federal land management unit; and
• recreation sites managed by any other federal agency, a state agency, or a local agency located near the federal land management unit.

In carrying out the program, Interior and the Forest Service must partner with gateway communities, state and local outdoor recreation and tourism agencies, local and tribal governments, data and technology companies, and other relevant stakeholders. The term gateway community means a community that serves as an entry point or is adjacent to a recreation destination (including a recreation destination on federal land) at which there is consistently high seasonal or year-round visitation.

Also, under the pilot program, Interior and the Forest Service shall make available to the public information about lesser-known recreation sites (including recreation sites managed by any other federal agency, a state agency, or a local agency) located near a federal land management unit, in an effort to spread widely visitation among recreational sites.

Interior and the Forest Service shall collaborate with state and local governments, tribal governments, housing authorities, applicable trade associations, nonprofit organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, to, among other things, improve the understanding of the economic impacts of visits to recreation destinations on gateway communities.