Daines, King reintroduce bill aimed at aiding communities near national parks

Feb. 17—A year after its initial introduction in the Senate, the bipartisan Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act is getting a second chance at life.

U.S. Senators Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Angus King, I-Maine, reintroduced the bill Feb. 13 in the still young congressional session. Originally proposed in February 2022, the bill stalled after passing committee in May as part of the Outdoor Recreation Act.

The proposal would require a two-prong federal approach to address increased public lands visitation and to combat the resultant strain on nearby communities. The bill would require the Interior and Agriculture departments to partner with local stakeholders on fixes using existing federal funding and programs.

"Montana's national parks and public lands are the crown jewels of the United States, and our Montana gateway communities know firsthand the benefits and the challenges they bring," Daines said in a statement. "Just as we protect our great outdoors, we also must take care of the communities supporting our national parks, especially as they face record visitation that has put a strain on their businesses, employees and housing."

The first prong of the bill calls for the establishment of the "Real-time Data Pilot Program" within two years using existing funds.

The program would strive to provide real-time visitation data for federal recreational lands and waters and highlight alternative recreation areas in an attempt to draw crowds from major destinations.

Where possible, according to the proposal, the pilot program also would produce crowd data on nearby state or local recreation areas.

Initially, 15 federal land management units nationwide would be selected by the Interior Department for the pilot program, with another five units selected by the Forest Service.

In no more than five years, the agencies would be required to expand the initial list by an additional 80 units, of which at least 50 must be managed by the Interior.

The bill omits mention of specific parks or recreation areas.

The bill also calls for improved visitation data collection from federal recreation sites, including a breakdown of visitation using multiple categories of recreational activities.

Beginning no later than Jan. 1, 2024, the secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture would be required to publish the collected data on a publicly available website.

The bill's second prong would require the use existing funds and programs to collaborate with "state and local governments, tribal governments, housing authorities, applicable trade associations, nonprofit organizations and other relevant stakeholders" to delve into the economics of visitation to local communities in an attempt to identify specific needs.

Those needs, according to the bill, would include creating cooperative agreements; offering leases, rights-of-way or easements; and providing financial assistance from existing federal programs.

The bill's effort to assist gateway communities has been lauded by local officials.

"Increased visitation exacerbates our community's infrastructure woes, specifically with regard to traffic congestion, parking shortages and public transit," said Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland in a statement. "The Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act has the potential to play a vital role in helping our community to address these issues."

Flathead County commissioners echoed Gartland's sentiments.

"The act will offer useful and needed tools for our communities located near and around the entrance to Glacier National Park," said Flathead County Commissioners Brad Abell and Randy Brodehl said in a prepared statement.

The final part of the bill calls for the creation of a digital version of the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass capable of being stored on a mobile device by the beginning of next year.

"Our national parks and public lands help set us apart from the rest of the world, and in Montana, they're part of our way of life. Just as we take care of our outdoors, we must take care of the gateway communities surrounding them," Daines said.

Reporter Jeremy Weber can be contacted at jweber@dailyinterlake.com.