Strengthening Coordination with Gateway Communities Act

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Tom McClintock’s legislation, H.R. 10128, the Strengthening Coordination with Gateway Communities Act, was heard in a legislative hearing today in the House Natural Resources Committee.

 

The legislation, H.R. 10128, will codify into law an order signed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in 2025 to enhance coordination between the National Park Service and gateway communities.

 

The legislation includes recognition of gateway communities as key stakeholders in System Unit management, and it fosters transparent, ongoing communication between the Parks and gateway leadership.

 

“Our Gateway Communities are comprised of people who have spent their lives in and around the Parks,” said Congressman McClintock.  “Yet one of the frustrations they have expressed is that they feel ignored and excluded from decisions that directly affect the Park, its visitors, local communities and economy.” 

 

 

With the signing of Secretarial Order 3434 in 2025, local officials with decades of combined collective experience welcoming visitors, finally had a seat at the table with their local national park on matters that immediately impact their local communities. 

 

Madera County Supervisor Bobby Macaulay testified in support of H.R. 10128 at the House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

 

A copy of the Secretarial Order 3434 is attached.

 

 “In Yosemite, gateway communities are working collaboratively with Park Service to preserve the park, provide recommendations on priority issues and opportunities, and take on communication challenges. It is essential that those that have chosen to live and work near the park have a voice around the lands they love and often depend on. By codifying Interior Order 3434 we are ensuring this will be standard at each National Park for generations to come.”  

“Secretarial Order 3434 has helped create meaningful, ongoing communication between the National Park Service and gateway communities, ensuring that our concerns and local knowledge are heard. In Mariposa County, we have seen stronger, more responsive partnerships with both the National Park Service and the Yosemite Conservancy. I am proud to have advocated for this policy alongside my fellow gateway supervisors, and I support Congressman McClintock’s effort to make these protections permanent so future administrations cannot allow that collaboration to disappear.”

 

"Ensuring ongoing collaboration between the Park Service and local gateway communities becomes permanent standard practice make sense," said Paul McFarland, Mono County Supervisor representing the eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park. "The conversations supported by the Gateway Communities Act help us all realize we're in this together. The health of our local communities depends on the health of Yosemite National Park and vice versa.”

 

 

“The renewed energy of gateway communities working alongside Yosemite National Park administrators demonstrates what can be achieved through inclusive collaboration. This partnership has already produced several valuable initiatives, including the development of the Beyond Yosemite Valley map. The project illustrates how coordinated efforts can help shape visitor travel patterns by encouraging exploration throughout the park and reducing concentration in any single area.”

 

“Gateway communities are essential partners in the success of our national parks. We welcome and serve millions of visitors each year, and the decisions made within our parks have a direct impact on our residents, businesses, infrastructure and visitor experience. This legislation recognizes how important it is for gateway communities to have a meaningful voice and a seat at the table. Strengthening communication and collaboration between the Department of the Interior, our national parks and the communities that surround them will help us better serve visitors, protect these treasured places and support the people who call these regions home.”

 

 

"For too long, land managers historically ignored gateway community leaders' knowledge and input on critical park decisions. Secretary's Order 3434 changed that. Making this order permanent guarantees local expertise will always help shape the public lands we share.”

 

 

During my time chairing this sub-committee, one of our objectives was to restore the federal government as a good neighbor to the communities impacted by the federal lands.  After a decade of frustration and complaints from businesses and representatives surrounding Yosemite National Park, we finally achieved that goal when Secretary Burgum issued his Executive Order 3434, directing national park superintendents to consult with them regularly and meaningfully.
 

H.R. 10128 codifies that order.
 

No one has a greater stake in the success of our parks than these gateway communities.  They live every day with the consequences of decisions made by federal land managers.
 

Yet for far too long, these communities have been ignored by park managers who transfer in and out of the park without ever understanding their problems and challenges.  Before Superintendent McPadden, Yosemite’s superintendent lived in the Bay area.
 

I can testify directly to the frustrations of the Yosemite Gateway Communities, because I spent years listening to their concerns while a succession of incompetent park superintendents simply blew them off.  
 

Instead of listening to the gateway communities, park bureaucrats imposed increasingly severe restrictions on park visitors, including a hated reservations system that dramatically impacted visitation.  They turned away an average of 700 cars a day – filled with families who had driven hours to enjoy a day at Yosemite – while parking lots sat half empty.  Hotel reservations fell thousands short and many tourists who booked a room outside the park were refused entry at the gates for want of a coveted reservation.  Frustrated would-be visitors reported continuing problems trying to obtain reservations on a glitchy website. 
 

The gateway community businesses proposed dozens of simple reforms to reduce congestion within the park and the hours-long traffic backups at park entrances.   They proposed a digitized entry system, entry passes and wi-fi to expedite gate admissions, wider promotion of park attractions beyond the valley to reduce congestion, more efficient traffic patterns and greater parking access and real-time data to relieve crowding in peak periods. Yet on the rare occasion that a park manager even bothered to meet with them, they were treated as non-entities and nuisances.
 

That all changed with Yosemite’s new park superintendent acting under the Secretarial order issued last year.  The Secretary himself attended one such consultation this year and Superintendent Ray McPadden began ably implementing these suggestions.  
 

The proof is all around us today.  Visitation is up and crowding is down.  And that’s not just an opinion.  Washington State University conducted a survey of park visitors from August 7 to 16th.  They report that 96 percent of park visitors rated their recreation experience as good or excellent, 91 percent experienced no entry delays or delays of      less than 15 minutes.  56 percent said they spent less time looking for parking than they expected.  Traffic gridlock used to occur 120 days a year in the Valley.  This year has seen just two such days – both over the Memorial Day weekend.  
 

Under the secretarial order we seek to codify, every National Park System unit must conduct at least one quarterly coordination meeting with gateway community leaders. Park officials must document and consider local input when developing management plans, environmental reviews, visitor-use strategies, and fee proposals. 
 

Perhaps most importantly, the Park Service must engage these communities early while developing policies that could affect local access, tourism, or regional economic activity and allow them to shape these policies in the early stages.  
 

The secretarial order also requires every National Park System unit to designate a Gateway Community Coordinator who serves as a direct point of contact for state, tribal, and local officials. That coordinator is responsible for facilitating communication, ensuring that community concerns reach decision-makers, and elevating problems requiring regional or national attention. 
 

Executive orders and secretarial orders can be reversed as quickly as they are issued. Communities making long-term investments and planning decisions need greater certainty than that.