Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§8453 Public lands telecommunications cooperative agreements

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 103— - EXPANDING PUBLIC LANDS OUTDOOR RECREATION EXPERIENCES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - OUTDOOR RECREATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE › Part Part D— - Broadband Connectivity on Federal Recreational Lands and Waters › § 8453

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may make cooperative agreements to work on communications sites on lands managed by federal land management agencies. These agreements can cover things like managing permits to use sites, doing needs studies and planning, making fair management plans, training staff, getting or improving access, building or improving sites, or any mix of these activities. Not later than 1 year after January 4, 2025, the Secretary must do a full assessment of whether rental fee retention would help. Under that idea, fees charged for occupying or using federal lands and waters under communications use authorizations would go into a special account and be used only for communications-site activities on lands and waters the Secretary manages.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §8453

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out activities related to communications sites on lands managed by Federal land management agencies, including—
(1)administering communications use authorizations;
(2)preparing needs assessments or other programmatic analyses necessary to establish communications sites and authorize communications uses on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency;
(3)developing management plans for communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency on a competitively neutral, technology neutral, nondiscriminatory basis;
(4)training for management of communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency;
(5)obtaining, improving access to, or establishing communications sites on or adjacent to Federal recreational lands and waters managed by a Federal land management agency; and
(6)any combination of purposes described in subparagraphs 11 So in original. Probably should be “paragraphs”. (1) through (5).
(b)
(c)Not later than 1 year after January 4, 2025, the Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the potential benefits of rental fee retention whereby any fee collected for the occupancy and use of Federal lands and waters authorized by a communications use authorization would be deposited into a special account and used solely for activities related to communications sites on lands and waters managed by the Secretary.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 143 of Pub. L. 118–234. Subsec. (b) of section 143 of Pub. L. 118–234 amended section 1761a of Title 43, Public Lands.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 8453

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73