I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10162 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with 

the National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study on reservation 

systems for Federal land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

Ms. PORTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an 

agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to 

carry out a study on reservation systems for Federal 

land. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Review and Evaluation 

5 of Strategies for Equitable Reservations for Visitor Expe6 riences Federal Land Act’’ or the ‘‘RESERVE Federal 

7 Land Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BOOKING WINDOW.—The term ‘‘booking 

4 window’’, with respect to a Federal reservation sys5 tem, means the time period during which a reserva6 tion or lottery entry is available to the public. 

7 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

8 means— 

9 (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 

10 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

12 (B) National Forest System land; 

13 (C) units of the National Park System; 

14 (D) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

15 System; 

16 (E) sites administered by the Bureau of 

17 Reclamation; and 

18 (F) sites administered by the Corps of En19 gineers. 

20 (3) FEDERAL RESERVATION SYSTEM.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal res22 ervation system’’ means any platform or meth23 od used by managers of Federal land to manage 

24 the quantity, type, distribution, and timing of 

25 recreational activities. 


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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal res2 ervation system’’ includes reservation, permit, 

3 lottery, metering, pricing, merit-based, and 

4 other similar management methods via online, 

5 telephone, paper, in-person, or other methods. 

6 (4) RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘rec7 reational activity’’ includes camping, backpacking, 

8 climbing, paddling sports, fishing, hiking, driving, 

9 and other recreational opportunities. 

10 (5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 

13 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

14 (C) the Secretary of the Army, acting 

15 through the Chief of Engineers. 

16 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF FED17 ERAL RESERVATION SYSTEMS FOR REC18 REATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND. 

19 (a) STUDY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, acting 

21 jointly, shall, not later than 60 days after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, enter into an agreement 

23 with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out 

24 a study of Federal reservation systems for rec25 reational activities on Federal land. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the study 

2 under paragraph (1), the National Academy of 

3 Sciences shall consult with the Secretaries to carry 

4 out the following: 

5 (A) A review of the history of Federal res6 ervation systems, such as recreation.gov, includ7 ing a review of— 

8 (i) the considerations, including data, 

9 that led to the establishment of the appli10 cable Federal reservation system; 

11 (ii) the iterations of the applicable 

12 Federal reservation system over time to 

13 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

14 agency; 

15 (iii) any visitor feedback provided with 

16 respect to the applicable Federal reserva17 tion system; and 

18 (iv) scientific literature or studies ex19 amining the efficacy of Federal reservation 

20 systems, including user preferences with 

21 respect to Federal reservation system de22 sign and implementation. 

23 (B) Based on available data and existing 

24 research, answer the following questions: 


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1 (i) What are the benefits and chal2 lenges of implementing Federal reservation 

3 systems to achieve management goals for 

4 Federal land, including resource protec5 tion, enjoyable visitor experiences, and sus6 tainable operations and facility use? 

7 (ii) What data are available, and what 

8 additional data are needed, to understand 

9 demand for recreation on Federal land? 

10 How can the data be used to balance vis11 itor management and conservation goals? 

12 (iii) What information is available re13 garding Federal land users and Federal 

14 reservation system users? What informa15 tion is available or needs to be collected re16 garding demographics and characteristics 

17 of successful and unsuccessful applicants 

18 using the Federal reservation systems? 

19 (iv) Do Federal reservation systems 

20 pose a barrier for certain communities and 

21 user groups to access appropriate recre22 ation opportunities on Federal land? If so, 

23 what is the nature of any barriers identi24 fied? 


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1 (v) What best practices should be con2 sidered in Federal reservation system de3 sign, including visitation management sys4 tem options and booking windows, options 

5 to respond to the needs specific to indi6 vidual Federal land management units, 

7 and equitable access to recreational activi8 ties? What metrics can be used to record 

9 outcomes of Federal reservation system de10 sign? 

11 (vi) How have fees been collected for 

12 Federal reservation systems over time to 

13 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

14 agency? How are the revenues from fees 

15 for Federal reservation systems split be16 tween, and spent by, Federal land units, 

17 Federal agencies, and third-party contrac18 tors? How is the fee structure dissemi19 nated to users? How could dissemination 

20 of information with respect to the fee 

21 structure be improved? 

22 (vii) What are the odds of success 

23 with respect to securing a reservation 

24 under Federal reservation systems? How 

25 are the odds of success disseminated to 


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1 users? How could dissemination of infor2 mation with respect to the odds of success 

3 be improved? 

4 (viii) How are data, including data 

5 collected by contractors, on Federal res6 ervation systems shared with Federal land 

7 managers, researchers, and the public? 

8 How can transparency be improved to in9 form the decisionmaking of users of Fed10 eral reservation systems? 

11 (ix) How are Federal reservation sys12 tems incorporating and adapting to emerg13 ing technologies, such as geofencing, bots, 

14 or third-party websites monitoring and re15 selling reservations? Are Federal reserva16 tion systems resilient to cyber threats? 

17 (x) How can Federal reservation sys18 tems be improved to reduce ‘‘no shows’’ 

19 and ensure that recreation sites are being 

20 used during periods of high demand? 

21 Would an increase in first-come, first22 served opportunities increase equitable ac23 cess to outdoor recreation on Federal land? 

24 (b) REPORT.—The agreement entered into under 

25 subsection (a)(1) shall include a requirement that, not 


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1 later than 18 months after the date on which the agree2 ment is entered into, the National Academy of Sciences 

3 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

4 a report that describes the results of the study carried out 

5 under that subsection. 

Æ 


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