118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4451 

AN ACT 

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, 
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†S 4451 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 of Strategies for Equitable Reservations for Visitor Expe4 riences Federal Land Act’’ or the ‘‘RESERVE Federal 

5 Land Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 window’’, with respect to a Federal reservation sys10 tem, means the time period during which a reserva11 tion or lottery entry is available to the public. 

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

13 means— 

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

15 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

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

17 (B) National Forest System land; 

18 (C) units of the National Park System; 

19 (D) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

20 System; 

21 (E) sites administered by the Bureau of 

22 Reclamation; and 

23 (F) sites administered by the Corps of En24 gineers. 

25 (3) FEDERAL RESERVATION SYSTEM.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal res2 ervation system’’ means any platform or meth3 od used by managers of Federal land to manage 

4 the quantity, type, distribution, and timing of 

5 recreational activities. 

6 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal res7 ervation system’’ includes reservation, permit, 

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

9 other similar management methods via online, 

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

11 (4) RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘rec12 reational activity’’ includes camping, backpacking, 

13 climbing, paddling sports, fishing, hiking, driving, 

14 and other recreational opportunities. 

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

16 means— 

17 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 

18 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

19 (C) the Secretary of the Army, acting 

20 through the Chief of Engineers. 

21 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF FED22 ERAL RESERVATION SYSTEMS FOR REC23 REATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND. 

24 (a) STUDY.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, acting 

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

3 of enactment of this Act, enter into an agreement 

4 with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out 

5 a study of Federal reservation systems for rec6 reational activities on Federal land. 

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

8 under paragraph (1), the National Academy of 

9 Sciences shall consult with the Secretaries to carry 

10 out the following: 

11 (A) A review of the history of Federal res12 ervation systems, such as recreation.gov, includ13 ing a review of— 

14 (i) the considerations, including data, 

15 that led to the establishment of the appli16 cable Federal reservation system; 

17 (ii) the iterations of the applicable 

18 Federal reservation system over time to 

19 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

20 agency; 

21 (iii) any visitor feedback provided with 

22 respect to the applicable Federal reserva23 tion system; and 

24 (iv) scientific literature or studies ex25 amining the efficacy of Federal reservation 
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1 systems, including user preferences with 

2 respect to Federal reservation system de3 sign and implementation. 

4 (B) Based on available data and existing 

5 research, answer the following questions: 

6 (i) What are the benefits and chal7 lenges of implementing Federal reservation 

8 systems to achieve management goals for 

9 Federal land, including resource protec10 tion, enjoyable visitor experiences, and sus11 tainable operations and facility use? 

12 (ii) What data are available, and what 

13 additional data are needed, to understand 

14 demand for recreation on Federal land? 

15 How can the data be used to balance vis16 itor management and conservation goals? 

17 (iii) What information is available re18 garding Federal land users and Federal 

19 reservation system users? What informa20 tion is available or needs to be collected re21 garding demographics and characteristics 

22 of successful and unsuccessful applicants 

23 using the Federal reservation systems? 

24 (iv) Do Federal reservation systems 

25 pose a barrier for certain communities, in-
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1 cluding international communities, and 

2 user groups to access appropriate recre3 ation opportunities on Federal land? If so, 

4 what is the nature of any barriers identi5 fied? 

6 (v) What best practices should be con7 sidered in Federal reservation system de8 sign, including visitation management sys9 tem options and booking windows, options 

10 to respond to the needs specific to indi11 vidual Federal land management units, 

12 and equitable access to recreational activi13 ties? What metrics can be used to record 

14 outcomes of Federal reservation system de15 sign? 

16 (vi) How have fees been collected for 

17 Federal reservation systems over time to 

18 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

19 agency? How are the revenues from fees 

20 for Federal reservation systems split be21 tween, and spent by, Federal land units, 

22 Federal agencies, and third-party contrac23 tors? How is the fee structure dissemi24 nated to users? How could dissemination 
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1 of information with respect to the fee 

2 structure be improved? 

3 (vii) What are the odds of success 

4 with respect to securing a reservation 

5 under Federal reservation systems? How 

6 are the odds of success disseminated to 

7 users? How could dissemination of infor8 mation with respect to the odds of success 

9 be improved? 

10 (viii) How are data, including data 

11 collected by contractors, on Federal res12 ervation systems shared with Federal land 

13 managers, researchers, and the public? 

14 How can transparency be improved to in15 form the decisionmaking of users of Fed16 eral reservation systems? 

17 (ix) How are Federal reservation sys18 tems incorporating and adapting to emerg19 ing technologies, such as geofencing, bots, 

20 or third-party websites monitoring and re21 selling reservations? Are Federal reserva22 tion systems resilient to cyber threats? 

23 (x) How can Federal reservation sys24 tems be improved to reduce ‘‘no shows’’ 

25 and ensure that recreation sites are being 
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1 used during periods of high demand? 

2 Would an increase in first-come, first3 served opportunities increase equitable ac4 cess to outdoor recreation on Federal land? 

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

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

7 later than 18 months after the date on which the agree8 ment is entered into, the National Academy of Sciences 

9 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

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

11 under that subsection. 

Passed the Senate December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4451 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to enter 

tems for Federal land. Sciences to carry out a study on reservation sysinto an agreement with the National Academy of