II 

Calendar No. 626 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4451 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 4, 2024 

Mr. PADILLA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 

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1 ences Federal Land Act’’ or the ‘‘RESERVE Federal 

2 Land Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

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

6 window’’, with respect to a reservation system, 

7 means the time period during which a reservation or 

8 lottery entry is available to the public. 

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

10 means— 

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

12 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

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

14 (B) National Forest System land; 

15 (C) units of the National Park System; 

16 (D) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

17 System; 

18 (E) sites administered by the Bureau of 

19 Reclamation; and 

20 (F) sites administered by the Corps of En21 gineers. 

22 (3) RECREATION ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘recre23 ation activity’’ includes camping, backpacking, 

24 climbing, fishing, hiking, driving, and other rec25 reational opportunities. 


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1 (4) RESERVATION SYSTEM.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘reservation 

3 system’’ means any platform or method used by 

4 managers of Federal land to ration recreation 

5 activities. 

6 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘reservation 

7 system’’ includes reservation, lottery, metering, 

8 pricing, merit-based, and other similar rationing 

9 methods via online, telephone, paper, in-person, 

10 or other methods. 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF RES14 ERVATION SYSTEMS FOR RECREATION AC15 TIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND. 

16 (a) STUDY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina18 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec19 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of En20 gineers, shall, not later than 60 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, enter into an agreement 

22 with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out 

23 a study of reservation systems for recreation activi24 ties 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 carry out the following: 

4 (A) A comprehensive review of the history 

5 of reservation systems, such as recreation.gov, 

6 including a review of— 

7 (i) the studies that led to the estab8 lishment of the applicable reservation sys9 tem; 

10 (ii) the iterations of the applicable 

11 reservation system over time to meet the 

12 needs of the applicable Federal agency; 

13 and 

14 (iii) any visitor feedback provided with 

15 respect to the applicable reservation sys16 tem. 

17 (B) Based on available data and existing 

18 research, answer the following questions: 

19 (i) What are the benefits and chal20 lenges of implementing reservation systems 

21 for visitor management and conservation 

22 goals for Federal land? 

23 (ii) What data are available to under24 stand demand for recreation on Federal 

25 land? How can the data be used to balance 


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1 visitor management and conservation 

2 goals? 

3 (iii) What information is available re4 garding Federal land users and reservation 

5 system users? What information is avail6 able or needs to be collected regarding de7 mographics and characteristics of success8 ful applicants using the reservation sys9 tems? 

10 (iv) What best practices should guide 

11 reservation system design, including diver12 sity of rationing mechanisms and booking 

13 windows, and would promote equal access 

14 to recreation activities? What metrics can 

15 be used to record outcomes of reservation 

16 system design? 

17 (v) How have fees been collected for 

18 reservation systems over time to meet the 

19 needs of the applicable Federal agency? 

20 How are the revenues from fees for res21 ervation systems split between, and spent 

22 by, Federal land units, Federal agencies, 

23 and third-party contractors? How is the 

24 fee structure disseminated to users? How 


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1 could dissemination of information with re2 spect to the fee structure be improved? 

3 (vi) What are the odds of success with 

4 respect to securing a reservation under res5 ervation systems? How are the odds of suc6 cess disseminated to users? How could dis7 semination of information with respect to 

8 the odds of success be improved? 

9 (vii) How are data, including data col10 lected by contractors, on reservation sys11 tems shared with Federal land managers, 

12 researchers, and the public? How can 

13 transparency be improved to inform the 

14 decisionmaking of users of reservation sys15 tems? 

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

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

18 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the National Academy of Sciences shall submit to the 

20 appropriate committees of Congress a report that de21 scribes the results of the study carried out under sub22 section (a)(1). 

23 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

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1 ences Federal Land Act’’ or the ‘‘RESERVE Federal Land 

2 Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BOOKING WINDOW.—The term ‘‘booking win6 dow’’, with respect to a Federal reservation system, 

7 means the time period during which a reservation or 

8 lottery entry is available to the public. 

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

10 means— 

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

12 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

13 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

14 (B) National Forest System land; 

15 (C) units of the National Park System; 

16 (D) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

17 System; 

18 (E) sites administered by the Bureau of 

19 Reclamation; and 

20 (F) sites administered by the Corps of Engi21 neers. 

22 (3) FEDERAL RESERVATION SYSTEM.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal res24 ervation system’’ means any platform or method 

25 used by managers of Federal land to manage the 


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1 quantity, type, distribution, and timing of rec2 reational activities. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal res4 ervation system’’ includes reservation, permit, 

5 lottery, metering, pricing, merit-based, and other 

6 similar management methods via online, tele7 phone, paper, in-person, or other methods. 

8 (4) RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘rec9 reational activity’’ includes camping, backpacking, 

10 climbing, paddling sports, fishing, hiking, driving, 

11 and other recreational opportunities. 

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

13 means— 

14 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 

15 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

16 (C) the Secretary of the Army, acting 

17 through the Chief of Engineers. 

18 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF FED19 ERAL RESERVATION SYSTEMS FOR REC20 REATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL LAND. 

21 (a) STUDY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, acting joint23 ly, shall, not later than 60 days after the date of en24 actment of this Act, enter into an agreement with the 

25 National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study of 


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1 Federal reservation systems for recreational activities 

2 on Federal land. 

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

4 under paragraph (1), the National Academy of 

5 Sciences shall consult with the Secretaries to carry 

6 out the following: 

7 (A) A review of the history of Federal res8 ervation systems, such as recreation.gov, includ9 ing a review of— 

10 (i) the considerations, including data, 

11 that led to the establishment of the applica12 ble Federal reservation system; 

13 (ii) the iterations of the applicable 

14 Federal reservation system over time to 

15 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

16 agency; 

17 (iii) any visitor feedback provided with 

18 respect to the applicable Federal reservation 

19 system; and 

20 (iv) scientific literature or studies ex21 amining the efficacy of Federal reservation 

22 systems, including user preferences with re23 spect to Federal reservation system design 

24 and implementation. 


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1 (B) Based on available data and existing 

2 research, answer the following questions: 

3 (i) What are the benefits and chal4 lenges of implementing Federal reservation 

5 systems to achieve management goals for 

6 Federal land, including resource protection, 

7 enjoyable visitor experiences, and sustain8 able operations and facility use? 

9 (ii) What data are available, and what 

10 additional data are needed, to understand 

11 demand for recreation on Federal land? 

12 How can the data be used to balance visitor 

13 management and conservation goals? 

14 (iii) What information is available re15 garding Federal land users and Federal res16 ervation system users? What information is 

17 available or needs to be collected regarding 

18 demographics and characteristics of success19 ful and unsuccessful applicants using the 

20 Federal reservation systems? 

21 (iv) Do Federal reservation systems 

22 pose a barrier for certain communities, in23 cluding international communities, and 

24 user groups to access appropriate recreation 


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1 opportunities on Federal land? If so, what 

2 is the nature of any barriers identified? 

3 (v) What best practices should be con4 sidered in Federal reservation system de5 sign, including visitation management sys6 tem options and booking windows, options 

7 to respond to the needs specific to indi8 vidual Federal land management units, and 

9 equitable access to recreational activities? 

10 What metrics can be used to record out11 comes of Federal reservation system design? 

12 (vi) How have fees been collected for 

13 Federal reservation systems over time to 

14 meet the needs of the applicable Federal 

15 agency? How are the revenues from fees for 

16 Federal reservation systems split between, 

17 and spent by, Federal land units, Federal 

18 agencies, and third-party contractors? How 

19 is the fee structure disseminated to users? 

20 How could dissemination of information 

21 with respect to the fee structure be im22 proved? 

23 (vii) What are the odds of success with 

24 respect to securing a reservation under Fed25 eral reservation systems? How are the odds 


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1 of success disseminated to users? How could 

2 dissemination of information with respect 

3 to the odds of success be improved? 

4 (viii) How are data, including data 

5 collected by contractors, on Federal reserva6 tion systems shared with Federal land man7 agers, researchers, and the public? How can 

8 transparency be improved to inform the de9 cisionmaking of users of Federal reservation 

10 systems? 

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

14 third-party websites monitoring and resell15 ing reservations? Are Federal reservation 

16 systems resilient to cyber threats? 

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

19 ensure that recreation sites are being used 

20 during periods of high demand? Would an 

21 increase in first-come, first-served opportu22 nities increase equitable access to outdoor 

23 recreation on Federal land? 

24 (b) REPORT.—The agreement entered into under sub25 section (a)(1) shall include a requirement that, not later 


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1 than 18 months after the date on which the agreement is 

2 entered into, the National Academy of Sciences shall submit 

3 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that de4 scribes the results of the study carried out under that sub5 section. 


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Calendar No. 626 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4451 

A BILL 

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 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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