PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 55 · Passed Senate · Dec 19, 2024
Review and Evaluation of Strategies for Equitable Reservations for Visitor Experiences Federal Land Act or the RESERVE Federal Land Act
This bill requires the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to jointly enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of federal reservation systems used to book or permit recreational activities on federal land.
Under the bill, federal land generally includes National Forest System land, units of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System, sites administered by the Bureau of Reclamation or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other land owned by the United States and administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Federal reservation systems are platforms used by managers of federal land to manage the quantity, type, distribution, and timing of recreational activities, including permitting, pricing, and lottery systems.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The study must review the history of federal reservation systems, including a review of the considerations that led to the establishment of such systems, iterations of such systems over time, and visitor feedback. The study must also address
the benefits and challenges of implementing federal reservation systems to achieve management goals for federal land,
the availability of data on the demand for recreation on federal land,
how fees have been collected over time to meet agency needs, and
how federal reservation systems can be improved to reduce missed reservations and increase use in periods of high demand.
People & committees
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7218; text: CR S7218-7219)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 626.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 118-394.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.4451 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.4451 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.4451 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.4451 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.