Senator Heinrich Targets Rec.Gov Bots But Only Writes to Chief Schultz (??)

Rec.gov is like the weather, everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it.

Thankfully, it has aroused the attention of at least one Senator. OTOH, he may be missing several boats… like the FS is only one user of Rec.gov.

I know Senate staff are very smart people and can use search engines, so it’s a bit puzzling.

Maybe Heinrich could work with the Chair on a bipartisan set of hearings to get at some of the issues? Congress could ask to take a look at the Booz-Allen books and maybe ask the Admin to get a team to look at other options, including moving it in-house to the USG.  So many possibilities!  But asking Chief Schultz to work on bots for a system the FS is one (probably unwilling) client of? Come on.

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WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Schultz demanding that the agency take action to address issues on the Recreation.gov permit and reservation system that threaten equitable access to public lands. Addressing these issues is particularly important as families across the country plan summer vacations and holiday trips to our nation’s public lands.

In the letter, Heinrich raises concern over reports of automated bot activity on the Recreation.gov website preventing individuals from obtaining permits and reservations to USFS sites.

“I write to request that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) take direct and immediate action to address the publicly reported issues surrounding the Recreation.gov permit and reservation system, where bots appear to be rapidly securing permits and reservations at release times, shutting out the public and leaving campsites and river launches unused despite appearing fully booked,” the Senator began.

The Senator continued, “These reports raise serious concerns about the integrity, fairness, and oversight of a system that is supposed to ensure equitable access to public lands.”

Challenges surrounding the USFS permit and reservation system make it so only individuals with the resources or expertise to develop technical workarounds can gain access to recreational sites, undermining Congressional direction to increase fair and equal access to public lands.

The Senator concluded the letter by calling on Chief Shultz and USFS to establish oversight policy prohibiting automated bots to procure permits and reservations on Recreation.gov, prioritizing transparency, accountability, and equitable access to public lands for all Americans.

Read the full letter here and below:

Dear Chief Schultz:

I write to request that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) take direct and immediate action to address the publicly reported issues surrounding the Recreation.gov permit and reservation system, where bots appear to be rapidly securing permits and reservations at release times, shutting out the public and leaving campsites and river launches unused despite appearing fully booked. These reports raise serious concerns about the integrity, fairness, and oversight of a system that is supposed to ensure equitable access to public lands.

As reported, individuals with the resources or expertise to develop technical workarounds can disproportionately secure access to limited permits and reservations on Recreation.gov. This dynamic undermines the intent of Congressional direction to increase recreation access on public lands. The current system, created and operated by contractors at Booz Allen Hamilton, appears to reward the most technologically advantaged with access to the most sought-after recreational sites and leaves many Americans without fair access to public lands.

In light of these ongoing challenges, I request that the USFS establish a clear policy prohibiting the use of automated systems, bots, or similar tools to procure permits or reservations on Recreation.gov. I stand ready to work with my colleagues in Congress to provide any additional statutory authority necessary to implement or enforce such a policy.

At a time when the outdoor recreation economy generates $351 million every day from activities on our public lands and waters, it is critical that the USFS prioritize addressing these systemic issues. The public deserves transparency, accountability, and a reservation system that allows them to spend their spare time on public lands connecting with the places that bring peace, joy, and solace.

I look forward to your timely response on this important matter.

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Here’s what the Rec.gov website says about bots:

A: The Recreation.gov platform does experience attempted bot activity; it is impossible not to given ever-evolving technology and advancements in AI. However, Recreation.gov has multiple defenses in place to detect, prevent, and mitigate the variety of bots that attempt to take advantage of the system. The primary targets of bot mitigation efforts are large-scale bot attacks on the stability of the site or bots seeking to capture multiple reservations. There is no evidence or examples of widespread abuse by bots across the platform impacting system stability, bots securing dozens of reservations, or bots securing reservations before they are released. While there are some individual reservations where basic user-written programs or more sophisticated bots may be helping a visitor secure a single reservation, this is not happening at a large scale and we are continually assessing and implementing new countermeasures and defenses to mitigate these bots when they are detected. Recreation.gov, and the program’s technology partner Booz Allen Hamilton, strive to implement industry-leading solutions and best practices for preventing bot activity while aiming to strike a balance between providing a frictionless user experience and deploying security measures to ensure access to all users.

Visit this Help Center article Are Bots Reserving all the Popular Locations? for more details.