Making Public Lands Accessible and Sustainable

In the U.S., the great outdoors always draws a long line—both physical and virtual. Outdoor recreation is a trillion-dollar industry that accounts for 2% of the country’s gross domestic product, says Jeff Leon, Booz Allen’s product lead for Recreation.gov.

“Interest in outdoor activities is growing exponentially,” he continues, “which puts pressure on the National Park Service (NPS) and other agencies who manage federal recreation destinations to meet this surging demand.”

Enter the solutions provided by Booz Allen for Recreation.gov. Developed under an outcomes-based contract, the website and corresponding app not only simplify exploration for parkgoers, but make the work of the agency and field staff a little easier.

Booz Allen’s Recreation.gov team keeps the end users—encompassing the 14 federal agencies that manage recreation destinations across the country, including the NPS, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Land Management—at the heart of everything they do. “Even though I’m the only one with CX in my title, every person on the project focuses on customer experience,” says Kirsten Medhurst, the project’s customer experience lead.   

Jeff, Kirsten, and their teammates Hunter Boyer and Brian Davis share insights about developing and continually enhancing a product that improves the experience of all stakeholders.

Accessing recreational activities in the national parks hasn’t always been easy. “In the past, if you wanted to go river rafting, you had to personally visit the permit office at that river or the national forest or national park office that managed the waterway to sign up for a rafting permit,” says Brian Davis, a senior associate at Booz Allen and the outreach and engagement lead for Recreation.gov.

“There was no guarantee you’d get a permit, and some people might travel thousands of miles only to walk away disappointed.”

But the range of tools and services provided through Recreation.gov has changed all that.

“Now it’s a lottery process, and you can enter from 2,000 miles away,” says Brian. “We hear stories from people who went rafting when they were younger, moved, and hadn’t gotten to do it for a long time. They get to relive a core memory from their childhood, all thanks to Recreation.gov.”

Improving visitation management for parks and their assets requires a bit of a balancing act, Jeff notes. “People should be able to enjoy the parks, but if the lines get too long or the campgrounds get too crowded, the overall experience suffers,” he says. “We preserve what’s special about these adventures by managing, not restricting, access. We work with the agencies to figure out what the right impact is.”

Recreation.gov’s functionality goes beyond helping people plan their vacations and promoting enjoyable outings for visitors. It also helps make the job of managing the location easier and more efficient for park staff.

“We built an entire self-service internal management platform for facility staff,” Brian says. “We put the power in their hands. Staff can make changes to the website in real time and access the same tools through their own apps when they’re in the field.”

If there’s a wildfire, for instance, park staff can instantly issue a closure through Recreation.gov and automate many formerly manual processes.

“They don't have to worry about issuing the refunds; they can rely on the system to do that,” Brian adds. “Park staff then have time to take care of the situation that matters on the ground.”

The Booz Allen team designed and developed a modern reservation management platform for Recreation.gov on an outcomes-based contract, meaning the company gets paid per transaction, rather than a fee upfront.

An outcomes-based approach aligns with and meets the needs of Recreation.gov, the government, the public interest, and the Booz Allen team according to Jeff.

"It encourages us and the government to continuously invest into making this site better,” he says. “The better the solution we provide, the more we can help deliver on the NPS mission. It’s that shared risk model that drives true partnership and incentivizes innovation to make continued improvement.”

Under this arrangement, “we’re not so much working for the client as we are working with them,” Brian says. Brian, Jeff, and others from Booz Allen meet weekly with the program manager and multiple other members of the government program team to talk through problems and brainstorm process improvements.

Everyone involved constantly seeks ways to further enhance the user experience and refine the site.

“AI is going to change the way the public interacts with their reservations,” Jeff predicts. The team is piloting new AI solutions to evaluate how generative AI can support visitor activities and support the overall recreation mission. They are also investigating other ways to use AI and machine learning to comb through data and solve problems.

User feedback will also help shape the future of Recreation.gov. “I would love to use AI to make use of the reviews we get from visitors, to help people find sites that work for them,” Kirsten says.

If the Recreation.gov team’s enthusiasm offers any clue, then the future looks increasingly bright. “We’re introducing people to new experiences, helping them find solace in nature during difficult times, and strengthening bonds between families and friends,” says Hunter Boyer, external customer engagement and outreach strategist. It brings me joy to work with product owners and other team members to understand what visitors want to hear and then help deliver that information at the right time and in the right format.”