NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.
Release No. FS-0536	Contact:	Press Office, (202) 205-1134

FOREST SERVICE AWARDS CONTRACT FOR RESERVATION SERVICE FOR RECREATION SITES ON FEDERAL LANDS
E-Gov Initiative will Provide One-Stop Service for Planning Trips to Campground and Other Recreation Destinations

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2005 – The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service today announced the award of a contract to provide a single, interagency federal recreation information and reservation service called the National Recreation Reservation Service (NRRS).

The three and a half-year, performance-based service contract was awarded to ReserveAmerica of Ballston Spa, N.Y. The contract provides for additional option periods for a total contract period not to exceed 10 years with a total potential value of $97 million.

The Forest Service conducted a full and open competition for the award of the new contract, which will consolidate and expand the existing federal reservation services. In addition, agencies may add other sites that are currently individually reserved only at the local level. The new service is expected to begin operating in December 2005.

The initial award of the contract was made in August 2004 but was later reopened to further discussions with vendors in the competitive range, at the recommendation of the Government Accountability Office in December 2004.

The new service is part of the President’s E-Gov Recreation One-Stop Initiative and will offer one-stop shopping to the public for a wide range of federal recreation areas, facilities and opportunities: more than 57,000 campsites, cabins, parks, and tours of national sites, historic homes and caves. Participating agencies will include the USDA Forest Service, the Department of the Interior National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The reservation service will operate through multiple sales channels, including telephone contact centers, on-line reservations and walk-up field reservations at some locations. Expanded service under the new contract will include one web-based portal to make reservations, available at www.recreation.gov. More than 50 percent of reservations are now made by internet access.

This site will provide a comprehensive source of information about thousands of federal recreation areas and opportunities. Interactive maps and text searches will allow customers to discover which parks, forests, lakes, museums, and other recreation activities and sites managed by government agencies are located near a particular area or offer specific recreational opportunities.

The public can continue using the two current reservation services - the existing National Recreation Reservation Service (NRRS) at http://www.reserveusa.com and the National Park Reservation Service (NPRS) at http://reservations.nps.gov until the integration is final. At that point, the www.recreation.gov site, which is currently operational, will become the web portal for making NRRS reservations.

Current reservations will be honored and outstanding reservations will be transferred to the new system once it is operational. Transition to the new service is expected to be seamless with minimal disruptions in customer service.

#