We’ve talked around this for years.
Tucked inside many of the articles we’ve written are passing shots at Rec.gov, hints at the quiet ways public access is being hollowed out, frustrations about digital gates and creeping fees. But we’ve never taken this one head-on.
Time to change that.
Recreation.gov is a scam.
A federal reservation system that pretends to serve the public while funneling millions to a private contractor. A system that charges you to access your own land, then keeps none of that money in the parks or forests it supposedly supports. A system that forces you to plan months ahead, wake up before dawn to battle bots for a campsite, and navigate a digital labyrinth just to take your kid camping.
And for what? So Booz Allen Hamilton – yes, the defense contractor – can line its pockets every time you try to visit a national park?
This is privatization hiding in plain sight. The rot isn’t subtle anymore. It’s time we said so. Clearly, loudly, and with receipts.
