Strengthening Resource Protection

Interior’s management of more than 500 million acres of federal land and 1.8 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf is largely characterized by the struggle to balance the demand for greater use of its resources with the need to conserve and protect them for future generations. GAO’s work on the challenges that Interior, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), faces in protecting the nation against the threat of wildland fires has revealed a continued need for several improvements.

• Despite concurrence with GAO’s recommendations, Interior and USDA have yet to complete a cohesive national strategy that identifies long-term options and associated funding needs for responding to wildland fire issues. The departments also have not developed a tactical plan to inform Congress about the steps and time frames needed to develop such a strategy. Experts believe that catastrophic damage from wildland fire will continue to increase until an adequate long-term federal response is implemented and has had time to take effect.

  Highlights of GAO-08-433T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-147 (PDF), and Full Report of GAO/RCED-99-65 (PDF, 64 pages)

• There are also several steps that Interior agencies could take to better ensure that funds for reducing potentially hazardous vegetation that could fuel wildland fires are allocated to effectively reduce risk. Specifically, when allocating funds and selecting projects, Interior agencies could improve their processes by consistently assessing all elements of wildland fire risk, developing measures of the effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments, and assessing the cost-effectiveness of treatments.

  Highlights of GAO-07-1168 (PDF)

• In addition, Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have not been effectively carrying out their responsibilities for ensuring that hardrock mining and oil and gas operations occurring on their lands do not cause unnecessary environmental harm. Specifically, GAO found the BLM was not ensuring that hardrock mining operations had sufficient financial assurances to provide for proper reclamation of disturbed lands. As a result, some assurances may not fully cover all future reclamation costs. Furthermore, BLM has had difficulty determining the number of abandoned hardrock mines on their lands and have no definitive estimates. These abandoned mines pose significant safety hazards and environmental degradation.

  Highlights of GAO-08-574T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-377 (PDF)

• BLM has also struggled to deal with the dramatic increase in oil and gas operations on federal and private lands for which the federal government retains the mineral rights. Similarly, to the concerns GAO has about BLM’s protection of environmental resources for oil and gas activities, GAO reported that FWS was not consistently inspecting oil and gas operations in national wildlife refuges to ensure that environmental standards were being met. GAO also found that FWS was not collecting complete and accurate information on damage to refuge lands as a result of oil and gas operations and what steps were needed to address that damage.

  Highlights of GAO-05-418 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-03-517 (PDF)

• Lastly, GAO identified key challenges that Interior faces participating in collaborative efforts to reduce resource management conflicts and improve natural resource conditions.

  Highlights of GAO-08-262 (PDF)

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

To help address myriad agency efforts to manage wildland fires and contain associated costs, the Secretary of the Interior, with the Secretary of the Agriculture, should

• develop a strategy that identifies options and associated funding to reduce fuels and address wildland fire problems,
• develop a tactical plan that lays out the steps and time frames needed to develop such a strategy,
• establish clearly defined goals and measurable objectives for containing wildland fire costs, and
• establish performance measures, as well as establish a framework to ensure that officials are held accountable for managing wildland fires and containing costs.

Highlights of GAO-08-433T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-655 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-147 (PDF), and Full Report of GAO/RCED-99-65 (PDF, 64 pages)

To improve Interior’s processes for allocating funds to reduce potentially hazardous vegetation that could fuel wildland fires, the Secretary of the Interior should

• systematically assess risk as part of the allocation process,
• incorporate measures of the effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments,
• use a more systematic allocation approach, and
• delineate a hierarchy of the factors to be considered when allocating funds.

Highlights of GAO-07-1168 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

National Wildlife Refuges: Opportunities to Improve the Management and Oversight of Oil and Gas Activities on Federal Lands

GAO-03-517, August 28, 2003

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 67 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Natural Resource Management: Opportunities Exist to Enhance Federal Participation in Collaborative Efforts to Reduce Conflicts and Improve Natural Resource Conditions

GAO-08-262, February 12, 2008

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 133 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Wildland Fire Management: Lack of Clear Goals or a Strategy Hinders Federal Agencies' Efforts to Contain the Costs of Fighting Fires

GAO-07-655, June 1, 2007

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 47 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Oil And Gas Development: Increased Permitting Activity Has Lessened BLM's Ability to Meet Its Environmental Protection Responsibilities

GAO-05-418, June 17, 2005

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 65 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Hardrock Mining: BLM Needs to Better Manage Financial Assurances to Guarantee Coverage of Reclamation Costs

GAO-05-377, June 20, 2005

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 98 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Hardrock Mining: Information on Abandoned Mines and Value and Coverage of Financial Assurances on BLM Land

GAO-08-574T, March 12, 2008

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 29 pages)   Accessible Text

Wildland Fire Management: Better Information and a Systematic Process Could Improve Agencies' Approach to Allocating Fuel Reduction Funds and Selecting Projects

GAO-07-1168, September 28, 2007

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 103 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

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