Federal Lands: Information on the Acreage, Management, and Use of Federal
and Other Lands (Testimony, 03/21/96, GAO/T-RCED-96-104).

GAO provided information on the acreage, management, and use of federal
and nonfederal lands by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service
and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, Fish and
Wildlife Service, and National Park Service. GAO found that: (1) the
four federal agencies managed close to 623 million acres in September
1994, which is 78 million acres less than in June 1964; (2) the decline
in the total acreage was due to significant transfers to Alaska and
Native Americans; (3) in 1994, 272 million acres consisted of national
parks and wildlife refuges, wilderness and wilderness study areas, wild
and scenic rivers, and areas of environmental concern; (4) the agencies
obtained rights-of-use for over 3 million acres of nonfederal land
through leases, agreements, permits, and easements; (5) the federal
government held around 52.3 million acres in trust for Native Americans
in 1994; (6) 13 western states collectively own 142 million acres of
federal land; and (7) from July 1964 to September 1994, land
transactions by three non-profit organizations led to the transfer of
3.2 million acres to other public and private entities.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-96-104
     TITLE:  Federal Lands: Information on the Acreage, Management, and 
             Use of Federal and Other Lands
      DATE:  03/21/96
   SUBJECT:  Federal property management
             Land management
             Land transfers
             Real property acquisition
             Indian lands
             National parks
             Wilderness areas
             Conservation
             Public lands
             Non-profit organizations
IDENTIFIER:  Alaska
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and
Lands, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery
Expected at
1 p.m.  EST
Thursday
March 21, 1996

FEDERAL LANDS - INFORMATION ON THE
ACREAGE, MANAGEMENT, AND USE OF
FEDERAL AND OTHER LANDS

Statement of Barry T.  Hill, Associate Director,
Energy, Resources, and Science Issues,
Resources, Community, and Economic
Development Division

GAO/T-RCED-96-104

GAO/RCED-96-104T


(140110)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  GAO -
  RCED -

============================================================ Chapter 0

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to be here today to summarize the results of our work
examining federal land ownership.  Our report to the Chairman of the
House Resources Committee and Representative Pombo, which is being
made available today (Land Ownership:  Information on the Acreage,
Management, and Use of Federal and Other Lands, GAO/RCED-96-40),
contains a substantial amount of data on the lands managed by the
four primary federal land agencies--the Department of Agriculture's
Forest Service and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land
Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service.  In
addition, the report contains information on the acreage of
nonfederal lands where these agencies had rights-of-use, the acreage
held in trust for Indians, the acreage owned by selected states,\1
and the land transactions of three nonprofit organizations. 

Before I present a summary of the information included in our report,
I would like to offer some context and perspective on our work in
this area.  While the report I will discuss today is mostly an update
of a report we issued in January 1995,\2 it also presents new data on
the use of federally managed lands and on nonfederal lands where
those four agencies had obtained rights-of-use.  The data we are
reporting were obtained, in almost all instances, from the four
federal land agencies and were the most recent available at the time
of our work; they reflect conditions as of September 30, 1994. 
Although we did not verify the accuracy and completeness of the data,
we did reconcile inconsistencies in the data the agencies provided
and they made some revisions to refine and improve the data's
accuracy.  We believe that the data we are reporting provide a
reasonable context and frame of reference for examining the amount of
land the four agencies managed, the change in the acreage managed
over the last 30 years, and the uses generally being made of these
public lands. 

Overall, our report shows that the four federal agencies managed
about 623 million acres as of September 1994, which is about 78
million fewer acres than in June 1964.  This decline in acreage
managed during the last 30 years resulted primarily from the transfer
of a significant number of federally managed acres to Alaska and to
Native Alaskans.  Of the acreage the agencies managed in 1994, about
272 million acres (43.7 percent) were managed for conservation\3 and
thus had some limitations on their use. 

In addition, our report shows the following: 

  The agencies had obtained rights-of-use for over 3 million acres of
     nonfederal land through leases, agreements, permits, and
     easements. 

  The federal government held about 52.3 million acres in trust for
     Indians in 1995. 

  Thirteen western states collectively owned about 142 million acres
     as of September 30, 1994. 

  The land transactions of three nonprofit organizations--the Nature
     Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, and The Trust for Public
     Land--resulted in the transfer of about 3.2 million acres to
     other public and private entities between July 1964 and
     September 1994. 


--------------------
\1 We selected these 12 western states--Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming--because the federal government owns at least
25 percent of the acreage in each of these states.  In addition, we
were asked to include Texas. 

\2 Federal Lands:  Information on Land Owned and on Acreage With
Conservation Restrictions (GAO/RCED-95-73FS, Jan.  30, 1995). 

\3 Lands managed for conservation include, among other things,
national parks, national wildlife refuges, wilderness and wilderness
study areas, wild and scenic rivers, and areas of critical
environmental concern. 


   LANDS MANAGED BY THE FOUR
   FEDERAL AGENCIES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1

Over the roughly 30-year period between June 30, 1964, and September
30, 1994, the number of acres managed by three agencies--the Forest
Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park
Service--increased by a total of about 119 million acres.  Offsetting
this increase was a significant decrease of about 197 million acres
of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.  Figure 1 shows the
changes in acreage managed by these four agencies. 

   Figure 1:  Acreage Managed by
   the Four Federal Agencies,
   Fiscal Years 1964 and 1994

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  GAO's analysis of data provided by the departments of
Agriculture and the Interior. 

A key factor affecting the change in the amount of land managed by
the four agencies was the transfer of about 113.5 million acres of
federally managed lands to Alaska and to Native Alaskans during this
period.  According to data provided by the Bureau of Land Management,
of the acreage transferred to these two entities as of September
1994, all but about 10 million acres had been under its management. 
In addition to the acreage already transferred, Alaska and Native
Alaskans are entitled to receive an additional 25 million acres that,
for the most part, are expected to come from lands the Bureau
manages. 

The acreage managed by the four agencies increased in 46 states while
it decreased in 4 states--Alaska, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah. 
Figure 2 shows the percentage change in the acres managed in each
state over the 30-year period. 

   Figure 2:  Change in the
   Percentage of Federal Acres
   Managed by the Four Federal
   Agencies Between June 1964 and
   September 1994

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  GAO's analysis of data provided by the departments of
Agriculture and the Interior. 

Although the overall acreage managed by the four agencies declined
during this 30-year period, the acreage managed primarily for
conservation increased by 206 million acres--from about 66 million
acres in June 1964 to about 272 million acres in September 1994. 
These totals include all of the land managed by the Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Park Service, as well as portions of the land
managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. 

Data provided by each of the four agencies showed that, in total,
they acquired about 10.9 million acres from nonfederal parties during
the 1964-94 period.  Overall, the acres acquired through purchases
and exchanges accounted for most of this acreage.  The means by which
and the number of acres acquired by each agency is shown in table 1. 
In addition to the acreage already acquired, the four agencies
planned, as of September 30, 1994, to acquire an additional 11.8
million acres in future years. 



                                Table 1
                
                 Acres Acquired From Nonfederal Parties
                         for the 1964-94 Period


                                  Bureau
                                 of Land  Fish and  National
Method of               Forest  Manageme  Wildlife      Park
acquisition            Service        nt   Service   Service     Total
--------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ========
Purchase               1,479.3     297.1   1,998.2   1,303.3   5,078.0
Exchange               2,179.6     724.4     256.6      90.7   3,251.3
Gift or Donation         522.3      14.6     586.4     631.7   1,755.1
Other\a                  105.1      35.8      35.0     601.3     777.2
======================================================================
Total                  4,286.5   1,071.9   2,876.2   2,627.0  10,861.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Totals may not add because of rounding. 

\a "Other" includes acreage acquired through condemnations and
takings. 

Source:  GAO's analysis of data provided by the departments of
Agriculture and the Interior. 


   ACREAGE INCLUDED IN FEDERAL
   RIGHTS-OF-USE, HELD IN TRUST
   FOR INDIANS, OWNED BY STATES,
   AND INVOLVED IN LAND
   TRANSACTIONS OF NONPROFIT
   ORGANIZATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

The four agencies had also obtained rights-of-use to over 3 million
acres on nonfederal land through leases, agreements, permits, and
easements as of September 30, 1994.  Generally, these rights-of-use
were obtained from nonfederal land owners to support management of
adjacent federal lands, such as providing access to those lands. 
Table 2 summarizes the acreage associated with the various
rights-of-use obtained by these agencies. 



                                Table 2
                
                  Nonfederal Acres for Which the Four
                Federal Agencies Had Rights-of-Use as of
                           September 30, 1994


                                Agreemen            Easement
Acreage                 Leases        ts   Permits         s     Total
--------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
Number of acres
                       171,244   642,200    66,965  2,120,29  3,000,70
                                                           1         0
Percentage of acres
                           5.7      21.4       2.2      70.7     100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO's analysis of data provided by the departments of
Agriculture and the Interior. 

In additional to the acreage managed by the four agencies, lands are
held in trust for Indians, owned by states, and involved in the land
transactions of nonprofit organizations.  Information obtained during
our review showed the following: 

  In 1995, the federal government held about 52.3 million acres in 33
     states in trust for individual Indians and Indian tribes. 

  As of September 30, 1994, 13 western states collectively owned
     about 141.9 million acres, of which about 89.4 million acres
     represented state-owned acreage in Alaska. 

  Three nonprofit organizations--the Nature Conservancy, The
     Conservation Fund, and The Trust for Public Land--collectively
     transferred by selling, donating, or exchanging about 3.2
     million acres to federal, state, or local governments and others
     during the 1964-94 period. 


Mr.  Chairman, this concludes our prepared statement, which has
highlighted some of the information contained in our report.  We will
be happy to respond to any questions you or any Member of the
Subcommittee may have. 


*** End of document. ***