United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-10-30 monographic deposited born digital 15 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-192T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T P0b002ee180399e4f f:d04192t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T GAO-04-192T Environment evaluation Gas resources Land management Mineral rights Oil drilling Oil resources Petroleum exploration Pipeline operations Wildlife conservation Wildlife management National Wildlife Refuge System Testimony A08798 The 95-million acres in the National Wildlife Refuge System are the only federal lands primarily devoted to the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and plant resources. While the federal government owns the surface lands in the system, in many cases private parties own the subsurface mineral rights and have the legal authority to explore for and extract oil and gas. This testimony is based on an August 2003 report (GAO-03-517) in which GAO determined the extent of oil and gas activity on refuges, identified the environmental effects, and assessed the Fish and Wildlife Service's management and oversight of those activities. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T.pdf GAO-04-192T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-192T Testimony GAO-04-192T; National Wildlife Refuges: Improvement Needed in the Management and Oversight of Oil and Gas Activities on Federal Lands; Environment evaluation Gas resources Land management Mineral rights Oil drilling Oil resources Petroleum exploration Pipeline operations Wildlife conservation Wildlife management National Wildlife Refuge System