Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Restrictions and ...

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Agency State Federally designated area Acres FLTFA funding Status Wyoming Grand Teton National Park 1 2,200,000 Complete Subtotal 521 $2,600,000 Total 9,987 g $18,000,000 Source: GAO analysis of information provided by BLM headquarters. a This is the only property in the secretarial initiative that is adjacent to federal land; the rest are inholdings. b Five parcels are included in this project. In addition, BLM has added one 300-acre parcel valued at $500,000 to the list of parcels under this project. The BLM FLTFA program lead said this parcel was included because of its high resource value but added that the agencies will remain within the $18 million spending level approved by the Secretaries. Of these six parcels, five totaling 1,872 acres will be acquired through easement, and one totaling 102 acres will be acquired in fee. c As of January 23, 2008, a 102-acre parcel had been acquired in fee and an easement had been acquired on a 300-acre parcel. d BLM reports that an acquisition at the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge originally included in this secretarial initiative failed due to expired options on the property. The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service has substituted an acquisition at the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge for the same amount of funding. e Two parcels are included in this project. f Two parcels, both for easements, are included in this project. g Some of the acres acquired or planned for acquisition were funded in part by sources other than FLTFA: the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. Figure 7 shows part of the acquisition site within the La Cienega Area of Critical Environmental Concern. According to BLM, it selected this site for acquisition because (1) it is an archeologically rich area preserving ancient rock art and (2) the riparian cottonwood and willow forest that line the Santa Fe River and its La Cienega Creek tributary provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife, such as the bald eagle and southwest willow flycatcher. The final purchase price was $2.2 million. Page 29 GAO-08-196 Federal Land Management
Figure 7: Part of an Inholding in the BLM La Cienega Area of Critical Environmental Concern That Has Been Acquired with FLTFA Funding Source: GAO. To fund the acquisitions in the secretarial initiative of $18 million, the BLM FLTFA program lead told us that the Secretaries approved the use of $14.5 million of the funds from the 20 percent of revenue available for acquisitions outside the state in which they were raised, and $3.5 million of the revenue not used for administrative activities supporting the land sales program. 23 23 FLTFA allows up to 20 percent of revenue raised to be used for administrative activities related to land disposals. If the agencies do not need the total amount allowed for administrative expenses, they may use the remainder for acquisitions. See figure 2. Page 30 GAO-08-196 Federal Land Management
Page 1 and 2: GAO February 2008 GAO-08-196 United
Page 3 and 4: Contents Letter 1 Results in Brief
Page 5 and 6: Abbreviations BLM Bureau of Land Ma
Page 7 and 8: providing security, and protecting
Page 9 and 10: evenue to acquire specific parcels
Page 11 and 12: BLM faces several challenges to rai
Page 13 and 14: Background Federal Land Sales Autho
Page 15 and 16: Federal Land Acquisition Funding ti
Page 17 and 18: FLTFA Requirements on Use of Revenu
Page 19 and 20: BLM Has Raised Most FLTFA Revenue f
Page 21 and 22: Figure 3: FLTFA Revenue by Fiscal Y
Page 23 and 24: BLM Faces Several Challenges to Fut
Page 25 and 26: Most BLM States Have Planned FLTFA
Page 27 and 28: Figure 5: BLM “North Fork” 167-
Page 29 and 30: FLTFA’s Restriction on Land Avail
Page 31 and 32: Agencies Have Purchased Few Parcels
Page 33: Table 4: Status of FLTFA Land Acqui
Page 37 and 38: Agency State Federally designated a
Page 39 and 40: The nomination that was withdrawn b
Page 41 and 42: State-Level Process Has Not Yet Res
Page 43 and 44: BLM Reports Spending $3.2 Million o
Page 45 and 46: Agencies Face Challenges in Complet
Page 47 and 48: Compliance with Specific Provisions
Page 49 and 50: The Agencies Have Yet to Establish
Page 51 and 52: Matters for Congressional Considera
Page 53 and 54: If you or your staff have questions
Page 55 and 56: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and
Page 57 and 58: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and
Page 59 and 60: Appendix II: Completed FLTFA Land S
Page 69 and 70: Appendix III: Detailed Information
Page 71 and 72: Appendix III: Detailed Information
Page 73 and 74: Appendix IV: Comments from the Depa
Page 75 and 76: Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff A

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