Federal Lands: Improvements Needed in Managing Concessioners
RCED-91-163
Published: Jun 11, 1991. Publicly Released: Jun 11, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) laws and policies governing recreation concession operations on federal lands; (2) total number and types of concession agreements; (3) total return to the government from concession operations; and (4) federal recreation resources management practices of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service, and Army Corps of Engineers.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense should require the heads of the six agencies with the greatest amounts of recreation lands to develop and maintain centralized concessioner data that include: (1) the type of the agreement; (2) the length of the agreement; (3) its expiration date; (4) the services provided; (5) gross receipts; (6) fees paid to the government; and (7) the value of nonfee compensation. Once the agencies collect this information, they should develop and present to Congress a policy to achieve greater consistency in the management of concession operations. |
Closed – Implemented
The Corps of Engineers is in the process of implementing a real estate management system with the capacity to centralize concessioner data. All information from the districts is not yet on the system. As leases are renewed, lease information will be put on system. However, since completion dates have not been established, GAO will no longer pursue this recommendation.
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| Department of Agriculture | The Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense should require the heads of the six agencies with the greatest amounts of recreation lands to develop and maintain centralized concessioner data that include: (1) the type of the agreement; (2) the length of the agreement; (3) its expiration date; (4) the services provided; (5) gross receipts; (6) fees paid to the government; and (7) the value of nonfee compensation. Once the agencies collect this information, they should develop and present to Congress a policy to achieve greater consistency in the management of concession operations. |
Closed – Implemented
A Park Service working group reviewing concession data forwarded its recommendation to NPS management. NPS management is expected to act on them this fall. However, as the Park Service has not established any completion dates, GAO will no longer pursue this recommendation.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense should require the heads of the six agencies with the greatest amounts of recreation lands to develop and maintain centralized concessioner data that include: (1) the type of the agreement; (2) the length of the agreement; (3) its expiration date; (4) the services provided; (5) gross receipts; (6) fees paid to the government; and (7) the value of nonfee compensation. Once the agencies collect this information, they should develop and present to Congress a policy to achieve greater consistency in the management of concession operations. |
Closed – Implemented
Information is available at the regional level but not yet at headquarters. The Forest Service is in the process of implementing a database that will contain much data including information on licensees and fees. However, as dates for completion of the system have continually slipped, GAO will no longer pursue the progress of this recommendation.
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Topics
Concessions contractsFeesFinancial recordsNational parksNational recreation areasProcurement lawProgram managementRecreationWildlifeLand management