Department of the Interior: Transfer of the Presidio From the Army to the National Park Service

GAO discussed the transfer of the Presidio Army Post to the National Park Service. GAO noted that: (1) the Park Service has developed four alternative management plans for the Presidio as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA); (2) none of the alternative plans provides for a continued military presence as recommended by the base closure commission; (3) the Park Service prefers to share the Presidio's rehabilitation and operating and maintenance costs with public and private partners whose use of the park's structures would be consistent with GGNRA and Park Service purposes; (4) the other management alternatives include operating GGNRA as a traditional national park, managing the park with military and park partners, and managing the park as a public sector enclave; (5) the Park Service estimates that the Presidio's rehabilitation, cleanup, and other transitional activity costs will range from $702 million to more than $1.2 billion; (6) the Presidio's operation and maintenance will cost $45.4 million annually through fiscal year (FY) 1995 and $38 to $40 million annually through FY 2010; (7) the Presidio's transition appropriations totalled $80.5 million between FY 1991 and FY 1993; (8) the Park Service does not expect future annual appropriations to exceed $25 million; and (90 the Park Service cannot estimate transition costs with certainty because it does not know what management alternative will be selected and the amount of revenues that will be generated from rents and fees.