Managerial Cost Accounting Practices Department Of Agriculture The Department Of Housing Urban Development

GAO-06-1002R Managerial Cost Accounting Practices: Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Bureau of Land Mgmt. (BLM) and the Forest Service manage millions of acres of public land. To enhance land mgmt. and fulfill other public objectives, they acquire and dispose of land using exchanges -- trading fed. lands for lands owned by willing private entities, individuals, or state or local gov¿ts. Concerns have been raised about whether the public interest has always been served in these land exchanges. This report: (1) analyzes the number, trends, and characteristics of BLM and Forest Service land exchanges; and (2) determines the effectiveness of agency actions to address previously identified key problems. The auditor reviewed 31 land exchanges representing 85% of the acres that agencies acquired, or plan to acquire in 2008. Illus.

The Forest Service, within the U.S. Dept. of Ag., manages over 190 million acres of forest and grassland. The agency is responsible for managing its lands for various purposes -- including recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and others -- while ensuring that such activities do not impair the lands' long-term productivity. Carrying out these often competing responsibilities has been made more difficult by the increasing cost of wildland fires and the budgetary constraints necessitated by our nation's long-term fiscal outlook. This testimony highlights some of the major management challenges the Forest Service faces in carrying out its responsibilities. It is based on numerous reports issued on a wide variety of the agency's activities.