Federal lands managed by the Forest
Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS).Federal lands managed by the Forest
Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS).
Total Acreage of Land Managed by the Forest Service, BLM, FWS, and NPS Federal Agencies in Colorado, Fiscal Years 1964 and 1993 (1)
State 1964 1993 Acreage change -------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------------ Arizona 26,926,251 29,867,616 2,941,365 Colorado 23,229,253 23,437,010 207,758 Idaho 32,733,251 32,437,746 (295,505) Montana 26,078,794 26,745,613 666,819 Nevada 53,123,054 56,845,790 3,722,736 New Mexico 23,250,166 22,920,318 (329,848) Utah 33,025,449 32,446,350 (579,099) Wyoming 28,970,082 30,103,622 1,133,541 ================================================================================ Total 700,518,245 623,113,504 (77,404,741) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994 Total Acreage and Percent Managed by Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service (2)
Total
federal
Bureau The four acreage
Total of Land Fish and National federal managed by
acreage of Forest Manageme Wildlife Park agencies the four
State state\a Service nt Service Service \b agencies
------------- ---------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- ------------
Arizona 72,963,840 15.42 19.54 2.29 3.69 40.94 29,874,028
Arkansas 34,036,480 7.49 0.86 0.88 0.30 9.54 3,246,065
Colorado 66,624,000 21.76 12.46 0.10 0.89 35.21 23,455,115
Idaho 53,487,360 38.23 22.15 0.09 0.19 60.65 32,439,588
Montana 94,109,440 17.92 8.58 0.65 1.30 28.45 26,773,255
Nevada 70,762,880 8.22 67.77 3.24 1.10 80.33 56,846,081
New Mexico 77,822,720 11.98 16.56 0.42 0.49 29.46 22,927,727
Utah 54,338,560 14.92 40.80 0.19 3.85 59.75 32,467,853
Wyoming 62,604,160 14.79 29.38 0.09 3.82 48.08 30,102,224
=========================================================================================
Total 2,340,750,080 8.18 11.41 3.74 3.27 26.60 622,751,526
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number and Percentage of Acres Managed for Conservation by the Four Federal Agencies, by State, as of September 30,1994 (2)
Percentage
Acreage of acreage
Acreage managed for managed for
State managed conservation conservation
---------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
Arizona 29,874,028 8,899,060 29.79
Colorado 23,455,115 5,792,946 24.70
Idaho 32,439,588 9,674,341 29.82
Montana 26,773,255 7,431,305 27.76
Nevada 56,846,081 9,847,651 17.32
New Mexico 22,927,727 4,106,669 17.91
Utah 32,467,853 7,403,484 22.80
Wyoming 30,102,224 7,467,725 24.81
======================================================================
Total 622,751,526 272,134,302 43.70
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: GAO's analysis of data from the departments of Agriculture
and the Interior.
Source documents indicated by parentheses and number.
(1)In summary, from the end of fiscal year 1964 through fiscal year 1993, the overall amount of federal land managed by the four major federal land management agencies decreased from about 701 million acres to about 623 million acres, an overall reduction of over 77 million acres, or about 11 percent. Although an overall decrease occurred during this 29-year period, the amount of land managed by the four agencies increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia by almost 21 million acres and decreased in 4 states by over 97 million acres, of which about 96 million acres were in Alaska. Furthermore, the overall decrease is skewed because of two unique situations in Alaska that resulted in the transfer of about 112 million acres of BLM land. The two situations involved the transfer of (1) about 76 million acres to the state of Alaska in accordance with the Alaska Statehood Act of 1958, as amended (Public Law 85-508), and (2) about 36 million acres to Native Alaskans in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.).
Excluding these two large land transfers, the overall amount of land managed by the four agencies actually increased by about 34 million acres over the 29-year period, including an increase of about 16 million acres in Alaska. Three of the agencies had increases in the amount of federal land that they managed--the Forest Service's increase was about 5 million acres, FWS' increase was about 65 million acres, and NPS' increase was about 49 million acres. These increases were the result of (1) land transfers from BLM for the purposes of expanding existing, or creating new, national forests, wildlife refuges, and parks in Alaska and (2) new land acquisitions. BLM had a decrease of about 85 million acres, primarily because of transfers of BLM land to other federal agencies such as FWS and NPS. At the end of fiscal year 1993, the four agencies managed over 50 percent of the land in five states and over 25 percent of the land in an additional seven states.
Sources: (1)Federal Lands: Information on Land Owned and on Acreage With Conservation Restrictions. (GAO Report RCED-95-73FS.) and (2) Land Ownership: Information on the Acreage, Management, and Use of Federal and Other Lands (Letter Report, 03/13/96, GAO/RCED-96-40). General Accounting Office, 1995 and 1996. Full text of reports available from General Accounting Office (GAO) Reports