Completion times for land exchanges within  this period varied widely, from about 2 months to more than 12 years. Agency officials surveyed said the number of exchanges processed since  2000 has generally declined because of the availability of qualified staff,  changing priorities, and the availability of funding. Some of the exchanges  had unique characteristics because they were facilitated by third parties,  conducted in multiple phases, or were specifically legislated by Congress. The agencies have taken actions to address most of  these problems. However, we found that the effectiveness of these actions  has been mixed. According to BLM officials, the agency discontinued its  use of escrow accounts and issued new guidance on how to use land  exchange ledgers to track land value imbalances in multiphase exchanges. As a result, BLM cannot be assured  that its total balance of about $2.6 million due to the United States, as of  June 30, 2008, is accurate. Both  BLM and the Forest Service have issued new guidance that requires full  disclosure of the relationship between the facilitator and other parties to  an exchange. However, we found that the agencies do not clearly define  third-party facilitators in their guidance and are not consistently applying  disclosure policy to them. While the agencies’ revisions to the  guidance provided clearer direction, staff are generally not required to  participate in training, and the agencies do not systematically track staff  participation. The  agencies restructured their appraisal functions to assure the independence  of appraisers and BLM took steps to improve appraisal timeliness, but the  appraisal process, particularly for BLM, continues to delay the completion  of some land exchanges. Conclusions

The federal land management agencies hold a public trust: to manage and  preserve millions of acres of land in pursuit of multiple national goals. However, these actions have not always been fully implemented  or are not fully adequate to ensure the agencies are adhering to their  requirements and policies and effectively using their resources to serve the  public interest. Finally, we recommend that the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary  of Agriculture direct the heads of BLM and the Forest Service to    clarify the definition of a third-party facilitator, ensure that disclosure  guidelines are consistently applied to all third-party facilitators, and  include disclosure documentation in the review process;    develop and issue national land tenure strategies for each agency and  encourage the BLM state and Forest Service regional offices to develop  their own plans to help guide land exchange decisions;  track the agencies’ costs of processing individual land exchanges;    determine the elements of current training that should be mandatory to  ensure that staff are able to process exchanges in conformance to agency  guidance, create a formal system to track attendance at training, and  determine how often training should be retaken; and    ensure that staff have completed this mandatory training before working  on land exchanges. We were asked to (1) analyze the number, trends, and  characteristics of BLM and Forest Service land exchanges, and (2)  determine the actions BLM and the Forest Service have taken to address  previously identified key problems and the effectiveness of these actions. In  this survey, we asked program managers about trends and reasons for  overall exchange activity, legislated land exchanges, third-party  facilitators, BLM and Forest Service land exchange proposal reviews, the  land exchange ledgers and financial assurances BLM uses to account for  land value imbalances, BLM’s land tenure strategy plans, the timeliness of  land exchanges, the valuation process, land exchange training and  guidance, and the cost of exchanges. Third, to determine the effectiveness of the agencies’ actions to address  the key problems earlier reports had identified, we analyzed the available  key documents for a sample of land exchanges processed from October  2004 through June 2008 to determine (1) whether the previously identified  problems were addressed, (2) whether internal BLM and Forest Service  reviews documented these problems, and (3) the resolution of the  documented problems. We selected a nongeneralizable sample of 31 land  exchanges out of the 250 exchanges processed from October 2004 through  June 2008, comprised of 27 exchanges that accounted for 85 percent of  acres that the agencies have or plan to acquire, and 4 others that we  reviewed during the course of our site visits. 20.) 9.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior (Interior) and the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) manage millions of acres of public land. To enhance land management and fulfill other public objectives, they acquire and dispose of land using exchanges--trading federal lands for lands owned by willing private entities, individuals, or state or local governments. GAO and others have raised concerns about whether the public interest has always been served in these land exchanges. GAO was asked to (1) analyze the number, trends, and characteristics of BLM and Forest Service land exchanges and (2) determine the effectiveness of agency actions to address previously identified key problems. GAO interviewed and surveyed agency officials, analyzed agency data on recent exchanges, and reviewed documents on a nongeneralizable sample of 31 land exchanges representing at least 85 percent of the acres that agencies acquired, or plan to acquire, during the time of GAO's review.

What GAO Found

From October 2004 through June 2008, BLM and the Forest Service processed 250 completed, pending, or terminated land exchanges. Completion times for exchanges within this period varied widely, from 2 months to more than 12 years. These exchanges involved 628,429 federal acres and 621,588 nonfederal acres. According to agency officials, the number of exchanges since 2000 has generally declined because of the availability of qualified staff and funding and the lower priority given to land exchanges compared with other activities. Of the 250 land exchanges, 47 were facilitated by third parties, 9 were conducted in multiple phases, and 20 were specifically legislated by Congress. GAO, the agencies' inspectors general, and others identified problems in the agencies' land exchange programs and have made recommendations to correct them. The agencies have taken actions to address most of these problems, but the effectiveness of the actions has been mixed. Specifically: (1) According to most agency officials surveyed, headquarters reviews at least somewhat improved exchange quality; often ensured that exchanges complied with laws, regulations, and policies; and were processed properly. However, the reviews did not always document problems or indicate their resolution, making the process less transparent. (2) BLM stopped using interest-bearing accounts outside of the U.S. Treasury, according to agency officials, and issued new guidance on managing ledgers, which are used to track land value imbalances over time in multiphase exchanges. However, the agency is not always adhering to this guidance and, therefore, cannot fully know how much is owed. Specifically, BLM cannot be assured that the $2.6 million land value imbalance due to the United States, recorded in its ledgers as of June 30, 2008, is accurate. (3) Both agencies issued new guidance to require full disclosure of the relationship between a third-party facilitator and other parties to an exchange. But the guidance does not clearly define third-party facilitators and officials do not consistently apply the disclosure policy. Without consistent application, the agencies fail to obtain critical information and potentially risk losing the ability to control the exchange process. (4) The agencies updated their exchange guidance to provide clearer direction on exchanges and incorporated it into their training. However, staff generally are not required to attend this training, and the agencies do not systematically track staff participation. Therefore, the agencies cannot ensure that realty staff develop and maintain necessary skills. The agencies took steps to improve appraisal timeliness, but the process, particularly for BLM, continues to delay some exchanges, officials said. Neither agency has a national strategy to guide land transactions, nor does either track all costs of individual exchanges. Developing national strategies and tracking the costs of individual exchanges will enhance the agencies' ability to make informed decisions in pursuit of shared goals.