In general, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service manage their lands primarily for noncommodity uses. Both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have legislatively based incentives for producing resource commodities. They believe that it is sometimes difficult to reconcile differences among laws and regulations. Ecological considerations also suggest that the federal land management agencies rethink their organizational structures and relationships with one another. Strategies for Improving Federal Land Management

Two basic strategies have been proposed to improve federal land management: (1) streamlining the existing structure by coordinating and integrating functions, systems, activities, programs, and field locations and (2) reorganizing the structure by combining agencies. In summary, Mr. Chairman, the responsibilities of the four major federal land management agencies have become more similar and the management of federal lands more complex over time.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed ways to improve the management of federal lands.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the responsibilities of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Forest Service have become increasingly similar; (2) federal land management has become increasingly complex due to the differences among laws and regulations; (3) federal land management agencies could be more cost efficient and ecologically effective if they improve their organizational structures and interagency relationships; (4) the two basic strategies to improve federal land management include streamlining the management structure by coordinating and integrating functions, systems, activities, programs, and field locations, and combining land management agencies; and (5) due to the lack of consensus for change, no legislation to streamline or reorganize the federal land management agencies has been enacted.