Federal Land

Concessioners are often the primary operators in recreation areas containing some of the nation's greatest national treasures. Despite GAO's warnings during the past three years, however, federal agencies are still doing a poor job of managing concessioners on federal land. The agencies lack enough data to adequately manage concession operations, they cannot demonstrate that they are receiving a fair return, and they have to revise or develop some policies to improve their management of concessioners. Deterioration in federal areas is widespread, and the existing infrastructure--approaching $200 billion in value--is increasingly run down; the cost of deferred maintenance in the national parks and forests alone is nearly $3 billion. The federal government has a huge investment in its recreation resources, and GAO believes that the government needs to ensure that it is fairly compensated for the use of its land, the visiting public is provided with healthy and safe services, and the nation's recreation resources are adequately protected for future generations.