Parks and Recreation

Access Permits to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Improperly Granted Gao ID: RCED-87-69 December 29, 1986

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) access permit program at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, specifically whether individuals with vehicular access permits met the prescribed residential or commercial criteria. GAO examined: (1) laws and regulations to determine how access permits were issued; and (2) the refuge office files to determine whether they contained the documentation required to establish permit holders' eligibility.

GAO found that FWS: (1) issued 22 of the 54 access permits in effect as of August 1986 without adequate documentation as to the permit holders' eligibility; (2) issued 7 permits as medical waivers, although FWS regulations did not specifically provide for such permits for year-round access; (3) improperly renewed 10 other permits; and (4) took no action to correct some of the problems because of the controversy involved in trying to deny or revoke access permits.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.