Endangered Species

GAO looked at whether individuals or groups that petition the Fish and Wildlife Service to put plants and animals on the endangered species list later receive agency funds to study those same plants and animals. According to Fish and Wildlife Service officials, agency contracting policies do not prohibit petitioners from receiving Endangered Species Act funding to study the same species for which they have submitted petitions. Of the 228 contracts for studying endangered species that GAO examined, 38 had been awarded to study the same species covered by the petitions. But in only one case was a petitioner associated with a Fish and Wildlife Service award. In this instance, the principal investigator for the organization receiving funding was the same person who had petitioned for the species to be placed on the endangered species list.

GAO found that: (1) one petitioner received FWS funding to study a species on which he was considered an expert; (2) FWS awarded 222 contracts to study endangered species, of which 38 were for the study of species for which petitions had been filed; and (3) the petitioner was the principal investigator for an organization that contracted to study the dusky gopher frog.