Land Ownership

Data from the four primary agencies managing federal lands--the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service--show that the total acreage under their control decreased from about 700 million acres to 622.8 million acres between 1964 and 1994. Nearly 44 percent of the 622.8 million acres were managed primarily for conservation and had some limitations on their use. As of September 1994, the federal government had obtained rights-of-use for about 3 million acres of nonfederal land. The federal government held about 52.3 million acres in trust for Indians in 1995. Thirteen western states owned a total of about 142 million acres. Three nonprofit organizations--the Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, and The Trust for Public Land--transferred about 3.2 million acres to other public and private groups between 1964 and 1994. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Federal Lands: Information on the Acreage, Management, and Use of Federal and Other Lands, by Barry T. Hill, Associate Director for Energy, Resources, and Science Issues, before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Lands, House Committee on Resources. GAO/T-RCED-96-104, Mar. 21 (seven pages).

GAO found that: (1) between June 1964 and September 1994, the acreage managed by the four major land management agencies decreased from 700.8 million acres to about 622.8 million acres; (2) the Bureau of Land Management transferred significant acreage to the other agencies, Alaska, and Native Alaskans; (3) the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service increased the total acres that they manage; (4) about 43.7 percent of the acreage these agencies manage are for conservation purposes; (5) as of September 1994, the federal government had rights-of-use through leases, agreements, permits, and easements to over 3 million acres of nonfederal land, usually to support the management of adjacent federal lands; (6) in 1995, the federal government held about 52.3 million acres in 33 states in trust for Native Americans; (7) as of September 1994, the 13 western states owned about 141.9 million acres; and (8) between 1964 and September 1994, three nonprofit organizations transferred about 3.2 million acres to other public and private entities through sales, donations, and exchanges.