GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Report to the Honorable

Doug Ose, House of Representatives 

August 2000 FEDERAL LAND 

MANAGEMENT 

Federal Land 

Acquisitions in 

California Since 

January 1994

GAO/RCED-00-239

Page 1 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Contents

Letter 3

Appendixes Appendix I: Information on Land Acquisitions in California 14

Appendix II: Comments From CALFED 20

Appendix III: Comments From the Department of the Interior 21

Tables Table 1: Funding, Acreage, Location, and Status of Federal

Agencies’ Land Acquisition Projects Approved Through

the CALFED Program, May 1995 Through April 2000 14

Table 2: Funding, Acreage, Location, and Status of Nonfederal

Entities’ Land Acquisition Projects Using Federal Funds 

Through the CALFED Program, May 1995 Through April 2000 15

Table 3: Acreage Acquired in Full Ownership and With Easements by 

Federal Agencies Outside of the CALFED Program, January 

1994 Through April 2000 16

Table 4: Location, Acreage, and Cost of Land Acquired in Full

Ownership and With Easements by Federal Agencies Outside

of the CALFED Program, January 1994 Through April 2000 16

Table 5: Location, Acreage, and Projected Cost of Land Proposed to be 

Acquired by Federal Agencies Outside of the CALFED

Program, as of May 1, 2000 18

Figures Figure 1: Counties in Which Federal Agencies and Nonfederal

Entities Using Federal Funds Have Acquired or Are

Acquiring Land Through the CALFED Program, May 1995 

Through April 2000 7

Figure 2: Land Acquired With Full Ownership by Federal

Agencies Outside of the CALFED Program, January 1994 

Through April 2000 9

Figure 3: Easements Acquired by Federal Agencies Outside of the

CALFED Program, January 1994 Through April 2000 10
Page 2 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions
Page 3 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Resources, Community, and

Economic Development Division

B-285496 Letr

August 30, 2000

The Honorable Doug Ose

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Ose:

In California, the federal government owns about 45 million acres of 

national forests, national parks, wildlife refuges, military installations, and 

other public lands—about 45 percent of the state’s total land area. About 90 

percent of this federal land was established in the public domain when 

Mexico ceded the area that became California to the United States in 1848; 

federal agencies have subsequently acquired the remainder. Agencies 

acquire nonfederal land through various means—such as purchase, 

exchange, and donation—and for a variety of purposes, including restoring 

ecosystems and protecting wildlife habitat. In acquiring land, federal 

agencies may obtain full ownership, which occurs when fee simple title to 

the land is transferred from the nonfederal owner to the federal 

government, or they may obtain a partial interest in the land—for example, 

by obtaining an easement restricting the land’s future development while 

the nonfederal landowner retains title. Some of the federal land 

acquisitions were made as a part of a joint federal-state program—called 

CALFED—that was created in 1995 to protect the San Francisco 

Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, known as the Bay-Delta area. 

The program’s mission is to develop a long-term comprehensive plan to 

restore the ecological health of and improve water management in the BayDelta area, which supplies drinking water for more than 22 million 

Californians and irrigation water for the state’s agricultural industry. In 

addition, as part of their ongoing acquisition programs, federal agencies 

have made other land acquisitions outside of CALFED.

You asked us to report information on land acquired by federal agencies 

from January 1994 through April 2000 in California for such purposes as 

restoring ecosystems and protecting wildlife habitat. Specifically, you 

asked us to identify (1) lands acquired through the CALFED program since 

its inception in 1995 by federal agencies or by nonfederal entities using 

federal funds and (2) lands acquired outside the CALFED program by 

federal agencies. We obtained data on federal land acquisitions in 

California from CALFED and seven federal agencies that acquire land for 

these purposes: the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land 
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Page 4 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and 

National Park Service; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service 

and Natural Resources Conservation Service; and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers.1

Results in Brief Since the inception of the CALFED program in May 1995 through April 

2000, federal agencies have acquired or are in the process of acquiring full 

ownership or easements through the program on about 16,300 acres in the 

Bay-Delta area in California.2

 About 11,700 acres involve full ownership by 

the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service; the remaining 

4,600 acres involve easements being acquired by Interior’s Bureau of Land 

Management and the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources 

Conservation Service. In addition to land acquisitions by federal agencies, 

nonfederal entities—including state and local agencies and nonprofit 

organizations, such as The Nature Conservancy—received federal funds 

through the CALFED program to acquire about 6,500 acres.

Outside of the CALFED program, federal agencies also acquired about 

404,000 acres in California from January 1994 through April 2000. Federal 

agencies acquired full ownership of about 336,000 acres: About 257,000 

acres are located in the southern California desert and were acquired by 

the Bureau of Land Management, and about 79,000 acres are scattered 

throughout the state and were acquired by various agencies. Easements 

were acquired on about 69,000 acres—mostly located in California’s 

Central Valley—primarily by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wetlands 

Reserve Program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Background CALFED is a consortium of state and federal agencies with management 

and regulatory responsibilities in the Bay-Delta area in California. It was 

established in 1995 to develop a long-term plan for restoring the ecological 

health of and improving water management in the area. CALFED has 

1

The Army Corps of Engineers acquired land for environmental mitigation associated with a 

flood control project. We did not include information on other Department of Defense 

agencies because we focused on agencies that acquire land for such purposes as ecosystem 

restoration or wildlife habitat.

2

This includes land acquisition projects that are under way and projects for which CALFED 

funding has been approved.
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Page 5 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

identified four major problem areas in this area: ecosystem health, water 

supply reliability, levee system integrity, and water quality. To address these 

problems, CALFED uses several resource management strategies, one of 

which is its Ecosystem Restoration Program. Land acquisition by federal 

and state agencies is one of the means used to meet this program’s goals of 

improving and increasing wildlife habitat and improving ecological 

functions in the Bay-Delta area. CALFED solicits proposals for ecosystem 

restoration projects, which are reviewed for their scientific and technical 

adequacy and their applicability to its goals. The member agencies make 

funding recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and California’s 

Secretary for Resources, who decide which projects will receive federal 

and state funding, respectively.

In November 1996, the California Bay-Delta Environmental Enhancement 

and Water Security Act, known as the Bay-Delta Act, authorized the 

expenditure of federal funds in fiscal years 1998 through 2000 for 

developing and implementing the ecosystem restoration plan for the BayDelta area.3

 These funds are appropriated to the Department of the 

Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, which distributes them to other federal 

agencies that participate in CALFED. A small amount of funding is also 

provided through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Fund. 

Since 1998, CALFED’s Ecosystem Restoration Program has received $190 

million in Bay-Delta Act funds; $60 million was appropriated for fiscal year 

2000.4

 Some projects approved for funding by CALFED may also be partly 

funded through the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, which is 

financed by donations and by payments from water and power users.5

CALFED’s Ecosystem Restoration Program also receives state and local 

funding; in some cases, CALFED approves the expenditure of nonfederal 

funds for federal agencies to acquire land. 

Federal agencies also acquire land in California outside of the CALFED 

program. These agencies—primarily the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Forest 

3

P.L. 104-208, Division E, title I, Sept. 30, 1996. These provisions were also enacted in P.L. 

104-333, Division I, title XI, Nov. 12, 1996.

4

P.L. 106-60, title II, Sept. 29, 1999.

5

This fund was established by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (P.L. 102-575, title 

XXXIV of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, Oct. 30, 

1992).
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Page 6 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Service—acquire land for such purposes as improving land management, 

protecting wildlife habitat, and preserving wetlands. For example, most of 

the Bureau of Land Management’s acquisitions in California were made 

pursuant to the California Desert Protection Act of 1994,6

 and the land will 

be managed for its wilderness, wildlife habitat, and recreation values. 

Funds for federal land acquisitions outside of the CALFED program come 

primarily from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was 

established in 1964 to fund land acquisitions by various federal agencies 

and is supported by several revenue sources, such as revenues from 

offshore oil and gas leasing and user fees for outdoor recreation. Funds 

also come from other sources, including the Central Valley Project 

Restoration Fund and the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund;7

 acquisitions 

of easements by the Wetlands Reserve Program of the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service are funded through the Commodity Credit 

Corporation.8

Land Acquired 

Through the CALFED 

Program

Since the inception of the CALFED program in May 1995 through April 

2000, federal agencies have acquired or are in the process of acquiring 

about 16,300 acres in California’s Bay-Delta area as part of that program. 

Although not all of the transactions have been completed, about 11,700 

acres involve full ownership, and the remaining 4,600 acres involve 

easements. In addition to these federal acquisitions, nonfederal entities 

(including state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations, such as 

The Nature Conservancy) have received federal funds through the CALFED 

program to acquire about 6,500 acres. Figure 1 shows the counties in which 

the completed and ongoing land acquisitions by federal agencies and 

nonfederal entities have occurred as part of the CALFED program. 

Appendix I provides detailed information on the funding, acreage, location, 

and status of land acquisitions by specific federal agencies and nonfederal 

entities through the CALFED program (see tables 1 and 2). 

6

P.L. 103-433, Oct. 31, 1994.

7

The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 authorized the acquisition of land and water 

to protect migratory birds. The migratory bird fund was established in 1934 by the 

Migratory Bird Hunting and Stamp Act and is supported by revenues from a number of 

sources, such as entrance fees to national wildlife refuges.

8

As provided by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Apr. 4, 1996), 

which amended the Food Security Act of 1985.
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Figure 1: Counties in Which Federal Agencies and Nonfederal Entities Using 

Federal Funds Have Acquired or Are Acquiring Land Through the CALFED Program, 

May 1995 Through April 2000 

Source: GAO’s analysis of CALFED’s data.

Counties with CALFED acreage

Counties without CALFED acreage
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Page 8 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Land Acquired Outside 

of the CALFED 

Program 

Outside of the CALFED program, federal agencies acquired about 404,000 

acres in California from January 1994 through April 2000: full ownership of 

about 336,000 acres and easements on about 69,000 acres. Of the acres 

acquired with full ownership, about 257,000 acres, or 76 percent, were 

acquired by the Bureau of Land Management and lie within three counties 

in the southern California desert.9

 The remaining acreage acquired with full 

ownership—approximately 79,000 acres, or 24 percent—is scattered 

throughout the state and was acquired by six agencies: the Bureau of Land 

Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers. Most of the acreage acquired under easements is located in 

California’s Central Valley, and virtually all of it was acquired by the Fish 

and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Figures 2 and 3 show, by county, the distribution of acreage acquired by 

federal agencies outside of the CALFED program (with full ownership and 

with easements, respectively). Appendix I provides detailed information on 

the acreage, the location, and the cost of land acquired by specific federal 

agencies outside of the CALFED program (see tables 3 and 4).

9

The Bureau of Land Management acquired 225,000 of these acres pursuant to the California 

Desert Protection Act of 1994.
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Page 9 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Figure 2: Land Acquired With Full Ownership by Federal Agencies Outside of the 

CALFED Program, January 1994 Through April 2000 

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by federal agencies.

10,001 acres and higher

1,001 acres to 10,000 acres

1 acre to 1,000 acres

0 acres
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Page 10 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Figure 3: Easements Acquired by Federal Agencies Outside of the CALFED 

Program, January 1994 Through April 2000

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by federal agencies.

10,001 acres and higher

1,001 acres to 10,000 acres

1 acre to 1,000 acres

0 acres
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In addition to the land already acquired, federal agencies have developed 

proposals and/or requested funds (as of May 1, 2000) to acquire full 

ownership of approximately 415,000 acres in California outside of the 

CALFED program over the next several years. Almost 60 percent of this 

land—about 238,000 acres—is located in the desert in southern 

California.10 Appendix I provides detailed information on the acreage, the 

location, and the projected cost of the land that federal agencies propose to 

acquire in full ownership (see table 5). In addition, the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service plans to acquire easements on approximately 20,000 

additional acres.

Agency Comments We provided CALFED, the Department of the Interior, the Department of 

Agriculture, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with a draft of this 

report for their review and comment. CALFED provided updated 

information and additional details about the land acquisition projects 

funded through CALFED, which we have incorporated as appropriate. 

CALFED’s comments are included in appendix II. The Department of the 

Interior generally agreed with our report, but expressed concern that we 

had overstated the extent and cost of acquisitions through the CALFED 

program because we did not separately identify the acquisitions that are in 

process from those that are complete. In response, we clarified that some 

federal acquisitions through CALFED are not yet complete, and we added 

information about those projects to appendix I. Interior also provided 

technical clarifications to the data, which we incorporated as appropriate. 

Interior’s comments are included in appendix III. Neither the Department 

of Agriculture nor the Army Corps of Engineers provided comments on the 

draft report. 

To obtain data on federal land in California acquired through the CALFED 

program, we contacted officials with CALFED’s Ecosystem Restoration 

Program, who provided information on CALFED’s projects involving land 

acquisitions by federal agencies or by nonfederal entities receiving federal 

funds. 

10According to agency officials, these lands include acreage designated for acquisition under 

the California Desert Protection Act of 1994. In July 2000, the Bureau of Land Management 

and the National Park Service acquired about 181,000 of these acres through purchase and 

donation.
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Page 12 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

To obtain data on federal land in California acquired outside the CALFED 

program, we identified and contacted the seven federal agencies that 

acquire land: the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, 

Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park 

Service; the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and Natural 

Resources Conservation Service; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

While some data were readily available, and we verified these data as best 

we could, other data were not readily available, and we researched files on 

land acquisition to obtain them. We conducted our review from March 2000 

through July 2000 in accordance with generally accepted auditing 

standards.

As requested, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no 

further distribution of this report until 30 days after the date of this letter. 

At that time, we will send copies of this report to the Honorable Bruce 

Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Thomas Fry, Director of 

the Bureau of Land Management; the Honorable Eluid Martinez, 

Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation; the Honorable Jamie 

Rappaport Clark, Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service; the Honorable 

Robert Stanton, Director of the National Park Service; the Honorable Dan 

Glickman, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture; the Honorable Mike 

Dombeck, Chief of the Forest Service; the Honorable Pearlie S. Reed, Chief 

of the Natural Resources Conservation Service; Major General Russell L. 

Fuhrman, Acting Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers; and the 

Honorable Steven R. Ritchie, Acting Executive Director of the CALFED 

Bay-Delta Program. We will also make copies available to others on 

request.
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Page 13 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please call me at 

202-512-3841. Key contributors to this report were John Cass, Jennifer 

Duncan, John Furutani, and Sue Naiberk.

Sincerely yours,

Barry T. Hill

Associate Director, Energy, Resources, 

 and Science Issues
Page 14 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in CaliforniaApApenednxidexiIs

Table 1: Funding, Acreage, Location, and Status of Federal Agencies’ Land Acquisition Projects Approved Through the CALFED 

Program, May 1995 Through April 2000

a

CALFED-approved funding may be from federal, state, or local sources. Projects may also receive 

funding from other sources, such as the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund.

b

According to the Department of the Interior, the funding for this acquisition was transferred to the Trust 

for Public Lands under a reimbursable agreement, and ownership of the land may be transferred to the 

Fish and Wildlife Service in the future. 

c

Funded through CALFED with state funds; the Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy 

are joint applicants for funding for this project.

d

Funded through CALFED with state funds; the California Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife 

Conservation Board, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Nature Conservancy are joint applicants 

for this project. Funding and acreage shown are for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s portion of this 

acquisition.

e

According to the Department of the Interior, the funding for this acquisition was transferred to the 

American Land Conservancy under a reimbursable agreement, and ownership of the land will be 

transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service within 5 years. 

f

Floodplain easements are used in areas with histories of flood damage; instead of repairing levies 

damaged by flooding, the Natural Resources Conservation Service obtains easements on land along 

the river and allows the river to meander and flood as it would have if levies had not been built along its 

banks.

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by CALFED’s Ecosystem Restoration Program.

Acreage

Agency and project

Project funding

approved

through

CALFEDa

Full

ownership Easement Counties

Status of 

acquisition

Bureau of Land Management

Riparian Corridor $2,240,250 0 1,411 Shasta, Tehama In process

Fish and Wildlife Service

Liberty Islandb $8,926,000 4,760 0 Solano, Yolo Complete

Liberty Island 2,701,735 449 0 Solano, Yolo Funding 

approved

Sacramento Riverc 780,000 200 0 Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, 

Sutter, Tehama, Yolo

Complete

Sacramento Riverd 6,051,413 1,303 0 Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, 

Sutter, Tehama, Yolo

Complete

San Joaquin River National Wildlife 

Refuge

10,647,000 4,205 1,964 Stanislaus In process

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge 1,100,000 230 0 Stanislaus In process

Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refugee 2,400,000 537 0 Sacramento Complete

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service

Floodplain Easementsf $1,545,000 0 1,200 Stanislaus In process

Total $36,391,398 11,684 4,575
Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in 

California

Page 15 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Table 2: Funding, Acreage, Location, and Status of Nonfederal Entities’ Land Acquisition Projects Using Federal Funds Through 

the CALFED Program, May 1995 Through April 2000

a

Amount shown is cost of acquisition as provided by the Department of the Interior; total project cost is 

$547,000.

b

For these projects, the specific parcels and acreages are still in negotiation. To date, no land has been 

purchased with funding through the CALFED program.

c

The Nature Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Conservation Board, 

and others are applicants for this funding.

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by CALFED’s Ecosystem Restoration Program.

Nonfederal party Project

Project

funding

approved

through

CALFED Acreage Counties Status

Butte Creek Watershed 

Conservancy

Butte Creek Acquisition $125,000a 146 Butte Complete

California Department of 

Fish and Game

Fern-Headreach and Shaded River 425,000 168 San Joaquin Complete

City of American Canyon South Napa River Tidal Slough and 

Floodplain

1,490,000 460 Napa In process

East Stanislaus Resource 

Conservation District and 

Friends of the Tuolumne

Grayson River Ranch Perpetual 

Easement

26,250 140 Stanislaus Complete

Marin Audubon Society Petaluma Marsh 352,135 181 Marin In process

Napa County Land Trust Napa River Wetlands 1,073,513 68 Napa In process

Napa County Land Trust South Napa River Wetlands Acquisition 

and Restoration Program

431,000 42 Napa In process

The Nature Conservancy Cosumnes Floodplain 3,500,000 2,247 Sacramento Complete

The Nature Conservancy Cosumnes River 750,000 300b Sacramento In process

The Nature Conservancy Deer and Mill Creeks 1,000,000 750b Tehama In process

The Nature Conservancy McCormack-Williamson Tract 5,356,000 1,655 Sacramento Complete

The Nature Conservancyc Sacramento River Floodplain 1,000,000 300b Butte, Colusa, Glenn, 

Shasta, Sutter, 

Tehama, Yolo

In process

Total $15,528,898 6,457
Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in 

California

Page 16 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Table 3: Acreage Acquired in Full Ownership and With Easements by Federal Agencies Outside of the CALFED Program, 

January 1994 Through April 2000

a

Acreage with federally owned easements remains in private ownership.

b

Three tracts acquired by the Bureau of Reclamation, totaling 3,883 acres, are managed by the Bureau 

of Land Management. 

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by federal agencies.

Table 4: Location, Acreage, and Cost of Land Acquired in Full Ownership and With Easements by Federal Agencies Outside of 

the CALFED Program, January 1994 Through April 2000

Agency Acreage in full ownership Acreage with easementsa Total acreage

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1,630 0 1,630

Bureau of Land Management 271,727 32 271,759

Bureau of Reclamation 6,784b 0 6,784

Fish and Wildlife Service 19,444 30,792 50,236

Forest Service 8,018 0 8,018

National Park Service 27,989 0 27,989

Natural Resources Conservation Service 0 37,692 37,692

Total 335,592 68,516 404,108

Full ownership Easementa

Counties Acreage Costb Acreage Costb

Alameda 108 $7,500,000 0 0

Alpine 962 0 0 0

Butte 327 1,594,800 3,427 $4,373,975

Colusa 932 1,579,231 5,053 8,211,364

Colusa/Lake 948 332,052 0 0

Contra Costa 1 200,000 493 985,200

El Dorado 225 654,600 0 0

Fresno 1,647 2,888,400 2,816 5,428,200

Glenn 1,767 5,601,354 864 1,155,640

Humboldt 5,210 3,301,250 5 0

Imperial 4,110 396,235 0 0

Inyo 102 107,000 0 0

Inyo/San Bernardino 1,080 0 0 0

Kern 1,655 1,271,016 93 186,000

Kings 1,068 576,450 0 0
Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in 

California

Page 17 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

a

Acreage with federally owned easements remains in private ownership.

b

Cost shown includes nonappropriated federal funds—such as Migratory Bird Conservation funds and 

Commodity Credit Corporation funds—and such nonfederal funds as state and local grants. Land that 

is shown with zero cost was donated to the federal government.

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by federal agencies.

Full ownership Easementa

Counties Acreage Costb Acreage Costb

Kings/Tulare 1,237 2,655,134 0 0

Lassen 245 219,000 0.1 200

Los Angeles 1,225 12,187,300 0 0

Marin 734 6,753,000 0 0

Merced 3,075 4,417,074 24,900 16,615,757

Modoc 637 150,000 3,759 2,780,653

Mono 7 2,500 0 0

Monterey 2,091 5,168,000 0 0

Placer 241 716,225 33 45,344

Riverside 34,310 15,610,063 3 1,000

Sacramento 1,351 5,291,136 8,008 6,904,840

San Bernardino 235,339 37,310,606 0 0

San Diego 10,294 22,435,960 0 0

San Francisco 1,837 750,000 0 0

San Joaquin 35 176,900 749 1,388,755

San Luis Obispo 3,687 810,850 175 227,000

San Mateo 2,095 17,000,000 0 0

Santa Barbara 6,291 10,800 0 0

Santa Clara 7 0 0 0

Santa Cruz 38 415,000 5 0

Shasta 112 37,500 466 533,082

Siskiyou 280 0 2,358 1,014,990

Solano 1,254 2,823,000 0 0

Solano/Yolo 1,630 2,110,000 0 0

Stanislaus 2,440 11,707,565 2,163 3,108,468

Sutter 0 0 517 794,120

Tehama 527 392,132 2,947 1,432,187

Tulare 1,981 1,653,679 4,128 4,661,305

Ventura 419 2,991,500 0 0

Yolo 2,032 762,000 5,299 8,008,430

Yuba 0 0 258 387,880

Total 335,592 $180,559,312 68,516 $68,244,390

(Continued From Previous Page)
Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in 

California

Page 18 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Table 5: Location, Acreage, and Projected Cost of Land Proposed to be Acquired by 

Federal Agencies Outside of the CALFED Program, as of May 1, 2000

a

The Forest Service’s planned acquisitions of land in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

b

The Bureau of Land Management’s planned acquisitions of land in the Carrizo Plain Natural Area; 

amounts include projections over 10 years. 

c

The Forest Service’s planned acquisitions of land in the Big Sur Ecosystem; amounts include fiscal 

year 2000 request and projected future needs.

d

The Bureau of Land Management’s planned acquisitions of land in two areas; amounts include 

projections over 10 years.

e

The Bureau of Land Management’s and the National Park Service’s planned acquisitions of land 

under the California Desert Protection Act of 1994. This is a portion of a partially completed acquisition 

that will total 437,000 acres. According to agency officials, the agencies acquired about 181,000 acres 

of this land through purchase and donation in late July 2000. 

f

The Forest Service’s planned acquisitions of land in the San Bernardino Ecosystem.

g

Includes the Fish and Wildlife Service’s planned acquisitions of land for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 

and the Bureau of Land Management’s projections over 10 years.

Counties Acreage Projected cost

Calaveras 62 $11,000

Contra Costa 10 96,900

El Dorado, Placera 5,050 37,500,000

Fresno 5,353 13,826,800

Glenn 70 202,500

Kern, San Luis Obispob 95,000 21,754,000

Kings, Tulare 3,492 8,892,900

Los Angeles 330 4,356,400

Merced 3,483 2,158,200

Montereyc 3,554 32,500,000

Riversided 12,391 45,513,000

San Benito 1,967 2,000,000

San Bernardinoe 237,000 18,000,000

San Bernardino, Riversidef 900 5,000,000

San Diegog 9,197 25,350,000

Shasta, Tehamah 10,342 15,984,000

Siskiyou 194 1,800,000

Sutter 800 3,900,000

Tulare 626 640,000

Ventura 26 521,000

Not specified—California wildernessi 25,144 51,000,000

Total 414,991 $291,006,700
Appendix I

Information on Land Acquisitions in 

California

Page 19 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

h

The Bureau of Land Management’s planned acquisitions of land along the Sacramento River and two 

of its tributaries; amounts include projections over 10 years.

i

The Forest Service’s planned acquisitions of nonfederal land within the boundaries of wilderness 

areas in California.

Source: GAO’s analysis of data provided by federal agencies or of budget justifications for fiscal years 

2000 and 2001, which—for the Bureau of Land Management—include projections over 10 years.
Page 20 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Appendix II

Comments From CALFED ApendxiI
Page 21 GAO/RCED-00-239 California Land Acquisitions

Appendix III

Comments From the Department of the 

Interior ApendxiI

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