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OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants 

Awarded to the Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts, Division of Marine Fisheries, 

From July 1, 2017, Through June 30, 2019, 

Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration

Program

AUDIT

In recognition of Secretarial Order No. 3380, we are providing estimated costs 

associated with certain work products. Applying a formula involving prior salary and 

benefit expenses, we estimate the cost of preparing this report to be $102,000. 

Report No.: 2020-CR-004 December 2020
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Memorandum 

To: Aurelia Skipwith 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

From: Amy R. Billings 

Regional Manager, Central Region 

Subject: Final Audit Report – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants Awarded to the 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Division of Marine Fisheries, From 

July 1, 2017, Through June 30, 2019, Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish 

Restoration Program 

Report No. 2020-CR-004 

We audited the costs claimed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Division of 

Marine Fisheries, under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through the 

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. We conducted this audit to determine whether the 

Division used grant funds and fishing license revenue for allowable fishing activities and 

complied with applicable laws and regulations, FWS guidelines, and grant agreements. The audit 

period included claims totaling $3 million on nine grants that were open during the State fiscal 

years that ended June 30, 2018, and June 30, 2019. 

We found that the Division ensured that grant funds and license revenue were used for 

allowable activities and complied with applicable laws and regulations, FWS guidelines, and 

grant agreements. We did not identify any reportable conditions. Background information and 

the objective, scope, and methodology for this audit can be found in Attachment 1. A list of the 

sites visited during this audit is provided in Attachment 2. 

The legislation creating the Office of Inspector General requires that we report to 

Congress semiannually on all audit reports issued, actions taken to implement our 

recommendations, and recommendations that have not been implemented. 

We do not require a response. If you have any questions regarding this report, please 

contact me at 303-236-9243. 

Attachments (2) 

Office of Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations | Lakewood, CO 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attachment 1: Background, Objective, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Background 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides grants to States1 through its Wildlife and 

Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) for the conservation, restoration, and management of 

wildlife and sport fish resources. WSFR was established by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife 

Restoration Act and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act.2 The Acts and related 

Federal regulations allow the FWS to reimburse grantees a portion of eligible costs incurred 

under WSFR grants—up to 75 percent for States and up to 100 percent for the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands. The reimbursement amount is called the Federal share. The Acts require that 

hunting and fishing license revenue be used only for the administration of State fish and wildlife 

agencies. In addition, Federal regulations require States to account for any income earned from 

grant-funded activities and to spend this income before requesting grant reimbursements. 

Objective 

In June 2016, we entered into an intra-agency agreement with the FWS to conduct audits of State 

agencies receiving grant funds under WSFR. These audits fulfill the FWS’ statutory 

responsibility to audit State agencies’ use of these grant funds. 

The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

Division of Marine Fisheries used grant funds and fishing license revenue for allowable fishing 

activities and complied with applicable laws and regulations, FWS guidelines, and grant 

agreements. 

Scope 

We audited the Division’s use of grants awarded by the FWS under WSFR. The audit period 

included claims totaling $3 million on nine grants that were open during the State fiscal years 

(SFYs) that ended June 30, 2018, and June 30, 2019. 

Methodology 

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government 

auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions 

based on our audit objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis 

for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. 

1 The Acts define the term “State” to include the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

2 Formally known, respectively, as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, 16 U.S.C. § 669, as amended, and the Federal 

Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, 16 U.S.C. § 777, as amended. 

1 
 

 

 

We assessed whether internal control was significant to the audit objective. We determined that 

the Division’s control activities and the following related principles were significant to the audit 

objectives. 

• Management should design control activities to achieve objectives and respond to risks.

• Management should design the entity's information system and related control activities

to achieve objectives and respond to risks.

• Management should implement control activities through policies.

We tested the operation and reliability of internal control over activities related to our audit 

objective. Our tests and procedures included: 

• Examining the evidence that supports selected expenditures charged to the grants by the

Division

• Reviewing transactions related to purchases, direct costs, drawdowns of reimbursements,

in-kind contributions, and program income

• Interviewing Division employees

• Inspecting equipment and other property

• Determining whether the Division used fishing license revenue for the administration of

fishing program activities

• Determining whether the Commonwealth passed required legislation assenting to the

provisions of the Acts

• Evaluating the Division’s policies and procedures for assessing risk and monitoring

subawards

• Visiting sites throughout the Commonwealth (see Attachment 2 for a list of sites visited)

We conducted an exit conference on October 1, 2020, with the FWS and the Division. During 

the conference, responsible officials were given the opportunity to provide their views on our 

results. 

Based on the results of our initial assessments, we assigned a level of risk and selected a 

judgmental sample of transactions for testing. We used auditor judgement and considered risk 

levels relative to other audit work performed to determine the degree of testing performed in 

each area. Our sample selections were not generated using statistical sampling, and therefore we 

did not project the results of our tests to the total population of transactions. We did not find 

deficiencies in internal control. 

2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This audit supplements, but does not replace, the audits required by the Single Audit Act 

Amendments of 1996. Single audit reports address controls over Statewide financial reporting, 

with emphasis on major programs. Our report focuses on the administration of the Massachusetts 

Division of Marine Fisheries, and that agency’s management of WSFR resources and license 

revenue. 

The Division provided computer-generated data from its official accounting system and from 

informal management information and reporting systems. We tested the data by sampling 

expenditures and verifying them against WSFR reports and source documents such as purchase 

orders, invoices, and payroll documentation. While we assessed the accuracy of the transactions 

tested, we did not assess the reliability of the accounting system as a whole. 

Prior Audit Coverage 

OIG Audit Reports 

We reviewed our last two audits of costs claimed by the Division on WSFR grants.3 We 

followed up on seven recommendations from these reports and found that the U.S. Department 

of the Interior’s Office of Policy, Management and Budget considered all seven 

recommendations resolved and implemented. 

State Audit Reports 

We reviewed the single audit reports for SFYs 2017 and 2018 to identify control deficiencies or 

other reportable conditions that affect WSFR. In those reports, the Schedule of Expenditures of 

Federal Awards indicated $12.2 million (combined) in Federal expenditures related to WSFR but 

did not include any findings directly related to WSFR, which was not deemed a major program 

for Statewide audit purposes. 

We also reviewed a March 2020 performance audit of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) 

conducted by the State auditor for the audit period July 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018. 

This performance audit reported that the DFG lacks segregation of duties within the Division of 

Marine Fisheries Boston revenue process. The finding had three recommendations. In response, 

the DFG published two policies to address the recommendations. 

3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration Program Grants Awarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

Division of Marine Fisheries, From July 1, 2007, Through June 30, 2009 (Report No. R-GR-FWS-0009-2010), dated 

August 2010. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Grants Awarded to the Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts, Division of Marine Fisheries, From July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014 (Report No. 2015-EXT-006), dated 

February 2016. 

3 
 

Attachment 2: Sites Visited 

Headquarters Boston 

Gloucester Field Offices New Bedford 

East Sandwich 

Storage Facilities New Bedford 

Sandwich 

4 
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and Mismanagement

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of Inspector General staff, departmental 

employees, and the general public. We 

actively solicit allegations of any 

inefficient and wasteful practices, fraud, 

and mismanagement related to 

departmental or Insular Area programs 

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 By Fax: 703-487-5402

 By Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior 

Office of Inspector General

Mail Stop 4428 MIB 

1849 C Street, NW. 

Washington, DC 20240