201 REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) 

Land and Permanent Land Rights 

Estimated Acreage by Predominant Use as of September 30, 2023, and 2022 

Property, Property, 

Plant, & Plant, & 

Equipment Stewardship Total Land1 Equipment Stewardship Total Land1

(In thousands of acres) 2023 2022 

Commercial Use 205 192,406 192,611 55 192,810 192,865 

Conservation and Preservation2 291 1,082,998 1,083,289 263 1,081,832 1,082,095 

Operational 30,299 20,608 50,907 36,414 12,886 49,300 

Total 30,795 1,296,012 1,326,807 36,732 1,287,528 1,324,260 

Acreage held for disposal or 

exchange 8 12 

1Estimated acreage includes land and permanent land rights. Acreage of temporary land rights (those for a specified period of time or a 

limited duration) are not included pursuant to SFFAS No. 59, paragraphs 4 and 5. 

2Department of Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 670,980 thousand acres of submerged lands in marine national 

monuments primarily for the benefit of fish and wildlife. 

SFFAS No. 59, Accounting and Reporting of Government Land requires that the estimated acres of land and permanent 

land rights of general PP&E land and stewardship land be presented as unaudited RSI for FYs 2022 through 2025. The 

estimated acreage will transition to note disclosures in FY 2026. 

As defined in SFFAS No. 59, general PP&E land is land used within the ordinary course of business to support the 

mission of the federal government and includes land acquired for or in connection with other general PP&E. General PP&E 

land excludes withdrawn public lands or land restricted for conservation, preservation, historical, or other like restrictions.

Such land is categorized as stewardship land. Stewardship land includes both public domain and acquired land and land 

rights owned by the federal government intended to be held indefinitely and the majority was acquired by the government 

during the first century of the nation’s existence. Land rights are interests and privileges held by the entity in land owned by 

others, such as leaseholds, easements, water and waterpower rights, diversion rights, submersion rights, rights-of-way, 

mineral rights, and other like interests in land. General PP&E land rights and stewardship land rights that are for an 

unspecified period of time or unlimited duration are considered permanent land rights and are included in the estimated 

acreage table above. Land rights that are only for a specified period of time or a limited duration are considered temporary 

land rights. All temporary land rights will continue to be recorded under general PP&E and depreciated over their time period 

after SFFAS No. 59 implementation. 

All land and permanent land rights are reported in estimated acres using three predominant use categories including 

commercial use, conservation and preservation, and operational. The reporting of estimated acres of land held for disposal or 

exchange is also required. Commercial use land includes land or land rights that are predominantly used to generate inflows 

of resources from non-federal third parties, usually through special use permits, right-of-way grants, and leases. Examples of 

commercial use land are concession arrangements, grants for specific projects, and sales or land exchanges. Conservation and 

preservation land includes land or land rights that are predominantly used for the conservation of natural resources and 

preservation of buildings, objects, and landscapes. Examples of conservation and preservation land are national parks, 

geological resource sites, and wildlife and plant life refuges. Within the conservation and preservation reported acres, DOI’s 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 670,980 thousand acres of submerged lands in marine national monuments primarily 

for the benefit of fish and wildlife. Operational land includes land or land rights predominantly used for general or 

administrative purposes. Examples of operational land include land used for military, scientific, and nuclear functions. 

Additional information concerning the estimated acres of land and permanent land rights can be obtained from the 

financial statements of DOD, DOI, and USDA. Please refer to Note 6—General Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net and 
 REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) 202 

Note 26—Stewardship Property, Plant, and Equipment for additional information concerning general PP&E land and 

stewardship land.