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  (2)GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.Jump To:
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                    Most Recent Reports**1 - 20 of 465 Reports**
	
	

	
	  **Released on   Apr 10, 2024**
          Broadband Deployment: Agencies Should Take Steps to Better Meet Deadline for Processing Permits
    GAO-24-106157
      Published:   Apr 10, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 10, 2024
.
    The federal government is investing billions of dollars in expanding broadband access. Some new infrastructure—such as broadband towers—will be situated on federal lands. Federal agencies are required to process applications for such permits within 270 days. The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service process most of these applications. Between 2018-2022, both agencies missed the deadline for some applications and for others couldn't determine...
      **Released on   Jan 10, 2024**
          Deferred Maintenance: Agencies' Project Selection and Challenges
    GAO-24-107234
      Published:   Jan 10, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 10, 2024
.
    Buildings, roads, and other structures on the federal government's public lands require billions of dollars to maintain each year. Agencies may defer maintenance projects to future years when funds are unavailable. This testimony discusses a fund Congress established in 2020 to address deferred maintenance in fiscal years 2021-2025. The money—as much as $1.9 billion annually—is divided among 5 eligible agencies at 70% for the National...
      **Released on   Jan 8, 2024**
          Deferred Maintenance: Agencies Generally Followed Leading Practices in Selections but Faced Challenges
    GAO-24-106495
      Published:   Jan 8, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 8, 2024
.
    Buildings, roads, and other structures on the federal government's public lands require billions of dollars to maintain each year. Agencies may defer maintenance projects to future years when funds are unavailable. In 2020, Congress established a fund to address deferred maintenance in fiscal years 2021-2025. The money—as much as $1.9 billion annually—is divided among 5 eligible agencies at 70% for the National Park Service, 15%...
      **Released on   Dec 14, 2023**
          Artificial Intelligence in Natural Hazard Modeling: Severe Storms, Hurricanes, Floods, and Wildfires
    GAO-24-106213
      Published:   Dec 14, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 14, 2023
.
    Severe storms, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires kill hundreds of people and cause billions of dollars in damage in the U.S. each year. Forecasting models can help predict these hazards. Machine learning—a type of artificial intelligence —can help improve model accuracy, increase warning times, and reduce uncertainty. Some machine learning forecasting models are in use, but there are challenges to developing and adopting them more widely...
      **Released on   Jun 8, 2023**
          Wildland Fire: Federal Agencies Face Barriers to Recruiting and Retaining Firefighters
    GAO-23-106888
      Published:   Jun 8, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jun 8, 2023
.
    U.S. wildfires have grown more severe in recent years. The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and 4 agencies within the Department of the Interior rely on about 18,700 employees to fight fires. In this testimony, we discuss the federal wildland firefighter workforce. Low pay, career advancement challenges, poor work-life balance, and other factors have made it harder to get and keep these workers. The Forest...
      **Released on   Apr 13, 2023**
          Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Improve Agencies' Use of Contracts for Wildfire Response and Recovery
    GAO-23-105292
      Published:   Apr 13, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 13, 2023
.
    Wildfire season is getting longer, and the number of large fires is increasing—leaving more people and structures at risk. Several federal agencies share responsibility for leading wildfire response and recovery. These agencies often work with private sector contractors to obtain life-saving goods and services quickly. We looked at how three agencies contracted for goods and services for wildfire response. The agencies prioritized speed when ordering...
      **Released on   Nov 17, 2022**
          Wildland Fire: Barriers to Recruitment and Retention of Federal Wildland Firefighters
    GAO-23-105517
      Published:   Nov 17, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 17, 2022
.
    U.S. wildfires have grown more severe in recent years. The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and 4 agencies within the Department of the Interior rely on about 18,700 employees to fight fires. But recruiting and retaining federal wildland firefighters has been difficult due to factors like low pay, poor work-life balance, limited workforce diversity, and more. To help, the Forest Service has increased the size...
      **Released on   Nov 16, 2021**
          Federal Lands Snapshot: Hardrock Mining Systems
    GAO-22-105438
      Published:   Nov 16, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 16, 2021
.
    Federal lands are a major source of hardrock minerals such as gold, silver, and copper. These minerals have an important role in the U.S. and global economies, but mining them can create public health, safety, and environmental hazards. Our "Federal Lands Snapshot" draws on our prior work to describe the systems the federal government uses to manage hardrock mining. We also describe the challenges associated...
      **Released on   Jul 26, 2021**
          Federal Land Management: Key Differences and Stakeholder Views of the Federal Systems Used to Manage Hardrock Mining
    GAO-21-299
      Published:   Jul 21, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 26, 2021
.
    Hardrock minerals, like gold and copper, are crucial for modern technology. But mining can create lasting health hazards and contamination. This report describes, among other things, stakeholder views on management of hardrock mining on federal lands. Industry stakeholders emphasized a need for certainty—in knowing, for example, that lands will be open for exploration and can be developed. Public interest and tribal stakeholders emphasized balanced land...
      **Released on   Jul 21, 2021**
          Federal Lands and Waters: Information on Agency Spending for Outdoor Recreation Is Limited
    GAO-21-592
      Published:   Jul 21, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 21, 2021
.
    Federal agencies provide outdoor recreation areas and facilities on the lands and waters that they manage, attracting hundreds of millions of visitors each year. But how much does that cost the agencies? Although they aren't required to do so, most of the 7 federal agencies we reviewed identified some (but not all) of their spending related to outdoor recreation. It is difficult to identify spending...
      **Released on   May 29, 2020**
          Wildfire: Information on Forest Service Response, Key Concerns, and Effects of the Chetco Bar Fire
    GAO-20-424
      Published:   Apr 29, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 29, 2020
.
    A large 2017 wildfire in southwest Oregon destroyed 6 homes and threatened thousands more. Its smoke also contributed to respiratory and other health problems in nearby communities and hurt businesses and workers. The fire grew slowly over its first month before strong, hot winds caused a rapid expansion, as shown in this map . Local officials, community members, and others questioned whether the Forest Service...
      **Released on   Mar 11, 2020**
          Abandoned Hardrock Mines: Information on Number of Mines, Expenditures, and Factors That Limit Efforts to Address Hazards
    GAO-20-238
      Published:   Mar 5, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 11, 2020
.
    Until the 1970s, mine operators could mine for valuable hardrock minerals—i.e., gold or copper—then abandon the land. On lands they oversee, federal agencies identified about 140,000 remnants of these hardrock mines, including unsecured tunnels and toxic waste piles. Hundreds of thousands more likely exist. Remedies include sealing tunnels and treating contaminated water to address safety and environmental hazards. But this can come with a hefty...
      **Released on   Jan 22, 2020**
          Federal Property: GSA Guidance Needed to Help Agencies Identify Unneeded Property in Warehouses
    GAO-20-228
      Published:   Dec 20, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 22, 2020
.
    3 federal agencies—the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the Bureau of Prisons—spent over $50 million in FY 2018 on warehouses, many of which contain property (like vehicles, furniture, and computers). However, these agencies do not systematically assess whether they still need all of their property. Federal agencies are required to use General Services Administration guidance to assess the ongoing...
      **Released on   Dec 18, 2019**
          Land and Water Conservation Fund Act: Forest Service Has Not Taken Steps to Ensure Compliance with Limitation on Land Acquisition
    GAO-20-175R
      Published:   Dec 5, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 18, 2019
.
    Forest Service uses the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to acquire land. Under the LWCF Act, not more than 15% of the land added is to be west of the 100th meridian, which runs through the Midwest. However, areas “specifically authorized by act of Congress” are excluded from the limit. From fiscal years 2014-2018, we found that 80% of the land acquired was west...
      **Released on   Oct 22, 2019**
          Federal Land Management Agencies: Additional Actions Needed to Address Facility Security Assessment Requirements
    GAO-20-171T
      Published:   Oct 22, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 22, 2019
.
    Federal land management agencies have law enforcement divisions to help protect employees and facilities on nearly 700 million acres of land. Security incidents on federal land include the 2016 armed occupation of a wildlife refuge by individuals motivated by anti-government beliefs. Federal employees have been subject to a range of threats and assaults. But we testified that agencies have not completed all of the required...
      **Released on   Oct 21, 2019**
          Federal Land Management Agencies: Additional Actions Needed to Address Facility Security Assessment Requirements
    GAO-19-643
      Published:   Sep 25, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 21, 2019
.
    Federal land management agencies have law enforcement divisions to help protect employees and facilities on nearly 700 million acres of land. Security incidents on federal land include the 2016 armed occupation of a wildlife refuge by individuals motivated by anti-government beliefs. Federal employees have been subject to a range of threats and assaults. But agencies have not completed all of the required facility security assessments...
      **Released on   Oct 18, 2019**
          Hardrock Mining: BLM and Forest Service Hold Billions in Financial Assurances, but More Readily Available Information Could Assist with Monitoring
    GAO-19-436R
      Published:   Sep 18, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 18, 2019
.
    Those mining for gold and other hardrock minerals on federal land must provide financial assurances, such as bonds, to ensure that lands they disturb will be restored. As of October 2017, the Bureau of Land Management held $3 billion in assurances and has a process in place to monitor these. As of November 2018, the Forest Service held $251 million in assurances. Its headquarters cannot...
      **Released on   Jun 20, 2019**
          Land and Water Conservation Fund: Variety of Programs Supported, but Improvements in Data Collection Needed at BLM
    GAO-19-346
      Published:   May 31, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jun 20, 2019
.
    4 agencies—Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Forest Service—use funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to conserve land or enhance recreational activities. These agencies used LWCF funds to acquire over 850,000 acres from FYs 2013-2017 for things like protecting wildlife habitat or improving recreational access. We found that, unlike the other agencies, Bureau of Land Management...
      **Released on   May 16, 2019**
          Hardrock Mining: Availability of Selected Data Related to Mining on Federal Lands
    GAO-19-435R
      Published:   May 16, 2019
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 16, 2019
.
    The federal government manages 29% of the land in the United States. We reviewed the extent to which federal agencies collected data on hardrock mining on federal land, and found that the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are the 2 agencies that reported collecting some of this data. For example, both agencies collect data on the value of their reclamation bonds, which ensure...
    
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