Federal lands cannot be taxed by state and local governments. However, state and local governments have argued that federal lands are not only lost to the tax base, but also impose a burden on local taxpayers through demands for services such as law enforcement or search and rescue actions, which are commonly supported by local taxes. As a result, Congress has enacted several federal programs to offset the loss to the local tax base, even if the programs are not designed to offset that loss on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Congress is re-examining these programs for several reasons: continuing concerns expressed by local governments about the adequacy or fairness of the programs, rising payment levels based on current formulas, interest in decreasing the deficit, and expiration of mandatory spending for some of the programs. Most of these programs are under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service (FS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Department of the Interior (DOI). The program for FWS lands in the National Wildlife Refuge System (hereinafter referred to as the System) was enacted in 1935 and has been amended extensively since that time. Like many federal land payment programs, its original emphasis was on sharing any revenue generated on the federal lands with local or state governments, as shown by its original name: the Refuge Revenue Sharing Fund (though now it is more commonly called the National Wildlife Refuge Fund, or NWRF). Some of the federal payment programs restrict local use of the funds to some specific purpose, such as roads or schools. Others allow the funds to be used for any governmental purpose; NWRF falls in the latter category. Many of these programs, including NWRF, have become increasingly complex over time. The 1978 amendments to the program provided that NWRF payments to local governments are based on a complex formula; the authorized funding level varies from one year to the next, based on changes in the data used in the formula. The resulting authorization level has increased more than 400% between FY1991 and FY2013. (See Figure 1 .) In the same period, the amount of land potentially eligible for NWRF payments has gone from 86.3 million acres to 91.0 million acres, an increase of only 5.4% and clearly insufficient to explain the increase in the authorized funding level. The question is—what explains the large increase in the authorized levels? The answer, explained below, lies in the formula, particularly in payments for lands purchased by or donated to FWS. The total payment a county receives for federal lands in its jurisdiction is further complicated by the interaction of NWRF and the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, a broadly applicable federal land payment program for county governments, which uses a different payment formula. PILT payments are managed by DOI. Besides differing formulas, there is another distinction between NWRF and payment programs for FS and BLM lands. The FS and BLM payment programs for local governments have usually had sufficient revenues from the multiple uses of their lands to fund most of their payment programs. In contrast, FWS lands have never generated sufficient revenue to fund NWRF fully since the current formula was created in 1977. Supplements from annual appropriations were authorized, beginning with the 1980 payments. However, these supplements have fallen below the levels authorized in the formula in all years except 1981. Since 1982, NWRF payments have ranged from as much as 93% of the authorized amount in FY1991 to a low of 22% in FY2010. Partial payment under NWRF has meant that the effect on local revenues has been more pronounced in counties with FWS lands than in counties with other federal ownerships. This loss is one reason for some local governments' resistance to the creation of refuges or waterfowl production areas. This report describes the key features of NWRF: the lands under FWS jurisdiction, the eligibility of most of those lands for NWRF payments, the sources of revenue for the fund, the payment formula for calculating an individual county's payments, the PILT payments available for certain FWS lands, some exceptions to normal authorized payment calculations, changing authorization levels, and falling annual appropriations. It concludes with a review of options for changes in the program. Lands and waters under FWS jurisdiction fall in six management categories. (See Table 1 .) Three of these categories, taken together, constitute the National Wildlife Refuge System (150.3 million acres). The best-known and oldest parts of the system are the National Wildlife Refuges themselves. Another category is Waterfowl Production Areas, which are defined as "Refuge System lands comprised of small natural wetlands and grasslands that provide breeding, resting, and nesting habitat for millions of waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds, and other wildlife." Roughly 95% of WPA lands are in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Coordination Areas are defined as "Refuge System lands managed by states under cooperative agreements between [FWS] and state fish and wildlife agencies" regardless of actual ownership of the land. These three categories, together forming the System, constitute 49% of the lands under FWS jurisdiction. In addition to the three categories making up the System, there are three more categories of lands under FWS ownership or administration (157.0 million acres). Administrative Sites are "[FWS]-owned maintenance facilities, offices, and off-site visitor centers that are not located on Refuge System lands." National Fish Hatcheries are facilities "where fish are raised. Hatchery objectives are to replenish depleted stocks, to mitigate federal water projects, to assist with the management of fishery resources on federal and Indian lands, and to enhance recreational activities." National Monuments, including "marine national monuments are areas designated by Presidential Proclamation and established under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906.... For the purposes of this report, this category includes only the Service-managed or co-managed areas within a national monument that are outside the Refuge System. National monument areas within the Refuge System are counted in the 'National Wildlife Refuges' category total." The FWS lands and waters that are not part of the Refuge System constitute 51% of lands under FWS jurisdiction. With the System lands, they bring FWS land (and water) jurisdiction to 306.1 million acres. FWS lands can be further categorized based on whether (a) they are public domain lands or acquired lands; (b) whether FWS has sole or primary jurisdiction over the lands or instead has only secondary jurisdiction; (c) for acquired lands, whether some other federal agency initially acquired the lands and then transferred them to FWS, or whether FWS acquired the lands directly from a non-federal source as either a gift or a purchase; and (d) whether FWS jurisdiction rests on an agreement, easement, or lease, rather than outright ownership of the land. (See Table 2 .) Only certain lands are eligible for NWRF payments. Criteria for eligibility are as follows: For lands reserved from the public domain, payments to counties only if or when the lands in the refuge generated net revenues in the previous year. For acquired lands, including lands received as gifts, payments according to a formula involving four payment options (described below). See Table 3 for classes of acquired lands eligible for NWRF. Lands under the sole or primary jurisdiction of FWS. Lands (whether acquired or reserved) not otherwise excluded from payments. (See " Special Exceptions to the Rules .") The following FWS lands do not receive NWRF payments: Lands reserved from the public domain in those fiscal years when they generated no net revenues in the preceding year. Lands over which FWS has only secondary jurisdiction. (These are 1.6 million acres or 0.5% of all lands managed by FWS; of these, 0.6 million acres are reserved from the public domain, and 1.0 million acres were acquired by another federal agency.) Similarly, wildlife coordination areas (257,488 acres) are not eligible because they are managed by the states (under cooperative agreements) and not by FWS. Acquired lands in U.S. Minor Outlying Islands (54.9 million acres or 18% of area under FWS management). These areas are largely submerged lands; islands found in these areas are uninhabited for the most part. Lands in American Samoa (8.6 million acres or 3% of area under FWS management). These areas are also largely submerged lands. Any other submerged lands outside the jurisdiction of a state or territory; these lands are largely in national monuments. Any given piece of land may be excluded for more than one reason. For example, 597,891 acres are excluded because they are public domain lands under only secondary jurisdiction of FWS, and therefore are not eligible for NWRF payments; even were they under primary jurisdiction of FWS, the lands would receive no payment unless they generate net revenues. Either condition would result in no payment. Moreover, exclusion may be temporary: FWS public domain lands may generate net revenues—and therefore NWRF payments—in some years and not in others. NWRF payments to counties are mandatory, but only to the extent of receipts. The sale or lease of goods and services from FWS lands (public domain or acquired) are the chief sources of revenue. These include revenues from grazing, mineral development (though not oil and gas revenues from leases on lands reserved from the public domain), sale of forest products, and other activities. (See Table 4 .) In FY2012, these receipts totaled $7.3 million. The Secretary of the Interior deducts any direct FWS expenses incurred to generate the revenues from the fund; in FY2012, these deductions totaled $3.3 million, for a net of $4.0 million available for payment under NWRF in FY2013.