Multiple U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) programs award grants for the purchase of land. We evaluated whether DOI was tracking information about these grants.
We found that DOI does not centrally track information about grants for the purchase of land. DOI is thus unable to identify how much grant money has been used to purchase land, how much land has been purchased, and whether that land is being used for its intended purpose.
Without an adequate process in place to monitor funds used to purchase land, DOI is potentially exposed to significant risk of wasted funds. We made two recommendations to help DOI improve the collection and maintenance of data on grants awarded for the purchase of land. DOI did not concur or only partially concurred with our recommendations. We therefore considered the recommendations unresolved and referred them to the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget for resolution.