The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides grant funds to eligible States to conserve, restore, and manage wildlife and sport fish resources through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. Under the Program, States are required to maintain control of all assets and report the status of real property to the FWS at least every 5 years. According to FWS guidance, the States should reconcile their land records with the FWS to ensure that the States’ databases of real property purchased with Program funds are accurate and complete.
During our audits of the grants awarded under the Program, we identified 15 States that did not complete the required land reconciliation as of October 2019. These States cannot ensure that lands acquired under the Program are being used for their intended purposes until they reconcile their records with the FWS’ land records.
We make two recommendations to help the FWS ensure States reconcile their land records as required.