Reports

We investigated allegations that U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) volunteers at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge allowed guests to utilize Government housing, against FWS policy. We also investigated the circumstances surrounding the termination of two other volunteers from the refuge. We determined that two volunteers permitted guests to reside in Government housing on the refuge for several days, in violation of FWS policy and without authorization from refuge officials. We also found that refuge officials had a sufficient basis to terminate the two other volunteers from the refuge.

We reviewed actions the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and three of its bureaus took during the longest partial Government shutdown in U.S. history (from December 22, 2018, through January 25, 2019). Our objective was to determine whether the three DOI bureaus—the National Park Service, the U.S.

Interior Followed OMB Guidance for Shutdown Plans During 2018 – 2019 Lapse in Appropriations

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Among its provisions, the CARES Act provided the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) with $756 million to support the needs of DOI programs, bureaus, Indian Country, and the Insular Areas. This report presents the DOI’s progress as of April 28, 2020, in spending CARES Act appropriations.

The OIG investigated allegations that an oil and gas production company failed to properly account for oil produced from Federal leases in the Bakersfield, CA area, resulting in a loss of mineral royalties owed to the Federal Government. The company was required to account for and report its oil production to the U.S. Department of the Interior. We determined that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) discovered that the company’s recordkeeping contributed to a production reporting error of 400 barrels of oil, but an audit of the company’s operations did not disclose a loss of royalties.