such as habitat for bald eagles. Through December 1999, the Bureau Exchanges May Not had completed about 40 exchange transactions in which it conveyed Always Serve the Public about 20,300 acres of federal land and acquired about 4,800 acres of Interest private land. When the Bureau initiated the exchange, it did not specifically describe the parcels of land that would be exchanged. The agencies have not always Furthermore, the Bureau’s environmental analysis for this exchange shown that the benefits of did not present the reasons for acquiring the specific parcels of acquiring the nonfederal land nonfederal land or the public benefits of the exchange. matched or exceeded the Consequently, the Bureau has not demonstrated that the public benefits of retaining the federal benefits of acuqiring the nonfederal land matched or exceeded the land, as shown in the following public benefits of retaining the federal land. examples: In the Red Rock exchange in Nevada, the Bureau exchanged 769 acres of federal land for 3,562 acres of nonfederal land. Interior’s The Cache Creek Office of the Inspector General reported that the Bureau did not Management Area land demonstrate why 2,461 acres of the nonfederal land (over two-thirds exchange in California was of the nonfederal parcel)—valued at $2.7 million—were needed2.2 started about 10 years ago Although the Bureau then demonstrated to the Inspector General and is still ongoing. The that the nonfederal land was needed to provide habitat for purpose of the exchange is to endangered fish, the Inspector General estimated that this need acquire nonfederal lands that supported the acquisition of fewer than 25 percent of the 2,461 acres lie within an area of roughly in question. In addition, federal land is located near the nonfederal 100 square miles that the land that was acquired in this exchange, and the Bureau had already Bureau has identified as identified this federal land as being available for disposal. having high- value resources, Nevada Land Exchange Activities, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Inspector 22 General (96-I-1025, July 1996).
Exchanges May Not Always Serve the Public Interest The agencies have not always shown that the benefits of acquiring the nonfederal land matched or exceeded the benefits of retaining the federal land, as shown in the following examples: The Cache Creek Management Area land exchange in California was started about 10 years ago and is still ongoing. The purpose of the exchange is to acquire nonfederal lands that lie within an area of roughly 100 square miles that the Bureau has identified as having high- value resources, such as habitat for bald eagles. Through December 1999, the Bureau had completed about 40 exchange transactions in which it conveyed about 20,300 acres of federal land and acquired about 4,800 acres of private land. When the Bureau initiated the exchange, it did not specifically describe the parcels of land that would be exchanged. Furthermore, the Bureau’s environmental analysis for this exchange did not present the reasons for acquiring the specific parcels of nonfederal land or the public benefits of the exchange. Consequently, the Bureau has not demonstrated that the public benefits of acuqiring the nonfederal land matched or exceeded the public benefits of retaining the federal land. In the Red Rock exchange in Nevada, the Bureau exchanged 769 acres of federal land for 3,562 acres of nonfederal land. Interior’s Office of the Inspector General reported that the Bureau did not demonstrate why 2,461 acres of the nonfederal land (over two-thirds of the nonfederal parcel)—valued at $2.7 million—were needed2.2 Although the Bureau then demonstrated to the Inspector General that the nonfederal land was needed to provide habitat for endangered fish, the Inspector General estimated that this need supported the acquisition of fewer than 25 percent of the 2,461 acres in question. In addition, federal land is located near the nonfederal land that was acquired in this exchange, and the Bureau had already identified this federal land as being available for disposal. 22 Nevada Land Exchange Activities, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Inspector General (96-I-1025, July 1996).