Wetlands Overview: Problems With Acreage Data Persist
RCED-98-150
Published: Jul 01, 1998. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) developed an inventory of the federal agencies involved in wetlands-related activities and the funding and staffing associated with their activities during fiscal years (FY) 1990 through 1997; and (2) determined if the data on wetlands acreage reported by these agencies are consistent and reliable.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Interior | To ensure that the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data are improved, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Chairman, White House Wetlands Working Group, should develop and implement a strategy for ensuring that all actions contained in the Clean Water Action Plan relating to wetlands data are adopted governmentwide. Such actions should include, in addition to the ongoing effort to develop a single set of accurate, reliable figures on the status and trends of the nation's wetlands, the development of consistent, understandable definitions and reporting standards that are used by all federal agencies in reporting their wetlands-related activities and the changes to wetlands that result from such activities. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture concluded that it was infeasible to combine Fish and Wildlife Service national wetlands status and trends with data developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Definitions for several aspects of wetlands gains and losses have been developed and were submitted to the White House Wetlands Working Group on October 28, 1999. Reporting procedures have also been developed, and an interagency tracking system to track the changes reported by the agencies is under development.
|
| Department of Agriculture | To ensure that the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data are improved, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Chairman, White House Wetlands Working Group, should develop and implement a strategy for ensuring that all actions contained in the Clean Water Action Plan relating to wetlands data are adopted governmentwide. Such actions should include, in addition to the ongoing effort to develop a single set of accurate, reliable figures on the status and trends of the nation's wetlands, the development of consistent, understandable definitions and reporting standards that are used by all federal agencies in reporting their wetlands-related activities and the changes to wetlands that result from such activities. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture concluded that it was infeasible to combine Fish and Wildlife Service national wetlands status and trends with data developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Definitions for several aspects of wetlands gains and losses have been developed and were submitted to the White House Wetlands Working Group on October 28, 1999. Reporting procedures have also been developed, and an interagency tracking system to track the changes reported by the agencies is under development.
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Topics
Data integrityEnvironmental researchInteragency relationsNatural resource managementReporting requirementsStandardsStatistical dataWater resources conservationWetlandsNatural resources conservation