[CPEO-MEF] GAO Report on Interagency Management for Endangered Species Affecting

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

The following is an excerpt from the GAO report, "Implementation
Strategy Needed to Increase Interagency Management for Endangered
Species Affecting Training Ranges."

The full report can be downloaded at:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03976.pdf
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DOD and other federal land managers have taken some steps to implement
interagency cooperative efforts to manage endangered species on a
regional basis, but the extent to which they are using this approach for
military training ranges is limited. Federal land managers recognize
that cooperative management of endangered species has several benefits,
such as sharing land-use restrictions and resources and providing better
protection for species in some cases. The Departments of the Interior
and Agriculture have issued policies, and DOD has issued directives to
promote cooperative management of natural resources. They have also
outlined specific actions to be taken—such as identifying geographic
regions for species management and forming working groups. However,
follow-through on these actions has been limited, without many of the
prescribed actions being implemented. A few cooperative management
efforts have been taken but were generally in response to a crisis—such
as a species’ population declining.

The Departments of Defense, the Interior, and Agriculture have
identified a number of factors that can limit cooperative management for
endangered species on military training ranges. When a species is found
on training ranges but is not found on other federal land or is not
protected under the Endangered Species Act, neighboring land managers do
not always consider management of the species a high priority. Limited
interaction among agencies and limited resources to employ cooperative
programs also inhibit cooperative management. Lack of training and
expertise has limited federal land managers’ ability to identify such
opportunities. Moreover, federal agencies cannot easily share
information—such as best practices and land management plans—because
there is no centralized source of such information. Given that federal
agencies have made little progress in implementing the various
agreements for cooperative management, an interagency reporting
requirement would provide a basis to hold agencies accountable for
sharing endangered species management on training ranges.

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