Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed whether the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) appropriately considered wildlife interests in its management of the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA).
GAO found that: (1) BLM is statutorily required to manage CDCA in accordance with the principles of multiple use, sustained yield, and resource protection; (2) BLM has worked to develop environmental area plans and habitat management plans to implement its overall wildlife protection goals; (3) BLM has only completed half of its wildlife-related implementation plans; (4) BLM has not effectively implemented those plans it has developed; (5) for fiscal years 1982 through 1988, BLM wildlife funding was less than half that planned; (6) BLM has allowed such events as off-road vehicle races and recreation areas in critical wildlife habitats; (7) BLM has also allowed grazing and mining in threatened habitats; and (8) BLM opposed California's efforts to give certain threatened species greater protection.
