The Interior Department may have misstated its vast landholdings by as much as 82 percent, or a stunning 892 million acres, auditors say in a new report.
Or maybe the department just needs to get its paperwork in order.
Citing a widespread absence of deeds and other documentation that can nail down property ownership, Interior’s Office of Inspector General cautioned that the department’s land claims were “not sufficiently supported” with underlying records.
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“These issues occurred because DOI did not provide oversight to ensure information submitted by bureaus had appropriate support and did not verify reported Federal land acres for completeness, accuracy, and proper documentation,” the OIG report explained.
