BLM Wyoming to Conduct Special Recreation Permit Audit for 2011-2013 Seasons
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming State Office will conduct an audit of its commercial Special Recreation Permits (SRP) for the 2011 - 2013 use seasons. The audit is being conducted through an independent contractor and should be completed by early September 2014.Periodic audits are usually conducted about every five years and are one of the ways the BLM can assure a fair, equitable and consistent business environment for permittees. The audit will also ensure that the American public receives fair market value from the commercial use of its public land. The audit will focus on reviewing total customer payments received by permittees for goods and services for the public land use authorized by a SRP.BLM Wyoming Recreation Lead Lesly Smith said the audit benefits the public by determining if the BLM's program is being managed correctly. "Through this audit, we will determine how efficiently the program is being run and will determine if there are under/over payments as a result of inaccurate fee calculations by BLM, or as a result of underreporting by commercial recreation permittees who operate on BLM Wyoming lands."Smith also said this isn't the first time BLM Wyoming has been audited, since the audits are required by the federal government. "Each BLM state is required to conduct periodic audits of their commercial recreation permits," Smith said. Previous audits were conducted in 1994 and 2007.In January 2014, a letter will be sent notifying current permittees who operated in 2011 - 2013 of the audit. A second letter will be sent to the 24 permittees selected to be audited. The letter will also include timeframes of the audit and information they must make available to the auditor. At least two permittees will be audited from each of the ten BLM Wyoming field offices, with just one permittee audited from the Newcastle Field Office. A statewide summary of the commercial permit audit and copies of relevant audit reports will be provided to each field office once the audit has been completed. Anyone with further questions about the upcoming audit can contact BLM Wyoming Recreation Lead Lesly Smith at (307) 775-6031 or at lsmith@blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.