The Department of the Interior is America's principal conservation agency. Interior serves as steward for approximately 437 million federal acres of America's public lands and for the natural and cultural resources associated with these lands. These assets are valued for their environmental resources, recreational and scenic opportunities, cultural and historical resources, vast open spaces, and the resource commodities and revenue they provide to the federal government, states, and counties. Interior also supervises mineral leasing and operations on approximately 700 million acres of mineral estate that underlie both federal and other surface ownerships.
Since Congress created the Department in 1849, Interior's role has evolved from being a general housekeeper for the federal government to becoming the steward for its natural and cultural resources and the administrator of its trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and our commitments to island communities. This mission is achieved through hundreds of programs and activities carried out principally by Interior's eight bureaus. Interior's bureaus have separate but often related missions, programs, and customers (Figure 1). Departmental Management provides leadership, management, and coordination as well as support services used by all bureaus to accomplish their work.
Most of the public lands under the purview of Interior management were once a part of the 1.8 billion acres of public domain lands acquired by the United States between 1781 and 1867. Land administered by Interior represents about 19 percent of America's land surface and approximately 70 percent of all federally owned land. Each of America's 50 states, the U.S. associated Pacific insular areas, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico contain lands administered by the Department of the Interior.
Interior-administered lands include the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Park System, and the vast expanses of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service) manages lands primarily to conserve and protect fish and wildlife and their habitats. The National Park Service (NPS or Park Service) manages 379 parks to conserve, preserve, protect, and interpret the Nation's natural, cultural, and recreational resources. The Bureau of Land Management is guided by the principles of multiple use and sustained yield in managing its public lands. Congress has defined multiple-use management of the public lands and their various resources as that which best meets both the present and future needs of the American people. The resources and uses embraced by the multiple-use concept include energy and mineral resources; natural, scenic, scientific, and historical values; outdoor recreation; range; timber; and wildlife and fish habitat.
The Department has significant responsibilities related to energy and minerals production and use. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) manages the resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); collects mineral revenues generated from federal and Indian lands; accounts for and distributes these revenues to states, tribes, individual Indian mineral owners (allottees), and the U.S. Treasury. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is responsible for ensuring that coal mines are operated in a safe and environmentally sound manner and lands are restored to beneficial use following mining, and the effects of past mining are mitigated through the reclamation of abandoned mine lands. The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR or Reclamation) is one of the largest suppliers of water in the West and is the Nation's second largest producer of hydroelectric power.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS or Survey) provides science for a changing world by delivering reliable and impartial information that describes the Earth, its natural processes, and its natural species. USGS primary science disciplines include biological resources, geology, geography, and water resources.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) carries out the federal government's trust responsibilities to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.
In 2000, Interior's full-time equivalent (FTE) usage rate was 67,260, an increase of 304 or 0.5 percent compared to 1999. Figure 2 shows 2000 FTE usage rates by bureau. The Department's operations are funded primarily by congressional appropriations of the general funds of the United States government. Interior's enacted 2000 current appropriations budget was approximately $8.5 billion. The Department's remaining 2000 budgetary resources were provided primarily from (1) permanent appropriations (i.e., budget authority that is available as the result of previously enacted legislation and which does not require any new legislation for the current year), (2) prior year unobligated balances, and (3) spending authority from offsettingcollections. These budget amounts do not include certain exchange revenues as well as other amounts not included in the budget of the federal government.
Interior is responsible for collecting billions of dollars in receipts, fees, and other revenues. In 2000, the Minerals Management Service distributed approximately $8.5 billion from mineral activities on federal and American Indian lands (Figure 3).
Achieving Results
The Department of the Interior continuously seeks to improve its performance, provide customers with responsive service, and produce solid results. The Department measures success in pursuit of its mission against five strategic goals:
Goal 1 - Protect the Environment and Preserve Our Nation's Natural and Cultural Resources
Goal 2 - Provide Recreation for America
Goal 3 - Manage Natural Resources for a Healthy Environment and a Strong Economy
Goal 4 - Provide Science for a Changing World
Goal 5 - Meet Our Trust Responsibilities to American Indians and Our Commitments to Island Communities
To measure progress in moving toward these strategic goals, Interior has developed a set of performance goals that reflect the Department's most critical challenges. Each year, targets are established for these goals.
Interior's strategic and performance goals are achieved through the many programs and activities carried out by the Department's bureaus and departmental offices. Interior's bureaushave separate but often related legislated missions, programs, customers, and stakeholders. Working with the Department, Interior bureaus and offices establish goals and performance measures for their programs and link them to the departmental goals. The Department provides leadership, management oversight, and administrative support services for this planning process.
Last year, the Department linked bureau missions and departmental programs into a number of long-term objectives under Interior's five strategic goals. This alignment brings Interior's themes into sharp focus: restoring landscapes, watersheds, and natural systems; guarding and restoring the America's natural and cultural landmarks; providing access to the Nation's vast public lands for sustainable economic development, recreation, and renewal of the human spirit; applying Interior's best scientific information and knowledge; working in partnerships with governments, tribes, industry, nonprofit groups, and ordinary citizens; and meeting the Department's trust responsibilities and commitments to island communities.
Linking the key programs and outcomes of individual Interior bureaus to the Departments priorities and initiatives reinforces Interior's stewardship of critical resources, especially important in light of increasing developmental pressures, shifting public wants and needs, and accelerating changes in science and technology. Interior must respond to the increasing demands on the vital resources the Department oversees by efficiently and wisely using and managing these resources.
Interior's 2000 Accountability Report takes a results-oriented approach in presenting the Department's financial condition by integrating budget, accounting, and program information. Figure 4 shows 2000 expenses for Interior's five strategic goals.
This Accountability Report does not present all of the Department's approximately 250 performance measures (available in the Department's 2000 Annual Performance Report and at http://www.doi.gov/gpra/). Instead, the report provides commentary on performance results for selected program goals and measures that are representative of Interior's five strategic goals. The 2001 performance targets reflect information provided by Interior bureaus and offices at the time of report publication. Updated 2001 performance target information will be available in the Department's 2002 Annual Performance Plan and 2000 Annual Performance Report.
In addition to providing selected program results, the Accountability Report:
This information is presented in the Department's audited financial statements, which comply with the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act), the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 (GMRA), and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) accounting standards. FASAB's financial reporting objectives require reporting on (1) budgetary integrity, (2) operating performance, (3) stewardship, and (4) controls.