U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Division of Realty
Washington, DC 20240
http://realty.fws.gov
March 2005
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Cover photo courtesy of John H. Hartig, Ph.D.,
Refuge Manager, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildife Service
A Profile of Land
Protection Actions
As of September 30, 2004
Great tailed grackle
Laguna Atascosa NWR
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Land Protection Policy for the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
acquires lands and waters consistent
with legislation, other Congressional
guidelines, and Executive Orders for
the conservation, management, and
where appropriate, restoration of
ecosystems, fish, wildlife, plants, and
related habitat, and to provide for
compatible, wildlife oriented public
use for educational and recreational
purposes.
These lands include national wildlife
refuges, national fish hatcheries,
waterfowl production areas, and other
areas.
We acquire lands and waters when
other means (such as zoning or
regulation) are not appropriate,
available, or effective. When lands are
to be acquired, the minimum interest
necessary to reach management
objectives is to be acquired or
retained.
If fee title is required, full
consideration is given to extended use
reservations, exchanges, or other
alternatives that will lessen impact on
the owner or the community. We
encourage donations of desired lands
or interests.
Funding for acquisitions comes from
receipts, such as Federal Duck Stamp
sales, entrance fees to certain
National Wildlife Refuges, import
taxes on arms and ammunition, and
appropriations under the Land and
Water Conservation Fund Act.
USFWS/Portscheller
Togiak NWR, AK
Eminent Domain Policy
The Service, like all Federal agencies,
has the authority to use Eminent
Domain to acquire lands and interest
in lands for the public good through
litigation. The Service, however,
seldom uses this authority. It is our
practice to acquire lands from willing
sellers.
Service policy is to acquire land
through Eminent Domain as a last
recourse and only to:
n determine the legal owner (clear
title),
n settle a difference of opinion of
value (when the owner is agreeable
to court action), or
n prevent uses which would cause
irreparable damage to the resources
that the unit was established to
protect.
In all cases, whether or not Eminent
Domain is necessary, the Service
offers not less than market value as
determined by an approved appraisal,
using professional standards and
Federal requirements, i.e., Uniform
Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice, Uniform Appraisal
Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions, Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act (Public Law
91-646), and Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery and Enforcement
Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-73).
Clear Lake NWR, CA
USFWS/Blake
Frequency of U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service Eminent Domain Actions
The Service has used Eminent
Domain sparingly throughout its land
acquisition history. The Service
recognizes the possible social and
economic impacts of acquiring private
property by exercising the right of
Eminent Domain and does its utmost
to avoid using this approach.
In recent years this has become
increasingly true as greater emphasis
is placed on acquisition from willing
sellers. Over the past ten years (1995-
2004) the Service has not acquired any
acres through court action (except,
with the concurrence of the seller,
actions used merely to clear title or
settle values).
Rachel Carson NWR, ME
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, CO
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Lands Under Control of the Service as
of September 30, 2004
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
acquired fee title or other interests in
97,168 acres (net total) in Fiscal Year
2004, for a total of over 96,034,663
acres under our control. Over
82,036,551 of those acres are reserved
from the Public Domain (Public
Domain lands are those lands that
have never left Federal ownership);
4,879,032 acres were purchased in fee
title; 737,321 acres represent
donations or gifts; 3,779,619 acres are
protected through agreements,
easements or leases; and 4,602,140
acres were acquired by other Federal
agencies. Primary authority can be
transferred to the Service or we can
manage the lands pursuant to an
agreement as an overlay refuge.
The number of National Wildlife
Refuges increased from 542 in
FY 2003 to 544 in FY 2004. The
counties in which Waterfowl
Production Areas are located total
203 nationwide. We also oversee
69 National Fish Hatcheries,
50 Coordination Areas, and
46 Administrative Sites.
Additional detailed information can be
found in the “Report of Lands Under
Control of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service as of September 30, 2004”
(see our website address on back of
brochure).
Julia Butler Hansen NWR, WA
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Acquisition Summary Fiscal Years 2000-2004
(In Acres)
Agreement,
Fiscal Acquisition Reserved- Federal Agency Devise or Lease, or Total
Year Transactions Public Domain Transfer/Overlay Gift Purchase Easement Acre
2000 872 0 68,095 10,524 55,794 190,208 325,621
2001 949 (3,477) 1,005,883 2,083 68,907 140,000 1,213,396
2002 784 1,743 171 36,187 68,014 118,143 233,961
2003 683 26,498 318,103 2,780 73,825 88,569 510,317
2004 565 (58,214) (1,850) 12,889 44,136 97,709 97,168
Tota1 3,853 (33,450) 1,390,402 64,463 310,676 634,629 2,380,463
NOTE: Negative acreage will appear when more acres were divested than acquired during the fiscal year (e.g. in FY 2001,
pursuant to Public Law 106-554, primary jurisdiction on Shemya Island, a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge,
transferred to the U.S. Air Force and acreage was moved from the sole/primary reserved from public domain column to the
secondary reserved from public domain column.
