Auditors drill down on refuge 'friends' groups

摘要

Interior Department auditors warned today that a program of nonprofit "friends" groups intended to aid national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries is "at risk for misuse and mishandling of funds." In a critical report that's already prompting Fish and Wildlife Service reforms, Interior's Office of Inspector General identified shortcomings with oversight of the tax-exempt groups that annually receive millions of dollars in donations and other revenues. "Donors reasonably expect that their money will be spent to benefit the refuge or hatchery they are supporting," the OIG noted, but "we found that the FWS did not maintain the information necessary to manage the friends program." FWS manages more than 560 national wildlife refuges throughout the United States. An estimated 200 or so are supported by independent organizations generally known as friends groups (Greenwire, March 19, 2019). The OIG auditors determined that FWS cannot account for friends organizations' donations, revenues or expenditures. In addition, the agency was unable to ensure the organizations had the necessary documents, such as evidence of nonprofit status.