Congressional Research Service Reports - 225 Matching Results
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- The Public Land Law Review Commission
- This report concerns the Public Land Law Review Commission.
- Oil and Gas Activities Within the National Wildlife Refuge System
- This report contains sections on recent developments related to oil and gas wells in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and related issues for Congress. The report presents information on the number and location of oil and gas wells, compatibility of oil and gas activities with NWRS purposes, and regulatory mechanisms for the administration of oil and gas activities.
- Hunting and Fishing on Federal Lands and Waters: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of issues related to hunting and fishing on federal lands.
- Federal Lands and Related Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 115th Congress
- This report provides a brief overview of federal land management and its challenges along with legislation in the 115th Congress which related to federal land management.
- Wilderness: Issues and Legislation
- This report discusses information on wilderness protection and a discussion of issues in the wilderness debate--some pros and cons of wilderness designation generally; proposed legislation; and a discussion of wilderness study area designations and protections and related issues.
- Supreme Court Declines to Review Ninth Circuit Court Decision Applying Federal Reserved Water Rights Doctrine to Groundwater
- This report discusses the case of "Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District" relating to groundwater water rights on federal lands. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in July 2017.
- Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3356
- This report discusses Department of Interior Secretarial Order 3356 which was issued on September 15, 2017 and directs bureaus and offices that manage public lands to enhance opportunities for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting while also promoting conservation activities on all public lands including National Monuments. Past orders and related legislation and reactions to the order are also discussed.
- Confederate Symbols: Relation to Federal Lands and Programs
- This report focuses primarily on Confederate symbols administered by three federal entities-- NPS, the VA, and DOD. Each of these entities manages multiple sites or programs that involve Confederate symbols. The report begins with a discussion of recent legislative proposals, and then discusses the agencies' current policies with respect to Confederate symbols, along with issues for Congress.
- Wildfire Suppression Spending: Background, Issues, and Legislation in the 115th Congress
- This report provides background information and analysis of federal funding for wildfire suppression operations on federal lands or for fires that began on federal land. The report provides a discussion of the issues facing Congress and concludes by summarizing several legislative proposals under consideration by the 115th Congress.
- Executive Order for Review of National Monuments: Background and Data
- This report discusses the review process of national monuments established or expanded since 1996 that exceed 100,000 acres that was mandated by President Trump's executive order on April 26, 2017, and its results. The final report from the Interior Department was submitted to the President on August 24, 2017, and made individual recommendations for 10 of the 27 monuments that were reviewed.
- Deferred Maintenance of Federal Land Management Agencies: Fiscal Year 2007-Fiscal Year 2016 Estimates and Issues
- This report discusses the maintenance backlogs/deferred maintenance at the four federal land management agencies (the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service). It first provides agency deferred maintenance estimates for FY2016, the most recent fiscal year for which this information is available. It also discusses changes in deferred maintenance over the past decade (FY2007-FY2016) and then identifies some of the factors that likely contributed to these changes.
- PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes): Somewhat Simplified
- This report discusses the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program that compensates local jurisdictions (generally counties) for lost tax property tax revenue due to the presence of federal lands in their county. It covers all NPS, NFS, and BLM lands, some National Wildlife Refuge lands, and a few military lands. The payment calculations are based on a complicated five part system and the program has been criticized for paying vastly different amounts to some counties with similar land amounts and complicated inclusion rules Wildlife Refuge land. Past legislation and options for reform are also discussed.
- Executive Order for Review of National Monuments
- This report discusses President Trump's April 16, 2017 executive order requiring the Department of the Interior to review presidentially established national monuments since 1996 that exceed 100,000 acres or where action was taken "without adequate public outreach and coordination". It includes tables of the national monuments effected and numbers of acres protected as a national monument by each President since 1996.
- Reform of U.S. International Taxation: Alternatives
- This report describes and assesses the principal prescriptions that have been offered for broad reform of the international system. It begins with an overview of current law and possible revisions. It then sets the framework for considering economic efficiency as well as tax shelter activities. Finally, it reviews alternative approaches to revision in light of those issues.
- Questions and Answers on Homesteads, Public Land Sales, and Sources of Additional Information
- This report answers frequently asked questions regarding the sale of public lands and homestead laws and provides further sources on the topic.
- Public Land Policy: Activities in the 92nd Congress
- This report discusses proposed and passed legislation in the 92nd Congress regarding public lands.
- Outdoor Recreation and Federal Laws: Selected Annotated References, 1970-1973
- This report provided an extensive annotated list of references for outdoor recreation literature. The references were divided into three categories: those relating to National or State Parks, those relating mainly to National Forests, and Congressional documents on subjects relating to outdoor recreation.
- Public Lands in the West: Policy Perspectives: Selected References
- This report contains selected references to the history and possible future of federal lands, primarily those in the Western United States.
- Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
- This report provides data and an overview of the land owned by federal government, which is roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress
- This report discusses one major element of the energy debate in the 108th Congress, which has been whether to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska, and if so, under what conditions, or whether to continue to prohibit development to protect the area's biological resources. The Refuge is an area rich in fauna, flora, and commercial oil potential. Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- This brief focuses on several issues affecting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) lands that are of interest to the 109th Congress, and does not comprehensively cover issues primarily affecting other federal lands.
- Conflict and History at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- This report briefly discusses the conflict at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) in January of 2016.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Background and Issues
- The report begins with background on the geography and history of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It also discusses the most common legislative issues, such as energy development, and provides an extensive review of the resources of the 1002 area, including the current status, regulations, and potential effects of development of those resources.A glossary is included to define the key terms and acronyms.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- The 109th Congress is considering issues related to the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the national forests managed by the Forest Service (FS). The Administration is addressing issues through budgetary, regulatory, and other actions. This report discusses several key issues of congressional and administrative interest.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 109th Congress
- This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.
- Wilderness Laws: Permitted and Prohibited Uses
- This report discusses the Wilderness Act generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and infrastructure developments in congressionally designated wilderness areas. However, the Wilderness Act and many subsequent laws designating wilderness areas also contain provisions authorizing activities that do not conform with these general prohibitions. The general prohibitions and the authorized uses are important because controversies persist over permissible and prohibited activities in wilderness areas, and because bills often seek to modify existing areas or activities.
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
- No Description Available.
- Federal Sales of Natural Resources: Pricing and Allocating Mechanisms
- This report describes the systems used by the federal government to price its resources and to determine who gets access to those resources. For some (e.g., timber and leasable minerals), markets are used to set prices, but administrative systems used for some resources may result in prices substantially lower than market values.
- The Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act: Background and Summary
- This report discusses the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, which represents an attempt to clear up the conflicting land claims of three distinct parties in Alaska – the State, Alaska Native Corporations, and Native allottees – in time for the fiftieth anniversary of Alaska’s statehood in 2009.
- Historic Preservation: Background and Funding
- This report summarizes the federal role in historic preservation. It provides descriptions of and funding information for some of the major preservation programs, including the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Register for Historic Places. Some Members of Congress have given historic preservation programs close scrutiny and have recommended that historic preservation activities be supported increasingly by the private sector.
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 111th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands, R.S. 2477, and “Disclaimers of Interest”
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues in the 111th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Management Agencies’ Permanently Appropriated Accounts
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Management Agencies: Appropriations and Revenues
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Constitutional Authority and the History of Acquisition, Disposal, and Retention
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service: Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands, “Disclaimers of Interest,” and R.S. 2477
- No Description Available.
- Federal Grazing Regulations: Public Lands Council v. Babbitt
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands and Natural Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 114th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Management and Protection of Paleontological (Fossil) Resources Located on Federal Lands: Current Status and Legal Issues
- No Description Available.