RENO, Nev.— The Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Office is preparing to conduct an audit of its Special Recreation Permit Program for the 2019 through 2021 use seasons.
An independent contractor will conduct the audit, which should be complete by March 2023.
“The audit is also intended to make sure that the American public receives fair market value from the use of its public lands when permits are required. One facet of the audit will focus on reviewing total customer payments received by permit holders for goods and services for the use of public land authorized by an SRP,” Miles Gurtler, Nevada BLM Special Recreation Permit, Trails and Travel Management Lead said.
“The audit benefits the public by determining whether the BLM’s program is being managed correctly,” he said.
Audits are conducted periodically and ensure a fair, equitable and consistent business environment for permit holders.
“This isn’t the first time BLM Nevada has been audited. The agency is required by the federal government to conduct periodic audits of their Special Recreation Permit Program,” Gurtler said.
A letter will be sent notifying all of the approximately 400 permit holders who operated during 2019, 2020, or 2021 of the audit, with a second letter going to approximately 30 permit holders, notifying them they have been selected for the audit. The initial permit holder letter will also include timeframes of the audit and information the permit holder must make available to the auditor. The selection criteria for which permit holders are audited include items such as complexity of the permit, gross revenue, and past performance.
At least one permit holder will be audited from each of the six Nevada District Offices. Busier offices, such as the Southern Nevada District Office and Winnemucca District Office, will audit several more permits due to the scale of their permit operations. Each permit holder selected will be audited through either a telephone interview or field visit.
A statewide summary of the commercial permit audit will be provided to each District and made available to all permit holders and general public once the audit has been completed. Anyone with further questions about the upcoming audit can contact Miles Gurtler at (775) 861-6465 or mgurtler@blm.gov
