U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants Awarded to the State of New York, Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Fish and Wildlife, From April 1, 2019, Through March 30, 2021, Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

Submitting OIG:

Department of the Interior OIG

Report Description:

We audited costs claimed by the New York Department of Environment Conservation, Division of Fish and Wildlife, under WSFR grants awarded by FWS.

Date Issued:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of the Interior

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

2022–ER–033

Component, if applicable:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Location(s):

United States

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

$7,457,874

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
Final-Audit-ReportWSFR-New-YorkPublic.pdf	4.87 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
2022-ER-033-01	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to resolve the Federal share of questioned costs related to unsupported in-kind volunteer match totaling $7,457,874.
2022-ER-033-02	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to evaluate the Department’s current grant program in-kind policies and procedures and implement program-specific procedures that align with the overall Department Leave and Accrual Tracking System Training Manual, including supervisory review and approval of individual volunteer contributions.
2022-ER-033-03	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to evaluate the volunteer management system controls and implement any new controls to document volunteer certification of donated time.
2022-ER-033-04	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to develop and provide training, to include any updates and revisions after a policy review, for all Department employees with responsibility for reviewing in-kind documentation.
2022-ER-033-06	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to analyze and provide justification regarding the allowability of license revenue by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.
2022-ER-033-07	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to resolve any potential diversion of license revenue.
2022-ER-033-08	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to update guidance to include justifications for determining whether WSFR funds pass through as subawards or contracts.
2022-ER-033-09	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to ensure staff are trained on how to make subaward determinations using the newly developed guidance and provide evidence of training.
2022-ER-033-10	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to update existing policies and procedures for performing regular inspections to ensure that all inventory is properly tagged and accounted for and the inventory system is up to date (including the removal of disposed items).
2022-ER-033-11	Open	No
We recommend that the FWS require the Department to establish controls and determine milestones to track the Department’s progress in properly tagging and accounting for all inventory.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

2022-ER-033-01

Open

We recommend that the FWS require the Department to resolve the Federal share of questioned costs related to unsupported in-kind volunteer match totaling $7,457,874.

2022-ER-033-02

Open

We recommend that the FWS require the Department to evaluate the Department’s current grant program in-kind policies and procedures and implement program-specific procedures that align with the overall Department Leave and Accrual Tracking System Training Manual, including supervisory review and approval of individual volunteer contributions.

2022-ER-033-03

Open