1 COMMITTEE NOTE.-This represents the value for only 28,000,000 acres of the 188,000,000 acres under Forest Service jurisdiction. In these categories the Forest Service manages 7,000,000 in land utilization areas, 1,500,000 acres of donated and exchanged lands, and 19,500,000 acres of purchased land, for a total of 28,000,000 acres. In addition, there are 160,000,000 acres of public domain lands under Forest Service management. 11 Exhibit 1.-DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-Continued Liabilities: FOREST SERVICE-Continued Statement of financial condition, June 30, 1957-Continued LIABILITIES AND NET INVESTMENT Total liabilities and net in- 937, 448, 390 GENERAL NOTE.-This statement was prepared and consolidated from the Forest Service's statements of financial condition (S. F. 220) on the working capital, trust, deposit, and appropriated funds and from other information obtained from the Service. General Accounting Office comments on certain significant items appear on p. 13. 12 GAO COMMENTS ON FOREST SERVICE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION The Forest Service statement of financial condition as of June 30, 1957 (exhibit 1), was prepared and consolidated from the Service's Statements of Financial Condition (Standard Form 220) on the working capital, trust, deposit, and appropriated funds and from other information obtained from the Service. Although certain minor reclassifications and adjustments of intrafund transactions have been made, the overall financial condition has not been changed. Lands and timber The value shown for lands and timber relates to the acquisition cost of about 26.5 million acres of land acquired by purchase and to about 1.5 million acres of land acquired by donation or exchange. The 1.5 million acres of land has not been capitalized, but, for purposes of reporting to the General Services Administration and to the Treasury Department, the Forest Service has assigned a valuation of $1 per acre to the lands and this value has been included in the total value shown. In addition to the purchased, donated, and exchanged lands, the Service administers about 160 million acres of land withdrawn from the public domain as national forests. Current Department of Agriculture Administrative Regulations, title 7, provide that lands withdrawn or reserved from public domain for national forests ordinarily will not be capitalized, and in accordance with the regulations a capitalized value has not been established in the accounting records. Pursuant to the request of the chairman, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, the Forest Service appraised its public domain realty at estimated market value as of June 30, 1956 and 1957. This value, exceeding $6.5 billion at June 30, 1957, was included in the committee's Federal Real and Personal Property Inventory Report. Value of certain improvements made on public domain is reflected in part in these land and timber values. No allowance for public values for such important uses as water production was included in the appraised values. Roads, trails, and bridges Roads, trails, and bridges were acquired through construction by either (1) road contractors, (2) timber purchasers, or (3) force account. Road contractor construction is valued at cost; timber purchaser construction is valued at estimated cost; and force account construction is valued generally at the cost of direct labor and direct materials, although some adjustment of direct labor rates was made for relief program labor used. 1 See report of House Committee on Government Operations, entitled "Federal Real and Personal Property Inventory Report (Civilian and Military) of the United States Government Covering Its Properties Located in Continental United States, in the Territories, and Overseas, as of June 30, 1957" (85th Cong., 1st sess.). Other structures and facilities Other structures and facilities consist principally of buildings and related improvements, recreation facilities, and range improvements, all of which are stated generally at cost. Nonstructural improvements Nonstructural improvements are principally tree planting, timberstand improvement, and soil and water control improvements, all of which are stated generally at cost. Machinery and equipment and related depreciation The machinery and equipment of $51,518,191 includes about $23.5 million capitalized under the Service's working capital fund on which depreciation has accumulated to about $11.7 million. This $23.5 million valuation is based on cost for purchased machinery and equipment and on estimated value (fiscal year 1957) for donated and transferred machinery and equipment. The balance of the machinery and equipment is valued at acquisition cost and has not been depreciated. |