GAO: Interior’s FWS Lacks Project Performance Goals for IRA Refuge Spending

A new audit from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved quickly to obligate Inflation Reduction Act funding for refuge and state habitat resilience projects, but still didn’t set project-level performance goals that would let Congress and the public gauge results.

GAO’s report, released July 10, 2026 (GAO-26-108212), reviewed how FWS used the Inflation Reduction Act’s supplemental appropriation to rebuild and restore units of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and state wildlife management areas—work intended to make habitats and related infrastructure more resilient to future weather events.

Spending pace and early outputs (as of April 1, 2026)

GAO reports the Inflation Reduction Act provided $125 million in supplemental appropriations to FWS for this purpose. As of April 1, 2026, GAO says FWS had obligated 99.6% of the appropriation.

GAO also reports FWS had expended about $48.9 million (39%). In addition, FWS told GAO the IRA projects had resulted in restoration of more than 5,000 acres of wetlands and 16,000 acres of other habitats.

GAO describes the delivery model as nine projects across 23 states and more than 75 NWRS units, carried out through financial awards to state agencies and other partners for design, implementation, and monitoring.

What GAO says is missing: performance goals tied to objectives

GAO’s main concern is not that the agency tracked activity. Instead, GAO says FWS developed an implementation plan with objectives for the IRA projects, but did not establish performance goals to measure progress toward those objectives.

GAO notes that FWS tracked data such as acres restored, but without performance goals, it’s harder to evaluate whether the projects are achieving the intended resilience outcomes—and harder to know when course corrections are warranted.

What GAO recommended—and what to watch next

GAO made two recommendations for executive action, and reports that FWS concurred. Both recommendations are listed as open, pending confirmation of actions taken.

• Recommendation 1: The FWS Director should direct the NWRS Chief to develop and use performance goals for each IRA Section 60302 project to determine whether the agency is meeting the purpose of the appropriations and making progress toward the implementation-plan objectives.
• Recommendation 2: GAO says the FWS Director should ensure FWS’s comprehensive review of NWRS includes determining critical skills and staffing levels needed to achieve NWRS goals, and developing strategies to address any gaps.

GAO also notes the IRA appropriations are available for obligation through September 2026—an oversight window for whether FWS turns the accountability framework into measurable, project-by-project reporting.

Sources

• U.S. GAO report page (GAO-26-108212) — published July 10, 2026