MARYLAND - The Maryland Office of Legislative Audits found the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) failed to properly account for millions of dollars in funding following a recent audit of the department.
In an audit report published in late April, the legislative auditor says they launched a fiscal compliance review of DNR for the period of August 2019 through December 2023. That review, according to auditors, revealed DNR did not effectively monitor state and local Forest Conservation Act programs and did not properly account for related funds.
In one instance, DNR failed to use $3.4 million raised for reforestation projects within the required timeframe, according to the audit. That money was to be returned to the paying entities to use for planting trees, as is required by state law. Auditors say DNR did not return the funds.
The audit also found DNR mismanaged grant awards for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. Auditors say DNR awarded grants that were not competitively bid as required by state law. Two grants totaling $8.1 million were awarded without using the mandated competitive selection process, auditors say.
DNR also did not use proper selection criteria in awarding $15.3 million worth of grant proposals for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, auditors claim.
The audit goes on to cover several other examples of monetary mismanagement at the department and provides a list of recommendations for DNR to follow to avoid further issues.
Auditors included a response from DNR, which does not refute the findings of the audit. In fact, DNR agreed with each of the audits’ recommendations and insisted they were working to remediate any issues or ensure they were avoided in the future.
That response from DNR, according to auditors, was sufficient.
"We reviewed the response to our findings and related recommendations, and have concluded that the corrective actions identified are sufficient to address all audit issues," the audit report reads.
In a statement, a DNR spokesperson said the following regarding the audit report:
"The Department of Natural Resources appreciates the collaborative approach taken by the Office of Legislative Audits throughout their audit of activities from 2019-23. Since taking office in 2023, Sec. Josh Kurtz has made retooling DNR’s processes, enhancing transparency, and increasing accountability ongoing priorities. The recommendations in this report have been helpful for directing DNR’s efforts to deal with the issues that developed during the previous administration. We were pleased that the auditors found the corrective actions DNR has taken since 2023 were sufficient to address the issues the auditors identified."
You can read the full audit report here.