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the six agencies have developed policies that differ in the types 

 of concessions agreements, terms of the agreements, or fees 

 associated with these agreements. For example, under the 

 Concessions Policy Act of 1965, concessioners under the Park 

 Service's management have the right to be compensated for 

 improvements they construct on federal lands. This right, called 

 "possessory interest," is unique to the Park Service. The other 

 agencies' concessions agreements do not provide for possessory 

 interest. 



The Concessions Policy Act of 1965 also grants existing Park 

 Service concessioners that perform satisfactorily a preferential 

 right of contract renewal when their agreement expires. The Bureau 

 of Land Management also grants a preferential right of renewal; 

 however, this right was established by policy and not by 

 legislation. The Forest Service offers a preferential right of 

 renewal to smaller concessioners with short-term agreements, such 

 as outfitters and guides, but does not extend this right to 

 concessioners with longer-term agreements. The Corps of Engineers, 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation grant no 

 preferential right of renewal to any concessioner. 



Policies also vary concerning the terms and conditions that 

 agency field personnel can negotiate. The Bureau of Land 

 Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Fish and Wildlife Service 

 allow their field office managers to negotiate nearly all the terms 

 of concessions agreements, regardless of the size of the contract. 

 Thus, field office managers in these agencies can negotiate the 

 length of the agreement, types of service provided, rates charged 

 to the public, and cash fee or non-cash compensation paid to the 

 federal government. In the Park Service, field managers may also 

 negotiate nearly all the terms of concessions agreements; however, 

 final approval for large agreements (annual revenues over $100,000) 

 rests with the Director of the Park Service. Generally, in the 



