Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has announced that more than 1,900 local governments across the country will receive $529.3 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for 2021, as detailed in a Department of the Interior (DOI) press release.

The department collects more than $10.3 billion in revenue annually from commercial activities on public lands, such as oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting, the release states. 

A portion of these revenues is shared with states and counties.

"This year’s distribution of $529.3 million to more than 1,900 counties will help local governments carry out vital services, such as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads and search-and-rescue operations," Haaland said in a press release. "Our mission relies on partnerships with U.S. states and territories. These disbursements are a great example of our commitment to be a good neighbor to the communities we serve.” 

The PILT payments are made annually for tax-exempt federal lands administered by Department of the Interior agencies. 

These agencies include the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, the release details. 

The PILT payments also cover federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, as stated in a DOI press release. 

Details on the full list of funding by state and county are available on the Department of the Interior's Payments in Lieu of Taxes page.