Determine in each of the following three situations whether the documents or records in question would be agency records and hence accessible to the press and the public under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Explain your answer in each case.

a. The Department of the Interior hired Biologists Are Us, a private biological laboratory, to study the sea lion problem at the Ballard Locks. The sea lions were feasting on migrating salmon as they tried to re-enter the canal that led into the freshwater lakes and streams where the fish would lay their eggs. Federal officials wanted to know exactly how many fish these mammals ate each day. The biologists did a thorough day-by-day study of the problem and after six months presented the Department of the Interior with a 16-page report outlining its findings. The volumes of data on which the report was based were retained by Biologists Are Us. The 16-page report was made public, but the Sierra Club sought the original data gathered by the biologists. After the Interior Department denied the club's original requests for this data, the Sierra Club filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of the Interior. Are these agency records? Why or why not?

b. The staff of the U.S. Senate Telecommunications Committee has just completed a report on how much children's programming is broadcast on each and every television station in the United States. The Committee published a report highlighting its findings. Action for Children's Television wants to see all the data that were gathered and subsequently files a Freedom of Information Act request with the Committee. Are these agency records? Why or why not?

c. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in September 2001, many federal agencies are working more closely together on matters related to national security. The Federal Bureau of Investigation each week gathers data about incidents in the United States that might be related to terrorist activities. A copy of this report is sent to the Department of Defense. A reporter seeks to see a copy of the report and files a Freedom of Information Act with the Department of Defense to get access to the document. Officials at the Pentagon say the report is not an agency record. Is it? Explain your answer.