Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102

§1301 Congressional Declaration of Policy; Authority of Secretary

Title 16 › CHAPTER 29 — WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION › § 1301

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture (head of the Department of Agriculture) must begin a continuous program on July 1, 1971 to prevent serious wetland loss and to preserve, restore, and improve wetlands. The program aims to conserve water and wildlife, reduce runoff, erosion and floods, improve water quality and soil moisture, limit expanding farmland, and improve water planning.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §1301

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that it is in the public interest to preserve, restore, and improve the wetlands of the Nation, and thereby to conserve surface waters, to preserve and improve habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife resources, to reduce runoff, soil and wind erosion, and contribute to flood control, to contribute to improved water quality and reduce stream sedimentation, to contribute to improved subsurface moisture, to reduce acres of new land coming into production and to retire lands now in agricultural production, to enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, and to promote comprehensive and total water management planning. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized and directed to formulate and carry out a continuous program to prevent the serious loss of wetlands, and to preserve, restore, and improve such lands, which program shall begin on July 1, 1971.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 91–559, § 1, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1468, provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Water Bank Act’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 1301

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102