§6543 Watershed Condition Framework

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service Chief, may create and keep a Watershed Condition Framework for National Forest System lands. The framework must check and rank watershed health by looking at things like water amount and quality, fish and plant life, wetland and stream vegetation, roads and trails, soils and groundwater, and land risks like fire, invasive species, and disease. The Forest Service may pick up to 5 priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to 2 in each national grassland for protection and restoration. Picks should consider effects on wildfire behavior, flood risk, fish and wildlife, drinking and irrigation water, forest communities, and other important impacts. For each priority watershed, the agency must make a protection and restoration plan that fits existing work and, at minimum, lists the main problems, essential projects to fix them, a schedule, likely partners and funding, and a monitoring program. The agency must rank, carry out, and track these actions. It must also work with nearby landowners and state, Tribal, and local governments and keep the public involved. If a Forest Supervisor finds a wildfire greatly damaged a watershed and Burned Area Emergency Response Team actions are not enough, the Secretary may declare it an emergency priority without the usual selection process.