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United States Department of Agriculture | News Release | United States Department of Interior |  |
| http://www.usda.gov/ | http://www.doi.gov/ | |||
Release No. 0367.00
Agriculture Contact: Heidi Valetkevitch (202) 205-1134
hvaletkevitch@fs.fed.us
Interior Contact: Jeff Krauss (202) 452-5127
Jeffrey_Krauss@blm.gov
GLICKMAN AND BABBITT ANNOUNCE JOINT POLICY TO PROTECT AND RESTORE WATERS ON FEDERAL LANDS
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2000-Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt today announced a unified policy to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems on federal lands. The policy will serve as a framework for land and resource management focused on watersheds.
The new "Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource Management" will guide the protection of water quality and aquatic ecosystem health through the reduction of polluted runoff, the improvement of natural resources stewardship, and an increase in public involvement in watershed management on federal lands.
It calls on federal agencies to work together and with states, tribes, local governments, private landowners, and other interested parties to take a watershed approach to federal land and resource management. Watershed planning will include assessment and monitoring of watershed conditions, and identifying priority watersheds to focus budget and other resources. The policy applies only to federal lands.
"Improving water quality can only be accomplished through coordinated efforts like this," said Glickman. "Our unified approach to federal watersheds should make coordination among agencies and other stakeholders more efficient and more cost effective."
"Responsible stewardship demands that all concerned Americans, not just the federal government, work together to preserve America's waters - our most precious resource," Babbitt said. "Only through productive collaboration can we hope to live up to our stewardship responsibilities."
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior are joined by the Department of Commerce, Defense, and Energy; the Environmental Protection Agency; Tennessee Valley Authority; and the Army Corps of Engineers in establishing and carrying out the new policy. The policy is published in today's Federal Register, and is also available on the web at http://www.cleanwater.gov/ufp/ .
http://water.usgs.gov/owq/cleanwater/ufp/pressrelease.html
Revised October 19, 2000