Water is or is becoming the single most significant natural resource issue in many areas of the country.  The Forest Service manages the headwaters and recharge areas for many local and regional stream and aquifer systems.  Ground water underlying National Forests and Grasslands represents a major reserve of the Nation's fresh water, has a strong influence on the health and diversity of plant and animal species on and adjacent to those lands, and provides drinking water to hundreds of communities around the country.  

 

One of the principal reasons for establishment of the National Forest System (NFS) was for the management of water resources on public lands.  Increasing demands for safe drinking water, requirements to maintain healthy ecosystems, and complex social and scientific questions about how to assess and manage water resources on NFS lands have clarified the need for a more comprehensive approach.  As a result, the Forest Service has initiated development of a ground water program and established a national program leader position.  This effort will result in direction and guidance to all levels of the agency on the science, methodology, policy, and legal framework for Forest Service ground water resource management. 

 

The program is designed around managing ground water on NFS lands in cooperation with the States as a natural resource interconnected with the other natural resources the agency is charged to manage in the public interest.  The fundamental foundation of the program is sustaining and protecting ground water-dependent ecosystems (e.g., springs, seeps, wetlands; shallow water table areas; ground water-fed streams/lakes; cave/karst systems) and the ground water systems that support them.  Our ground water-management efforts concentrate on those portions of the ground water system that, if depleted or contaminated, would have an adverse effect on surface resources or present or future uses of ground water.