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Show may account for this development. The early part of this century found cutover private forests, as well as large areas of nonforested land, contributing uncontrolled runoff and silt which aggravated flood conditions. However, as indicated above, watershed protection and soil stabilization programs, partly under the aegis of Federal financial and technical assistance, have since taken place. If public lands are acquired or retained in Federal ownership for one or more other purposes, good husbandry dictates that management should provide a high level of protection for recognized watershed values. In any event, critical watershed lands, designated or classified as such, must be retained in Federal ownership. Since watershed management practices are generally of equal quality on Federal and non-Federal lands, it is unnecessary to retain public land solely for watershed purposes, if it is not critical watershed land and if the land is chiefly valuable for a purpose for which we recommend disposal elsewhere in this report. There is little justification for using "watershed protection" as a general ground for land acquisition. While individual land ownerships may present particular problems, other state or Federal zoning or control devices are available to deal with them. Therefore, Federal land acquisition as a dominant control technique is not necessary. Accordingly, we recommend that the authority conferred on the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire lands for watershed protection, as quoted above, should be restricted to critical watershed lands within the exterior boundaries of existing national forests. The adoption of this recommendation, of course, would preclude the establishment of new national forests solely for watershed protection. Water Resource Development Project Impacts The Federal water resource development projects constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers, and the non-Federal projects licensed by the Federal Power Commission, have important impacts on public land uses and values. However, the basic statutory charters for the Bureau and Corps' programs are keyed almost exclusively to water resource development goals and objectives. The Federal Power Commission's authority is slightly broader, authorizing the licensing of projects which, in the judgment of the Commission, "will be best adapted to a comprehensive plan for improving or developing a waterway or waterways for the use or benefit of interstate or foreign commerce; for the improvement and utilization of water power development; and for other beneficial public uses, including recreational purposes." 19 The latter phrase has been interpreted to include "conservation of natural resources, the maintenance of natural beauty, and the preservation of historic sites." 20 Although none of the relevant statutory directives expressly direct the consideration of project impact on all public land values, the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965 declares congressional policy "to encourage the conservation, development, and utilization of water and related land resources of the 19 16U.S.C. §803(a) (1964). 20 Scenic Hudson Pres. Conf. v. FPC, 354 F.2d. 608, 614 (2d Cir 1965), cert, denied, 384 U.S. 941 (1966). A forest lake in summer. 153 |
