On May 2, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced a proposal to strengthen the agency’s management direction for groundwater resources and to use best management practices to improve and protect water quality on national forests and grasslands. USFS also proposes to amend their internal Manual for Water Quality Management and to establish a National Best Management Practices Program handbook. The proposed changes would attempt to improve USFS’s ability to manage and analyze potential uses of National Forest Service land that could affect groundwater resources.

USFS will host a webinar at 1PM EST on May 20 to discuss the proposed changes. The agency requests comments on the proposed actions by July 7, 2014.

Sources: Federal Register, U.S. Forest Service