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Ingested titles 12–51 and 54 from OLRC USLM XML @119-100 (the whole Code now, uniform edition; Title 53 is reserved/empty). LegalText 11,221 -> 59,740; repo total 105,704 records. Deterministic (byte-identical rerun, verified on Title 42's 8,356 sections); make check green. make legal-us-code default now covers every title. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
104 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
104 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "LegalText"
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title: "16 U.S.C. § 6543"
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description: "Watershed Condition Framework"
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jurisdiction: "us"
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corpus: "united_states_code"
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kind: "code_section"
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title_number: 16
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title_name: "CONSERVATION"
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chapter_number: "84"
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chapter_name: "HEALTHY FOREST RESTORATION"
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section: "6543"
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citation: "16 U.S.C. § 6543"
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status: "current"
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release_point: "119-100"
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release_date: "2026-06-26"
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source: "official"
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source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc16@119-100.zip"
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source_identifier: "/us/usc/t16/s6543"
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source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-16/usc16.xml"
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source_hash: "f0748927ed6083e4cb5e0afb4fa5c8add0bc30ef1873bfd72c080f4ab449bb79"
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raw_snapshot_hash: "7be8950da5a93cac7c98e4576ce00340f2aba5e8e46d29915382c203c421d503"
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text_hash: "c2b0dce24a9362d5d3ed02ca939c0ab4eac1b3a8cd4d4b815437ce96211d120f"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
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confidence: "official"
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tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
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---
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# 16 U.S.C. § 6543 - Watershed Condition Framework
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## Text
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(a) In general The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”), may establish and maintain a Watershed Condition Framework for National Forest System land—
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(1) to evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds, taking into consideration—
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(A) water quality and quantity;
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(B) aquatic habitat and biota;
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(C) riparian and wetland vegetation;
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(D) the presence of roads and trails;
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(E) soil type and condition;
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(F) groundwater-dependent ecosystems;
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(G) relevant terrestrial indicators, such as fire regime, risk of catastrophic fire, forest and rangeland vegetation, invasive species, and insects and disease; and
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(H) other significant factors, as determined by the Secretary;
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(2) to identify for protection and restoration up to 5 priority watersheds in each National Forest, and up to 2 priority watersheds in each national grassland, taking into consideration the impact of the condition of the watershed condition on—
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(A) wildfire behavior;
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(B) flood risk;
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(C) fish and wildlife;
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(D) drinking water supplies;
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(E) irrigation water supplies;
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(F) forest-dependent communities; and
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(G) other significant impacts, as determined by the Secretary;
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(3) to develop a watershed protection and restoration action plan for each priority watershed that—
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(A) takes into account existing restoration activities being implemented in the watershed; and
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(B) includes, at a minimum—
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(i) the major stressors responsible for the impaired condition of the watershed;
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(ii) a set of essential projects that, once completed, will address the identified stressors and improve watershed conditions;
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(iii) a proposed implementation schedule;
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(iv) potential partners and funding sources; and
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(v) a monitoring and evaluation program;
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(4) to prioritize protection and restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan;
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(5) to implement each watershed protection and restoration action plan; and
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(6) to monitor the effectiveness of protection and restoration actions and indicators of watershed health.
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(b) Coordination In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
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(1) coordinate with interested non-Federal landowners and State, Tribal, and local governments within the relevant watershed; and
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(2) provide for an active and ongoing public engagement process.
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(c) Emergency designation Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subsection (a), the Secretary may identify a watershed as a priority for rehabilitation in the Watershed Condition Framework without using the process described in that subsection if a Forest Supervisor determines that—
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(1) a wildfire has significantly diminished the condition of the watershed; and
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(2) the emergency stabilization activities of the Burned Area Emergency Response Team are insufficient to return the watershed to proper function.
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(Pub. L. 108–148, title III, § 304, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title VIII, § 8405(a), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4843.)
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