While Providing Water Quality Significant Progress Made Toward Maintaining and Improving Water Quality Forest and agricultural practices have improved substantially over the last 50 years. More effective harvest and cropping technology continues to result in better water quality. Improved water quality has resulted from responsible land management, not from greater regulation. Incentives are Best Provide forest and crop land managers incentives to voluntarily adopt best management practices. Cooperative partnership between states and landowners can address non-point source runoff.
Land managers are best qualified to tailor stream and wetland protection for water quality.
Forest practices should remain State authority and not subject to rigid federal regulations. Some regions generate insignificant non-point runoff from forest activities from which regulations would only add a cost burden. State forest and agricultural practices have improved in the absence of EPA regulations. Allow this to continue. Must exclude prior converted crop land from required wetlands reform.