WHAT THE LAW DOINCongress, in plain words

The law › Title 16, Conservation › Chapter 18

16 U.S.C. 1001: Declaration of policy

Created in 1972 by Public Law 92-419. Not changed since. 1 bill in this Congress would change it.

9 other sections of the Code cite this one, including 16 U.S.C. 460l-17, 16 U.S.C. 1009, 16 U.S.C. 3841, 16 U.S.C. 3871a, 22 U.S.C. 277d-29.

3 parts of federal rules cite it as their authority, written by Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture (3).

This Congress

  • S. 5526 Agricultural Act of 2026 · reported by committee · would change 4B

How it got here

1972

  • Pub. L. 92–419 expanded the declaration of policy to include conservation and utilization of land, improvement of land and water resources, and quality of the environment.

Text, outline and history from the official U.S. Code (2024 edition) on GovInfo, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Changes made after that edition appear under This Congress.