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UNPROTECTED WATERSHEDS from involvement in regulatory action to address threats arising outside park boundaries. Furthermore, effective action often requires early and continuing legal representation in administrative proceedings or court litigation. Yet the Park Service must depend exclusively on the few attorneys in the Interior Solicitor's offices, or on attorneys from the Department of Justice, neither of whom ordinarily takes initiative in commencing regulatory actions for park protection. Finally, both the Solicitor's offices and the Department of Justice commonly represent other federal agencies that often support projects that may harm park water resources, further limiting the prospects for effective legal protection of national parks. Park waters will remain in jeopardy until pro- grams are established to provide for careful manage- ment of park watershed lands, with provisions for active involvement by the Park Service in addressing potential threats. Use or development of park water- shed lands does not necessarily need to be prohib- ited, but individual and cumulative impacts to park waters from activities on their watersheds must be assessed and steps taken to avoid or minimize harm. Alternatives to proposed activities must be sought, and sometimes required, when they would reduce the quantity of water essential to a park's natural sys- tems or aesthetic values. Solutions must be developed that will prevent or reduce pollution at its source, since it seldom can be contained or cleaned up at the park boundary. Finally, the Park Service must be given the authority, program support and encourage- ment to address aggressively the many threats that arise on watershed lands beyond park boundaries. 5. Require state water quality agencies (or the Environmental Protection Agency) to directly notify and consult with the Park Service concerning any proceedings to classify or designate uses or standards for waters within a park's watershed lands or for waters that could affect a park's aquatic resources, and to give full consideration to Park Service recommendations in such proceedings. 6. Amend the Clean Water Act to require mandatory designation of park waters as "outstanding National resource waters" or an equivalent designation prohibiting any degradation of park water quality. (See also section 8 on "Nonmandatory Antidegradation Standards.") 7. Authorize and fund an independent office of legal counsel for the National Park Service, staffed with attorneys authorized to provide representation in all administrative proceedings and litigation relating to protection of units of the National Park System, including the protection of park waters. ` $. Clarify that the Park Service has authority to adopt and enforce appropriate regulations to protect park waters and water-related resources from impairment caused by activities on park watershed lands that extend beyond park boundaries. The Parh Service Should 9. Specifically require park managers to participate in planning, administrative and judicial proceedings, including water right adjudications, to the full extent necessary to avoid or minimize impacts from activi- ties on park watersheds that may adversely affect the quantity and quality of park waters or a park's water-related resources. 10. Promulgate regulations to protect park waters and water-related resources from impairment caused by activities on watershed lands that extend beyond park boundaries. 17