Watershed Condition Classification for US Forest Service Priority Watersheds

A geospatial dataset from the USDA Forest Service, last updated March 13, 2026, representing watershed condition assessments on Forest Service lands. The data focuses on HUC12 watersheds with more than 5% USFS ownership and includes information on high-priority watersheds, designation rationales, and Watershed Restoration Action Plans. It is compiled from the NRM Watershed Condition Assessment and Tracking Tool (WCATT) application.

Use Cases

• Prioritizing watershed restoration efforts based on the Watershed Condition Framework (WCF) priority designations.
• Analyzing the condition of watersheds on Forest Service lands based on HUC12 boundaries.
• Mapping the rationale for priority watershed designation and associated restoration plans.
• Integrating watershed condition data with other hydrographic or land management datasets.

Strengths

• Includes data on high-priority watersheds with rationale and restoration plan information.
• Focuses on HUC12 watersheds with more than 5% USFS ownership, providing a specific jurisdictional scope.
• Available in multiple geospatial formats including KML, GeoJSON, and via ArcGIS REST API.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to US Forest Service lands.

Provenance

Source

Department of Agriculture, USDA Forest Service.

Collection Method

Compiled from the NRM Watershed Condition Assessment and Tracking Tool (WCATT) application.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:52:23.688218; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Watersheds on US Forest Service lands within HUC12 boundaries from the Watershed Boundary Dataset.