How do I submit a public comment on Administrative Site Leases?

The public comment window for this decision closed on June 5, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

When is the public comment deadline for Administrative Site Leases?

The comment window closed on June 5, 2026.

Do public comments actually change federal decisions?

Yes, when they are substantive. Agencies are legally required to read and respond to substantive comments before finalizing a rule, and specific personal comments about real places and real uses carry far more weight than identical form letters. Courts have overturned rules when agencies ignored substantive comments.

Affects public lands

Oppose Administrative Site Leases

Administrative Site Leases

Forest Service· National ForestsFederal Register 2026-08937 ↗

Forest Environmental review Public Lands Oversight Deregulation

The Forest Service is proposing to remove administrative site leases from its special use regulations, which currently govern how federal land is leased for non-recreational purposes. This would align Forest Service leasing practices with private real estate norms, reducing oversight requirements for leases tied to agency administrative facilities. Conservation professionals should watch this closely, as it could reduce public accountability and environmental review for leases on National Forest lands.

In the agency’s own words

The United States Department of Agriculture (Department), Forest Service (Forest Service or Agency), is proposing to amend its land use regulations to exempt administrative site leases from the regulations for special uses. The purpose of this deregulatory action is to better align Forest Service leasing activities with private real estate market practices.

Federal Register 2026-08937 ↗

The reporting behind this

From More Than Just Parks

We Built the Ultimate Fall Color Tracker. Here’s When Every National Park, Forest, and County in America Peaks.Sep 23, 2026

After more than a decade chasing peak color across America, we built the foliage map we always wanted.

BREAKING: Trump Administration Pushes Forward on Uranium Mine on New Mexico National ForestSep 16, 2026

Another foreign mining company wants a piece of America’s public lands. This one comes with millions of gallons of groundwater pumping and radioactive radon.

WAR! Yosemite Selloff Attempt Triggers Warsaw Effect Across Public Lands WorldSep 10, 2026

The administration went looking for a sliver of Yosemite for a private developer and finally convinced the rest of public-lands world that if Yosemite is negotiable, nothing is safe.

More actions that need you

Stop the repeal of the Roadless Rule11 days left Stop harmful logging and grazing rules in the Blue Mountains5 days left Chequamegon-Nicolet west zone aspen and fir logging nears final decision3 days left

Go deeper, free

Scorecard

See how your members of Congress vote on public lands

Every representative, graded on the votes that decide the fate of parks, forests, and refuges.

Open ↗The map

See the places under active threat

A live map of the parks, monuments, and wild country in the crosshairs right now.

Open ↗

A wrong fact, a dead link, a form that wouldn’t take your letter: one tap and it comes to the people who build PLAN, with this fight attached.

Know an open comment period we are missing, or spotted a wrong deadline? .