How do I submit a public comment on National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the Bureau?

The public comment window for this decision closed on May 6, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

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The comment window closed on May 6, 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.

Critical threat to public lands

Oppose National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the

National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFederal Register 2026-06603 ↗

Environmental review Forest Timber Wildlife Climate

The Interior Department is proposing to revise BLM's NEPA procedures to restore and modify a categorical exclusion (CE) that allows timber salvage harvesting without requiring a full environmental review. This change would make it easier for BLM to approve post-fire or post-disturbance timber salvage projects on public lands by bypassing the standard EA or EIS process. It'll affect land managers, timber interests, conservation groups, and communities near BLM-managed forests.

In the agency’s own words

This notice announces a proposed revision to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures (DOI NEPA Handbook) that supplements Chapter 1 of Part 516 of the Department of the Interior's (Department or DOI) Departmental Manual (516 DM 1). The proposed revision would both restore and amend a previously finalized categorical exclusion (CE) for timber salvage harvest in the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2: Bureau Categorical Exclusions.

Federal Register 2026-06603 ↗

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