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.

When is the public comment deadline for National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures for the Bureau?

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 2026-06602 ↗

Environmental review Forest Wildlife Climate

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to add a new categorical exclusion (CE) to its NEPA implementing procedures that would cover forest and woodland density management activities. A CE allows federal agencies to skip the more rigorous environmental review steps like an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement, so this change would make it easier and faster to approve certain thinning, logging, or vegetation management projects on BLM lands. This affects conservation professionals, land managers, tribes, and communities who rely on public lands managed by BLM across the country.

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 add a new categorical exclusion (CE) for forest and woodland density management in the DOI Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, Appendix 2: Bureau Categorical Exclusions.

Federal Register 2026-06602 ↗

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