How do I submit a public comment on Locatable Minerals?

The public comment window for this decision closed on April 21, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

When is the public comment deadline for Locatable Minerals?

The comment window closed on April 21, 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.

High threat to public lands

Oppose Locatable Minerals

Locatable Minerals

Forest Service· National Forest System landsFederal Register 2026-03364 ↗

Mining Forest Clean water Environmental review Wildlife Climate

Pictured: Moose in a summer wildflower meadow

The Forest Service is proposing to update its rules for hard-rock mining operations on National Forest System lands, covering everything from prospecting to reclamation. It's aimed at improving efficiency and transparency while minimizing surface resource damage, but it also explicitly supports expanding critical and strategic mineral extraction. Conservation professionals should watch this closely since it'll affect how mining impacts on soils, water, and ecosystems are regulated across all national forests.

In the agency’s own words

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Agency), is proposing to revise its regulations governing occupancy and use of the surface of National Forest System lands in connection with prospecting, exploration, development, mining, processing, and reclamation and reasonably incident uses authorized by U.S. mining laws and the Organic Administration Act of 1897. Regulatory revisions are needed to improve the efficiency and transparency of Forest Service regulation of locatable mineral operations conducted on National Forest System lands under the mining laws, and to minimize, to the fullest extent practic…

Federal Register 2026-03364 ↗

The reporting behind this

From More Than Just Parks

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