The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced final revisions to its regulations that establish the objection process for proposed projects implementing land management plans on national forests and grasslands.
The agency said the revisions consolidate and streamline processes, increase efficiency and ensure consistency with recent amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act and USDA’s revised regulations. The updated rule shortens objection filing and review periods, and restricts review period extensions, which will reduce the overall objection process timeline by up to 73% for environmental assessments and up to 48% for environmental impact statements, USFS said.
The rule also includes page limits for objections, additional requirements for focused objection content and expanded use of technology for receiving comments and objections and distributing responses.
