The Forest Service is seeking public comments as it works to modernize its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations for the first time in a quarter century.
Current NEPA guidelines have been in place during an era in which the National Forest System has experienced massive declines in forest health, matched with massive increases in catastrophic fire and smoke, and a decline in timber harvests that have decimated rural communities across the country.
You can register an official comment through Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities by clicking here. The letter is pre-loaded with specific recommendations on how the agency can improve its NEPA process, but you can also customize the message to your liking. The agency is taking public comments on its rulemaking through February 2, 2018. More information on the rulemaking can be found here.