The Forest Service has filed a final rule changing how the public comments on, and objects to, proposed projects on national forests and grasslands. It was filed for public inspection October 9 and is scheduled to publish October 13. It is not yet effective.
The two stages
The revised public-comment period is 15 days for a project documented in an environmental assessment, or 30 days for one documented in an environmental impact statement. The rule allows no extension, except that a deadline falling on a weekend or federal holiday runs to the end of the next federal working day.
Objections are a later administrative review. They would be due within 10 days after a draft finding of no significant impact is published on a USDA website, or 20 days after a draft record of decision is published there. The clock starts the following day. The relevant environmental assessment or impact statement must be available when that draft finding or decision is published.
Generally, someone must first submit timely, specific written comments to qualify to object. Federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Corporations also qualify through specific written comments in federal-tribal consultations. The text limits objections to 15 pages for an assessment or 30 for an impact statement, excluding permitted attachments.
Where to look
The rule makes a USDA website's publication date the basis for calculating the objection period. Notices must identify the opening and closing dates, how to submit, and where the documents are available. Interested parties are to receive notifications through the agency's current tools, such as subscription services or email lists.
This is project-level review. Land-management plans, revisions and amendments use a separate process. Categorically excluded projects and specified emergency actions are among the exclusions.
When it applies
The inspection copy says 30 days after publication. The Register's record lists November 12, 2026, for the scheduled October 13 issue; this is an effective date, not a comment deadline.
Projects with a comment notice before February 6, 2026 retain the earlier process. For notices between then and the effective date, the transition depends on whether the notice warned that revised procedures might apply. New comment notices after the effective date use the revised rule. A particular project's notice matters; this rule sets no single nationwide objection deadline.