Notice, Comment, and Appeal Procedures for National Forest System Projects and Activities

This final rule revises the notice, comment, and appeal procedures for projects and activities implementing land and resource management plans on National Forest System lands. The final rule changes the procedures in the current rule to clarify and reduce the complexity of certain provisions, to improve efficiency of processing appeals, to encourage early and effective public participation in the environmental analysis of projects and activities, and to ensure consistency with the provisions of the statutory authority. Changes address emergency situations; notice and comment procedures and time periods; substantive comments; who may appeal; Deciding Officers; content of an appeal; and the formal disposition process.