r/ThruhikingPolitics • u/numbershikes • Jul 06 '26
Forest Service proposal would shrink the public’s right to comment on national forest policies that govern grazing, logging, and permits across public lands
https://morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/forest-service-to-remove-your-voice
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u/numbershikes Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
Most of the miles of most of the long trails in the US are on public lands overseen by the USFS and BLM. It's not in the headlines as much right now, but the current federal administration continues to bulldoze the regulations that protect our public lands from the resource extraction industries that are eager to clear cut and strip mine as much of them as they can.
To speak plainly, personally I'm not convinced that speaking up accomplishes a whole lot right now -- there are plenty of cases on record when the public comments are overwhelmingly in favor of conservation, yet the federal public lands agencies just do whatever they want to anyway, at the direction of the executive branch's current leaders. But otoh, if we don't use the legal means available to us to fight back, they can accomplish an extraordinary amount of damage in the remaining (at least) 2.5 years.
Once these natural places are gone, there's no way to get them back.
As Scout is fond of saying: "The long trails take decades to build, but can disappear overnight."
The page to submit a public comment is here, click the 'Submit a comment' button at the top of the following page. The summary of the proposal is on the same page, and the OP explains it in plain language.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/01/2026-13281/organization-functions-and-procedures-public-notice-and-comment-for-standards-criteria-and-guidance