Texas Forests Face Oil Drilling Lease Rethink by USDA
Published Date: 4/23/2026
Notice
Summary
The USDA is updating plans to decide which parts of Texas’ National Forests and Grasslands can be leased for oil and gas drilling. This affects local communities, energy companies, and the environment, with decisions expected by summer 2026. People have until April 28, 2026, to share their thoughts, and the project might change some forest rules and land use.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.
Option To Prohibit All New Leasing
One alternative the Forest Service will analyze is a No Leasing Alternative that would administratively determine that no NFGT lands would be available for future oil and gas leasing. Such a decision could affect future royalty payments to counties associated with any changes in oil and gas leasing.
Potential Impacts On Public Water And Local Quality
The analysis will address impacts on surface and subsurface water quantity and quality, including public water supplies, plus related issues such as air quality (nonattainment areas), erosion and sediment transport, invasive weeds, and traffic, noise, light, and visual impacts on nearby residents and visitors.
Which Texas Forest Lands May Be Leased
The Forest Service will decide which National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (about a 500,000-acre decision area where the Forest Service manages the surface and the BLM manages the minerals) would be made available for future federal oil and gas leasing. If lands are identified as available, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) still has discretion whether to include those lands in future competitive lease sales.
Tighter Surface Protections And Survey Rules
The proposed action would convert some Controlled Surface Use (CSU) stipulations to No Surface Occupancy (NSO) for natural heritage botanical areas and reservoirs, decreasing CSU acres from about 73,100 to 63,100 and increasing NSO acres from about 11,100 to 28,000. The proposal would add NSO protections for botanical areas, special-status species, inclusional wetlands, springs, steep slopes, and require site-specific surveys (including red-cockaded woodpecker surveys in a Management Area covering about 226,700 acres).
Current Valid Leases Remain Unchanged
The Forest Service states the EIS and any resulting decision would not affect current valid leasing, associated terms, conditions, or stipulations, nor would it affect the exercising of reserved and outstanding mineral rights; proposed changes would apply only to new federal mineral leases.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
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