National Forest System & Forest Service

The National Forest System encompasses 193 million acres of public land across 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands in 43 states and Puerto Rico — an area larger than Texas. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USDA), these lands serve five statutory purposes under the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960: outdoor recreation, range (grazing), timber, watershed protection, and fish and wildlife habitat. The National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1600–1614) is the primary planning law, requiring the Forest Service to develop and maintain comprehensive land management plans for each national forest that balance these competing uses while ensuring the long-term sustainability of renewable resources.

Current Law (2026)

Legal Authority

• 16 U.S.C. § 475 — Purposes of national forests (establishes that national forests are created and administered for the purpose of securing favorable water conditions, furnishing a continuous supply of timber, and other compatible purposes)
• 16 U.S.C. § 528 — Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act (Congress declares that national forests shall be administered for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife purposes — no single use may dominate to the exclusion of others)
• 16 U.S.C. § 551 — Protection of national forests (Secretary of Agriculture must protect forests from fire and other damage; authorizes rules governing use, occupancy, and preservation)
• 16 U.S.C. § 552 — Consent to agreements by states (Congress authorizes states to enter compacts with each other for forest conservation and water supply protection, subject to congressional consent; facilitates interstate watershed protection agreements in multi-state forest areas)
• 16 U.S.C. § 1600 — Congressional findings (Congress finds that the Forest Service must assess the Nation's renewable resources and develop a national program for their management)
• 16 U.S.C. § 1601 — Renewable Resource Assessment (requires a comprehensive assessment of forest and rangeland conditions every 10 years)
• 16 U.S.C. § 1604 — National Forest System land and resource management plans (requires the Secretary to develop, maintain, and revise land management plans for each national forest unit, using interdisciplinary teams of experts)
• 16 U.S.C. § 1611 — Timber (limits timber sales to sustained-yield levels — the amount harvested each year cannot exceed the forest's capacity to regrow timber in perpetuity)
• 16 U.S.C. § 500 — Revenue sharing (25% of gross receipts from national forests paid to the host state for schools and roads)

How It Works

Multiple use is the guiding principle. Unlike national parks (managed primarily for preservation) or wilderness areas (managed to preserve natural character), national forests are working landscapes where recreation, grazing, timber harvest, water protection, and wildlife management coexist. The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act requires the Forest Service to balance these uses — no single use can dominate — though the appropriate balance varies by location, ecology, and community needs. This balancing act is one of the most contentious areas of public lands management.

Forest plans under NFMA are the decision-making framework. Each national forest must have a comprehensive land and resource management plan, developed by an interdisciplinary team and updated regularly. Plans designate management areas (where timber harvest is allowed, where recreation is prioritized, where wilderness is protected), set standards for environmental protection, and establish guidelines for specific activities. Plan revision typically takes years and involves extensive public comment and environmental analysis under NEPA.

Timber management follows the sustained-yield principle: the Forest Service cannot sell more timber than the forest can regrow. Section 1611 requires the Secretary to set annual allowable sale quantities (ASQ) for each national forest based on long-term timber productivity. Timber sales are conducted through competitive bidding. Revenue from timber sales is one of the Forest Service's traditional funding sources, though timber harvest levels have declined dramatically from their peak in the late 1980s — from approximately 12 billion board feet annually to under 3 billion in recent years, due to environmental litigation, habitat protection requirements (particularly the spotted owl), and shifting management priorities.

Revenue sharing provides critical funding to rural communities. Twenty-five percent of all gross receipts from each national forest — from timber sales, grazing permits, recreation fees, mineral royalties, and other activities — is paid to the state where the forest is located, earmarked for schools and roads. For many rural counties surrounded by national forest land, this revenue sharing is a significant portion of their budget. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act has provided supplemental payments when traditional timber receipts declined.

Wildfire is the Forest Service's largest operational challenge and budget item. The agency is the primary federal wildfire response entity on national forest lands, spending more than half its budget on fire suppression and fuels management in recent years — a proportion that has grown dramatically as wildfire seasons have intensified.

How It Affects You

State Variations

Implementing Regulations

The Forest Service's timber sale program operates under 36 CFR Part 223 — Sale and Disposal of National Forest System Timber (112 sections across 6 subparts). Part 223 is the operational framework for one of the most contentious programs in federal land management — determining how, when, and to whom the Forest Service sells the right to harvest timber from national forests. The regulation governs everything from advertising a sale through contract completion.

• § 223.1 — Authority to sell: trees, portions of trees, and forest products on National Forest System lands may be sold for purposes consistent with the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act — timber sales must serve identified management objectives (fuels reduction, forest health, timber supply), not merely maximize revenue; this statutory connection between timber sales and forest management goals is what makes NFS timber "below-market" in many cases compared to private timber
• § 223.100 — Award to highest bidder: advertised timber sales are awarded to the responsible bidder submitting the highest bid that conforms to sale conditions; sealed bidding is the standard method for most sales; before awarding, the Contracting Officer must make an affirmative responsibility determination for the bidder (§ 223.101) — examining the bidder's history of contract performance, financial capacity, and compliance with applicable laws
• § 223.103 — Small business set-asides: the Forest Service may designate timber sales as set-asides for competitive bidding exclusively among small business concerns (as defined by SBA); set-asides are required in regions where small mills are economically dependent on national forest timber and where competition without set-asides would systematically exclude them; set-aside awards go to the highest qualifying small business bidder
• § 223.112 — Contract modification: timber sale contracts may be modified only for unexecuted portions of the contract (timber not yet cut) and only when modification will not be injurious to the interests of the United States; modifications most commonly address changed conditions — beetle kill, fire, or windstorm that alters the contracted timber volume or quality; a purchaser cannot modify out of a bad deal simply because timber markets declined after contract award
• Subpart C — Suspension and Debarment of Timber Purchasers (§§ 223.130–223.145): the Forest Service may suspend (temporarily exclude) or debar (permanently exclude for a specified period) a purchaser that has failed to perform contractual obligations, engaged in fraud or misrepresentation, or violated applicable environmental laws in connection with a timber sale; suspension is an immediate protective measure while an investigation is pending; debarment can bar a purchaser and its affiliates from future timber sales nationwide; the debarment process provides notice, opportunity to respond, and final agency decision with judicial review available
• Subpart D — Timber Export and Substitution Restrictions (§§ 223.160–163): implements the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act — federal timber (from national forests and other public lands) may not be exported from the United States in unprocessed form (logs, cants, chips from whole logs); this restriction, dating from the 1990 timber shortage legislation, was designed to ensure that public timber provides domestic jobs through milling rather than going directly to export markets; the rule also prohibits purchasers from substituting exported private timber for federal timber in a way that indirectly exports public resources
• Subpart I — Stewardship End Result Contracting (§§ 223.200–223.220): the legal framework for stewardship contracts — the primary modern mechanism through which the Forest Service achieves forest restoration and fuels reduction goals while generating commercial timber value; under a stewardship contract, a contractor agrees to perform specified forest treatments (thinning, fuels removal, road maintenance, trail restoration) and receives payment through the value of the removed timber rather than a cash payment from the Forest Service; stewardship contracts may run up to 10 years (longer than standard timber sale contracts), enabling contractors to plan and execute landscape-scale restoration; the Forest Service's 10-year wildfire reduction strategy relies heavily on stewardship contracts as the primary contracting vehicle for the $5 billion in IRA and Infrastructure Act forest treatment funds

Forest Service timber sales have generated decades of litigation over National Environmental Policy Act compliance, old-growth protection, spotted owl habitat, and land management plan consistency. A timber sale that passes legal muster requires an environmental assessment or EIS showing how the sale meets NFMA's land management plan requirements — creating a substantial administrative record that environmental groups can challenge in federal court. The result is that timber volume actually sold and cut on national forests has declined from over 10 billion board feet per year in the 1980s to under 3 billion in recent years, with most of the remaining volume coming through stewardship contracts tied to fuels reduction rather than commercial timber sales.

• 36 CFR Part 228 — Minerals (60 sections across 4 subparts — the Forest Service's authority over mineral extraction on National Forest System lands; despite being called "minerals," Part 228 does not directly grant mining rights — those come from the 1872 General Mining Law, the Mineral Leasing Act, or the Materials Act — but rather governs the Forest Service's surface protection authority over how mineral operations affect the land, water, and resources on national forests):

  Subpart A — Locatable Minerals (§§ 228.1–228.15): governs hard-rock mining operations under the 1872 Mining Law (which gives prospectors the right to locate and patent mineral claims on public lands without competitive bidding). The Forest Service cannot prevent a valid mining claim from being developed, but it can regulate the surface disturbance:

  • § 228.4 — Plan of operations: any mining operation that might cause significant disturbance of surface resources must submit a notice of intent and receive an approved plan of operations before commencing; operations with minimal disturbance (small-scale prospecting, hand tools) may be exempt from the plan requirement; the plan must describe proposed activities, equipment, roads, tailings management, and reclamation measures
  • § 228.8 — Reclamation: operators must reclaim disturbed areas to a condition compatible with the surrounding environment — stabilize slopes, revegetate disturbed soil, remove structures and equipment, and restore drainage patterns; the authorized officer may require surety bonds or other financial assurance (§ 228.13) to guarantee reclamation completion if the operator abandons the site
  • § 228.15 — Wilderness areas: the 1872 Mining Law was explicitly extended to National Forest Wilderness areas for a period following designation; mining and mineral leasing can occur in some wilderness areas under specific statutory provisions, though environmental compliance requirements are heightened; new mining claims in wilderness areas have been prohibited by Congress in most cases through specific wilderness legislation

  Subpart C — Disposal of Mineral Materials (§§ 228.40–228.77): governs sales of "mineral materials" — sand, gravel, stone, clay, peat, cinders, pumice, and similar materials — under the Materials Act of 1947, which allows negotiated or competitive sales of common construction materials from public lands:

  • § 228.43 — Disposal policy: the Forest Service makes mineral materials available where removal does not impair other resource values; local, state, and federal agencies may receive materials for free through a free-use permit when used for public purposes (road construction, erosion control); commercial sales require a contract based on competitive or negotiated rates
  • § 228.61 — Royalties and rates: commercial mineral material sales generate royalties based on the fair market value of the material; the regional forester sets minimum rates for each material type based on local market conditions; sales may be by the cubic yard or ton; the minimum bid ensures the Forest Service receives at least fair market value

  Subpart E — Oil and Gas Resources (§§ 228.100–228.116): governs the Forest Service's role in oil and gas leasing and operations on NFS lands. The subsurface estate in national forests is managed by BLM, not the Forest Service — BLM issues oil and gas leases and drilling permits. But the Forest Service has surface authority over NFS lands and must consent to leasing (§ 228.103). This creates a dual-authority system:

  • § 228.103 — Leasing consent: before BLM can issue an oil or gas lease on NFS lands, the Forest Service must conduct a leasing analysis and provide consent with any necessary stipulations (conditions designed to protect surface resources); the Forest Service may withhold consent for areas with incompatible resource values, may grant consent with standard or special stipulations (no-surface-occupancy, timing limitations, controlled surface-use requirements), or may consent without stipulations for lower-sensitivity areas; this consent authority gives the Forest Service meaningful leverage over oil and gas development even though it doesn't issue the leases
  • § 228.105–228.107 — Surface use plan of operations: operators with BLM drilling permits for NFS lands must submit a surface use plan of operations to the Forest Service describing how they will minimize surface disturbance, protect water quality and soil, and reclaim the site; the Forest Service reviews the plan and can require modifications to protect surface resources; no drilling can begin until both BLM approves the permit and the Forest Service approves the surface use plan — giving the FS a de facto veto over the specific operations even after the lease is issued

  The minerals provisions in Part 228 are the legal basis for one of the Forest Service's most contested roles — exercising surface authority over mining and energy development on national forests. The 1872 Mining Law's "right of entry" doctrine limits how much the FS can restrict locatable mineral operations, creating ongoing litigation over whether specific plan of operations requirements constitute an unconstitutional "taking" of a miner's statutory rights. For oil and gas, the Forest Service's consent authority and stipulation power mean that environmental objections to specific leasing areas can be channeled into the consent process — a less absolute but politically significant form of veto. Recent rulemakings: the Biden administration issued a significant revision to Subpart E in 2022 strengthening the Forest Service's ability to impose reclamation and environmental protection requirements on oil and gas operators.

• 36 CFR Part 251 — Land Uses: the Forest Service regulation governing non-timber, non-mineral uses of National Forest System land, including special use permits, access across national forest land to private inholdings, and commercial visitor services. Part 251 implements 16 U.S.C. § 472 and 30 U.S.C. § 1740. Key provisions:

  • §§ 251.50–251.64 (Subpart B — Special Uses): any non-federal party that wants to occupy, use, or traverse national forest land for a purpose not covered by a timber sale or mineral permit — ski resorts, hydroelectric facilities, telecommunications towers, outfitter/guide operations, utility corridors, campground concessions, and film productions — must obtain a special use authorization (SUA); § 251.54 governs new special use applications (required submission of a proposed plan of operations and environmental information); § 251.56 establishes the terms and conditions the Forest Service may impose (insurance requirements, bonding, environmental monitoring, termination clauses); § 251.60 governs transfer of existing authorizations — the Forest Service's approval of a transfer is required, and the agency may impose new conditions or deny transfer if the new operator does not meet requirements
  • §§ 251.110–251.121 (Subpart D — Access to Non-Federal Lands): the Forest Service must provide access across national forest land to privately owned land that has no other legally accessible route — the statutory obligation under ANILCA § 1323 and the general right-of-way authority; § 251.110 requires the Forest Service to provide adequate access to adjacent non-federal land for economic and other purposes; the type of access (foot, horseback, vehicle, motorized, commercial logging truck) and conditions attached to an easement can be contested, and landowners with inholdings that predate surrounding forest acquisition have stronger access rights than those whose inholdings were created after the forest was established; this provision is frequently litigated by timber and mining operators who claim the Forest Service is imposing access conditions that make their operations economically infeasible
  • §§ 251.140–251.160 (Subpart E — Revenue-Producing Visitor Services): the Forest Service may authorize commercial recreation services (campground operations, guided pack trips, ski area operations, boat rentals) under permits requiring payment of permit fees based on a percentage of gross revenue; § 251.150 establishes the fee formula — 3% of gross revenues for most services, with higher rates for ski areas; the permit fee system is politically contested because permittees argue rates are too high relative to actual land-use costs, while critics argue permittees (especially large ski area operators) receive subsidized access to public land

  Part 251 is the legal foundation for some of the most commercially valuable activities on national forests — ski areas generating billions in annual revenue, hydroelectric facilities with decades-long operating licenses, and utility corridors crossing millions of acres. The ANILCA access provisions in Subpart D are among the most litigated aspects of the regulation: a private landowner who is denied reasonable access can sue under the Administrative Procedure Act and, in some circuits, under a statutory right of action. Special use permits for ski areas have been renewed for decades, creating a de facto long-term leasehold relationship that complicates any Forest Service decision to impose new environmental conditions or deny renewal. Recent rulemakings: 45 FR 38327 (June 5, 1980) — original comprehensive regulations; 78 FR 33725 (June 4, 2013) — amendments updating permit fee structures and special use application procedures.

• 36 CFR Part 219 — Planning: the Forest Service's National Forest System planning rule, implementing the National Forest Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1604). Part 219 establishes the process for developing, amending, and revising forest plans — the foundational management documents that govern all uses of a national forest for 10–15 year periods. Key provisions:

  • § 219.2 — Planning occurs at multiple levels: the national level (strategic direction from USDA and the Chief), the forest/grassland level (the land management plan), and the project/activity level (individual timber sales, trail projects, grazing allotments, etc.); the Responsible Official for a forest plan is typically the Forest Supervisor, but the Regional Forester may assume this role for controversial or complex revisions
  • § 219.3 — Role of science: the Responsible Official must use the best available scientific information to inform planning; this requirement has generated extensive litigation — environmental groups challenge forest plans when they allege the agency ignored or selectively applied scientific findings on old-growth, watershed function, or species habitat; NFMA's requirement that plans provide for "diversity of plant and animal communities" is implemented through science-based habitat analysis
  • § 219.4 — Public participation: plan development or revision requires early public engagement, collaboration with stakeholders (tribes, local governments, adjacent landowners, user groups), and a formal objection period before a plan takes effect — the 2012 planning rule replaced judicial appeals on plans with an administrative objection process to speed planning and reduce post-plan litigation
  • § 219.8 — Sustainability: plans must provide for ecological sustainability — maintaining soil, water, air, and biological communities — as a non-negotiable baseline condition; § 219.9 adds the requirement to maintain viable populations of all native species within the planning area (the provision that generated the spotted owl listing litigation of the 1990s); § 219.10 then requires balancing multiple uses within the sustainability baseline
  • § 219.11 — Timber requirements: NFMA prohibits the Forest Service from scheduling timber harvest on lands where soil, slope, or watershed conditions would be irreversible; it requires the agency to identify suitable timberland (land capable of producing merchantable timber without irreversible damage) and limits harvest to that designated area; § 219.11(d) prohibits harvesting old-growth timber except in limited circumstances; the suitable timberland designation is the primary mechanism for protecting sensitive areas from logging
  • § 219.12 — Monitoring: each forest plan must include a monitoring program tracking whether management is achieving the plan's desired conditions; monitoring data feeds into adaptive management — the plan must be adjusted if monitoring reveals it is not meeting ecological, social, or economic objectives; monitoring plans are now required to be designed at the start of planning, not as an afterthought
  • § 219.13 — Plan amendment: a plan may be amended at any time when conditions change, monitoring reveals problems, or management direction needs updating; minor amendments (not affecting plan standards or guidelines) may be done without an objection period; significant amendments trigger the full public participation and objection process; emergency situations may justify expedited amendment without the normal public process
  • § 219.15 — Project consistency: all projects and activities authorized under a forest plan must be consistent with the plan; this is the provision that makes the plan judicially enforceable — a timber sale or road project that violates the plan's standards (for example, entering a designated roadless area or exceeding a prescribed clearcut size limit) is unlawful and subject to injunction

  Forest planning is the legal cornerstone of NFS management — and the most litigated aspect of Forest Service decision-making. The 2012 planning rule (77 FR 21162) represented the first comprehensive planning rule revision since 1982, strengthening ecological sustainability requirements and introducing the objection process. Since 2012, the Forest Service has revised approximately 20 of 128 forest plans; revisions typically take 5–8 years and cost $3–8 million. Plans must be revised within 15 years of their effective date, but many forests operate under plans from the 1990s pending revision. The Roadless Rule (36 CFR Part 294) operates alongside but independently of individual forest plans — it applies to all inventoried roadless areas regardless of the applicable forest plan's management direction.

• 36 CFR Part 294 — Special Areas — Roadless Area Conservation Rule: among the most contested land management regulations in U.S. history, the 2001 Roadless Rule (published 66 FR 3244, Jan. 12, 2001) prohibits new road construction and reconstruction in approximately 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas (IRAs) on National Forest System lands — one-third of the total national forest system. Part 294 contains the core roadless rule and the state petition process that allows governors to seek alternative state-specific roadless rules. Key provisions:

  • § 294.1 — Recreation areas: the existing framework for designated recreation areas on national forests — setting terms for recreation development within designated areas; this subpart predates the Roadless Rule and governs a distinct category of managed recreation zones
  • §§ 294.10–294.18 (Subpart B — State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area Management): the state petition process created by the 2005 revision allows the governor of any state containing NFS lands to petition the Secretary of Agriculture for a state-specific roadless rule; § 294.12 sets eligibility; § 294.13 governs the petition process including a National Advisory Committee review; § 294.16 authorizes state-specific rulemaking if the petition is accepted; states that have pursued state-specific rules include Idaho (which has a long-standing alternative rule), Colorado, and others; Idaho's rule was the subject of extensive litigation establishing the principle that state-specific roadless rules can be legally valid
  • § 294.11 — Inventoried roadless areas defined: IRAs are areas identified in the USFS Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) process completed in the early 1980s; the IRA inventory includes 2,509 discrete areas ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of acres; IRA boundaries are fixed by the inventory maps, not by current vegetation — an area that has been partially logged but whose IRA boundary was never delineated as "roadless" is still within the IRA

  The 2001 Roadless Rule prohibits new road construction and reconstruction in IRAs (the prohibition is on physical road building, not on all human activity); existing roads within IRAs may be maintained but not significantly upgraded; timber harvest that does not require road construction is generally still permitted; mineral leasing on roadless lands is significantly constrained because without road construction, commercial extraction is economically unviable for most deposits. The Roadless Rule has survived over 20 years of legal challenges: the Bush administration attempted to repeal it in 2004 (blocked by courts); Wyoming challenged the rule through 2011 (rejected); the Trump administration issued a rule exempting Alaska's Tongass National Forest from the rule in 2020 (Biden restored the Tongass protection in 2023); the Colorado Roadless Rule (providing state-specific protections) was finalized in 2012 and has been separately litigated. As of 2026, the Roadless Rule remains in effect for 58.5 million acres; the Trump administration has announced review but not revocation.

• 36 CFR Part 254 — Landownership Adjustments (FS — the Forest Service regulations governing land exchanges between the National Forest System and private or state landowners, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Weeks Act):

  • § 254.1 — Scope: Part 254 establishes the procedures for conducting exchanges of National Forest System lands for non-federal lands or interests in land; exchanges may be used to consolidate scattered federal land ownership, acquire lands with high resource values (watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation access), or dispose of NFS lands that are difficult to manage effectively because of their location or ownership pattern
  • §§ 254.10–254.11 — Equal value exchanges: the Forest Service may exchange lands of approximately equal value without cash equalization if the values are within 25% of each other; when values differ more than 25%, Part 254 requires either cash equalization (the party receiving the higher-value land pays the difference) or a value equalization waiver signed by both parties
  • § 254.12 — Cash equalization: cash equalization payments may not exceed 25% of the value of the federal land being conveyed (unless Congress specifically authorizes a higher amount for a particular exchange); this cap prevents the Forest Service from using exchanges as a mechanism to receive large cash payments that could distort land values or incentivize disposal of high-value NFS lands
  • § 254.13 — Exchange approval: the authorized officer (typically a Forest Supervisor or Regional Forester) must complete all NEPA environmental analysis before approving an exchange; the decision to proceed is subject to appeal under the Forest Service's administrative appeal procedures; the authorized officer issues a written decision notice that becomes final after the appeal period expires
  • § 254.15 — Title standards: the non-federal party must convey marketable title; the USDA Office of General Counsel reviews title evidence (title insurance or attorney's opinion); the federal government may not accept title with encumbrances that would impair NFS management unless the encumbrance is specifically approved
  • § 254.10 — Arbitration: when the Forest Service and the non-federal party cannot agree on land values after good-faith negotiation, either party may request binding arbitration; the parties select an arbitrator; the arbitration award resolves the valuation dispute and allows the exchange to proceed without litigation

  Land exchanges are one of the primary tools the Forest Service uses to rationalize the checkerboard ownership pattern of many national forests — a legacy of 19th-century railroad land grants that left alternating federal and private sections throughout western forests, making integrated management difficult. An exchange that consolidates a remote private inholding into federal ownership may allow the Forest Service to protect a watershed or wildlife corridor it could not otherwise manage; an exchange that conveys an isolated federal parcel to private ownership may allow the private owner to develop economically while eliminating a boundary management problem. The Forest Legacy Program (36 CFR Part 259, separate from Part 254) addresses willing-seller acquisition; Part 254 governs the exchange mechanism where lands are traded rather than purchased.

Pending Legislation

• S 3785 — North Rim and Kaibab National Forest Restoration Act: fast-track contracting for Grand Canyon and Kaibab restoration after Dragon Fire damage. Status: Introduced.
• S 3149 — Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act: full federal funding for recovery from fires ignited on federal land. Status: Introduced.
• HR 5823 — Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act: fund urgent erosion and flood fixes on National Forest land. Status: Introduced.
• HR 6300 — Grasslands Grazing Act: align grazing lease treatment on national grasslands with National Forest System rules. Status: In committee.

Recent Developments

Wildfire management dominates the Forest Service's agenda. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) and Inflation Reduction Act (2022) provided approximately $5 billion for hazardous fuels reduction, post-fire restoration, and forest resilience projects — the largest investment in forest management in decades. The Forest Service's 10-year strategy to treat up to 50 million acres of national forest and adjacent lands for wildfire risk is underway. The 2012 Planning Rule (updated NFMA regulations) governs new forest plan revisions, with an emphasis on ecological sustainability, climate change adaptation, and collaborative planning. Old-growth and mature forest conservation has received renewed attention through executive actions directing the Forest Service to inventory and develop conservation strategies for old-growth stands.

• In February 2026, the U.S. Forest Service initiated revision of the Tongass National Forest land management plan in Alaska, beginning development of a revised plan and associated environmental analysis under NEPA and the National Forest Management Act.