Die Menschen haben bis Montag, um den Vorschlag zu kommentieren, die öffentlichen Beiträge zur Anmeldung in Oregon und Kalifornien drastisch einzuschränken.

Thanks for letting us know about this deadline!!

Please comment everyone!

Here’s my comment: (i’ll bet ChatGPT can help you put this in words and phrases that are in line with your tone of voice)

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I am submitting a public comment on the Interim Final Rule revising the USDA NEPA Regulations. As a former Pacific Northwest resident who deeply values our national forests, I am alarmed by the rule’s shift toward prioritizing resource extraction over transparency, accountability, public engagement, and ecological stewardship.

As a taxpayer funding federal forest management, I strongly oppose provisions that:
• Eliminate public input opportunities, including scoping and comment periods.
• Expand use of Categorical Exclusions (CEs) without sound justification, and allow blanket adoption across USDA subcomponents.
• Impose rigid NEPA timelines that compromise the law’s mandate for detailed environmental review.
• Restrict the consideration of indirect, delayed, or geographically distant impacts.
• Permit outdated EAs or EISs to substitute for current, project-specific analysis.
• Remove American Indian and Alaska Native religious or cultural sites from extraordinary circumstances—without proper Tribal consultation.

These changes reduce transparency and public participation, making litigation the only remaining avenue for community concerns. By curbing notice and scoping requirements, the USDA risks leaving the public in the dark on decisions affecting lands we all support through our taxes.

I urge the USDA to revise the rule by reinstating requirements for public notice, scoping, and comment; restoring Tribal cultural sites as protected resource conditions; reintroducing cumulative effects analysis; and upholding NEPA’s core mission to prevent environmental harm from federal actions.