Proposed New Categorical Exclusion for Forest and Woodland Density Management up to 5,000 Acres under NEPA for the Bureau of Land Management
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The U.S. Department of the Interior is proposing to add a new categorical exclusion to its NEPA procedures for the Bureau of Land Management. This CE would allow forest and woodland density management (thinning) projects on up to 5,000 acres without preparing an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement, provided no extraordinary circumstances exist. The proposal addresses increased wildfire risk, fuel loading, insect outbreaks, and drought on 58 million acres of BLM-managed forests. It expands from the existing 70-acre CE established in 2007, based on over 325,000 acres of thinning projects reviewed since 1990 that showed no significant environmental impacts. The change aims to improve forest health, reduce wildfire severity, enhance firefighter safety, support timber production per Executive Order 14225, and increase operational efficiency.
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Key Changes
- Adds new categorical exclusion for forest/woodland density management up to 5,000 acres of treatment area
- Replaces previous 70-acre limit from 2007 CE C.7 for larger scale projects while retaining the smaller CE
- Based on review of over 1,800 thinning-based timber sales and 325,000 acres treated since 1990
+ 3 more changes with Pro
Obligations
What this law requires
Submit written comments on the proposed categorical exclusion on or before May 6, 2026
Forest and woodland density management projects utilizing this categorical exclusion must not exceed 5,000 acres of treatment area
BLM must verify that no extraordinary circumstances exist before applying this categorical exclusion to a project
BLM must retain and continue to use the existing 70-acre categorical exclusion (CE C.7) alongside the new 5,000-acre categorical exclusion
Forest and woodland density management projects must comply with individual BLM land use plans (LUPs) that guide active forest and woodland management