BLM timber rule cuts protest time

From Greenwire today:

BLM finalizes streamlined timber rule that cuts protest time

Excerpt:

The Trump administration continues to revise rules governing the management of forestlands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management in the name of reducing wildfire risks.

The latest is a finalized rule that will eliminate a 15-day protest period after decisions have been rendered for timber harvests, sales and other forest management projects.

“This discretionary protest process was largely duplicative of other opportunities for public involvement,” including opportunities for public comment mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, according to an advance notice published in today’s Federal Register.

Appeals of BLM forest management decisions can still be filed with the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

 

11 thoughts on “BLM timber rule cuts protest time”

  1. I’m sure the Biden admin will reverse course, and the president following him might make another move. Is there a better way to formulate and implement rules such as this, so that there is more certainly down the road? Perhaps a broad-based “board of directors”?

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  2. My question is how duplicative is this protest period, not sure that the FS has an equivalent. How do protest/IBLA compare to the FS objection process.

    Matthew… how does it “weaken bedrock environmental laws” to streamline processes toward litigation?

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      • I saw your comment “Perhaps the federal government should stop trying to limit public participation and weaken bedrock environmental laws for more logging and resource extraction on public lands.” and related it to the “shortening protest period”.. what did I miss?

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        • Sharon. The federal government has been trying to limit public participation when it comes to resource extraction issues on public lands.

          The federal government has also been weakening bedrock environmental laws for more logging and resource extraction on public lands.

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          • It will be a plus if federal land managers can managed their our lands without the endless appeals from environmental organizations. There have been to many good projects delayed or stopped because the agency didn’t study enough alternatives. There have been to many good projects not even initiated because they are not worth the trouble the agency has to go through to get anything done. We should remember logging levels were reduced by over 90% and have remained that way for over 20 years. We are seeing more forest destroyed by fire each year than were logged during period when jobs and timber were important.
            There has been this continuing argument that these fires are caused by our previous management practices of the pass century. This may or may not be true. But it obvious to me we need a way forward besides our current policies.

            Reply

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