Notice2026-00221
Environmental Assessment for Post-Fire Recovery Actions on National Forest System Lands
Primary source
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Published
January 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
The USDA Forest Service is preparing a nationwide environmental assessment to analyze the effects of post-fire recovery actions on National Forest System lands in the continental United States. The intent of this assessment is to identify general actions, issues, alternatives, and supporting analysis that are common to post wildfire activities that occur on National Forest System Lands to facilitate consistency and more efficient subsequent site specific decisions. Severe wildfires are happening more often, causing serious damage to our national forests and grasslands. These fires can harm forests, grasslands, and local economies, alter wildlife habitat, and create hazards for communities and infrastructure. Immediate post-fire recovery actions can help restore healthy forest conditions and reduce hazards. This environmental assessment will not authorize, fund, or carry out any site specific action. Post-fire recovery projects will be accomplished in accordance with land management plans. Site specific considerations, including any needed supplemental analysis, design criteria, mitigation measures, or findings, will be provided for in project-specific documentation and, if needed, supplemental environmental assessments or other analyses.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 6 (Friday, January 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 6 (Friday, January 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 954-956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00221]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Environmental Assessment for Post-Fire Recovery Actions on
National Forest System Lands
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is preparing a nationwide
environmental assessment to analyze the effects of post-fire recovery
actions on National Forest System lands in the continental United
States. The intent of this assessment is to identify general actions,
issues, alternatives, and supporting analysis that are common to post
wildfire activities that occur on National Forest System Lands to
facilitate consistency and more efficient subsequent site specific
decisions. Severe wildfires are happening more often, causing serious
damage to our national forests and grasslands. These fires can harm
forests, grasslands, and local economies, alter wildlife habitat, and
create hazards for communities and infrastructure. Immediate post-fire
recovery actions can help restore healthy forest conditions and reduce
hazards. This environmental assessment will not authorize, fund, or
carry out any site specific action. Post-fire recovery projects will be
accomplished in accordance with land management plans. Site specific
considerations, including any needed supplemental analysis, design
criteria, mitigation measures, or findings, will be provided for in
project-specific documentation and, if needed, supplemental
environmental assessments or other analyses.
DATES: Comments on this action must be received by January 26, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, identified by
docket number FS-2025-0034. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments. Additional information about this project can be found here:
<a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/disaster-recovery/post-fire-recovery">https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/disaster-recovery/post-fire-recovery</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Lohr, Director of Natural
Resources, via the project email address at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dd8e90f39b8ef38db2aea99bb4afb88fb8beb2abb8afa49da8aeb9bcf3bab2ab"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="43100e6d05106d132c3037052a31261126202c3526313a03363027226d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>, or by phone at 202-205-0650.
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability
may call 711 to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service and then
provide the phone number of the person named as a point of contact for
further information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
Wildfires are happening more often, burning larger areas, and
lasting longer across the country--especially in the Western United
States. The emergency conditions resulting from these fires, often made
worse by too little active forest management, are directly and
indirectly disrupting the lives of Americans nationwide and making
recovery efforts more challenging and expensive. To proactively restore
forest health and lower the risk of future fires, active management may
be needed in areas that have already burned. Acting immediately and
within the first year after a wildfire helps protect entire landscapes,
improves safety, and often accelerates recovery on National Forest
System lands that Tribes, rural economies, and communities depend upon.
The Forest Service develops post-fire recovery projects and
routinely conducts individual environmental reviews for these projects.
A national review of Forest Service post-fire recovery analyses under
the National Environmental Policy Act shows that, regardless of
location, these projects occur in a relatively similar manner and have
similar environmental effects across the agency (timing, impacts, and
methods of implementation), with the most noticeable differences being
site specific design criteria or mitigation measures. As such, the
Forest Service is preparing an environmental assessment to analyze the
effects of general post-fire recovery actions on National Forest System
lands in the continental United States to help facilitate subsequent
site specific analysis if needed. The agency recognizes the need for:
<bullet> Appropriate standardization of project design and
implementation, while providing flexibility to address local
conditions;
<bullet> More rapid, efficient, and effective response by local
managers to quickly changing post-fire conditions; and
<bullet> Strategic use of limited resources (for example, staff and
budget).
There generally is a need to address burned areas in an expedited
manner to accelerate post-fire recovery to restore safer, healthier
forests in a timely manner at a landscape scale. The purpose of
proposing this action is to analyze actions that are common to post
recovery to facilitate more efficient site specific analysis that
allows the agency to more timely:
<bullet> Mitigate hazards to infrastructure;
<bullet> Reduce combustible materials, such as trees damaged by
fire, and woody debris;
<bullet> Harvest fire-killed and damaged trees before they lose
their economic value; and
<bullet> Establish restored forest conditions after a fire.
Proposed Action
As indicated above, the Forest Service is proposing analysis of
post-fire recovery actions, including mechanical and non-mechanical
hazardous fuels reduction, hazardous tree removal, timber salvage,
reforestation, and use of natural materials to restore water and soil
systems. Maintenance or reconstruction of permanent roads and trails,
or construction or removal of temporary roads, is proposed where
necessary to enable post-fire recovery actions and reduce risk to
infrastructure, people, and the environment. Public access to roads and
motorized trails will conform with existing travel management decisions
and land management plans; no authorized public access on motorized
roads or trails will be added or removed as a result of this proposal.
The proposed action consists of the standard activities listed
above including
<bullet> A general explanation of what the activity entails;
<bullet> The objective the activity accomplishes;
<bullet> The condition or situation that triggers the use of the
activity;
<bullet> Identification of related actions that could occur when
implementing the activity; and
[[Page 955]]
<bullet> General design criteria common to these activities that
describe how and when activities may be implemented (7 CFR
1b.11(a)(11)).
Design criteria may be refined or mitigation measures added, as
part of project-level proposals and subsequent site specific supporting
analysis, to modify activities based on any local resource conditions,
circumstances, implementation methods, equipment to be used, or timing
and duration of the activity. Design criteria will be refined or
mitigation measures added at the project level regarding considerations
such as:
<bullet> Access and public safety;
<bullet> Air quality;
<bullet> Biological and botanical resources (aquatics, plants,
wildlife, and ecologically sensitive areas);
<bullet> Cultural and heritage resources;
<bullet> Herbicide use;
<bullet> Invasive and noxious plants and animals;
<bullet> Insect and disease infestations;
<bullet> Landscape and scenery;
<bullet> Transportation and engineering;
<bullet> Tribal rights and interests;
<bullet> Vegetation management; and
<bullet> Watershed conditions (including hydrology and soils).
Future site specific proposals utilizing this environmental
assessment may use additional site specific analysis to refine design
criteria or add mitigation measures to ensure compliance with treaty
rights, applicable laws and regulations, and the land management plan
or to ensure effects do not exceed a significance threshold when unique
conditions or situations are encountered at the project level. If the
application of design criteria and mitigation measures would not reduce
project-level effects below a significance threshold, that project
would need to be otherwise modified (e.g., avoiding activities
altogether in certain areas), or an environmental impact statement
would need to be prepared.
The Forest Service is proposing to analyze two alternatives in this
environmental assessment: the proposed action alternative (developing
and implementing a set of standard post-fire activities) and the no
action alternative (not implementing a set of standard post-fire
activities). Additional alternatives may be analyzed during site
specific project development. Per National Environmental Policy Act, 42
U.S.C. 4332(2)(H), the agency does not anticipate any unresolved
conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources that would
warrant consideration of additional alternatives.
Issues To Be Analyzed in Detail and Expected Impacts
The following list includes issues to be analyzed in detail and
describes the preliminary effects, or impacts (changes to the human
environment from the proposed action that are reasonably foreseeable
and have a reasonably close causal relationship to the proposed
action), anticipated from the subsequent implementation of this
proposed action. This environmental assessment's consideration of
alternative issues and impacts may change in response to public
comment. The expected impacts take into consideration the context of
the potentially affected environment, and the preliminary
identification of design criteria that will be included as part of the
proposed action. The affected environment is post-fire burned areas
where ecosystem conditions and functions--such as habitat, vegetation,
soils, and hydrology--have already been altered by fire and any
associated emergency suppression and response activities.
<bullet> Effects to aquatic and terrestrial plant and wildlife
habitat and species: Proposed activities may impact habitat for
threatened, endangered, or sensitive aquatic and terrestrial plants and
wildlife species (as well as species of conservation concern, 36 CFR
219.9(c)). While there may be short-term effects to some plant and
wildlife species and some habitat conditions, long-term adverse changes
to species and habitat conditions from proposed recovery actions in a
burned area are unlikely. The proposed actions associated design
criteria are intended to: prevent substantial adverse impacts to any
species; reduce the level of significance; avoid a jeopardy finding for
threatened or endangered species; avoid a trend toward federal listing;
and maintain a viable population of a sensitive species and species of
conservation concern. Forested habitat conditions may be improved and
long-term impacts from the fire lessened where some dead or downed
materials are removed or where reforestation activities occur.
<bullet> Effects to waterways and soils: The proposed recovery
activities are not expected to result in measurable sediment impacts to
waterways, given standard design criteria and national best management
policies included as part of the proposed action. Ongoing impacts to
soils and waterways resulting from fire and associated suppression and
response activities may be reduced through maintenance and
reconstruction of affected roads and infrastructure, and replacement or
repair of affected stream crossings and aquatic organism passages.
<bullet> Effects to public access, recreation, and visual quality:
Many post-fire recovery activities proposed in burned areas are
specifically designed to address health and human safety concerns but
may cause disruptions to public access. The primary treatment is hazard
tree mitigation: felling damaged and dying trees that pose a hazard to
forest users along National Forest System roads and trails, special use
infrastructure such as power lines, and near trailheads and facilities.
Hazard tree mitigation reduces risk to infrastructure and the people
using it. Short-term disruptions to road and trail use, special use
infrastructure, developed and dispersed recreation opportunities, and
other permitted uses may occur due to temporary closures while the
hazards are being addressed. Visual quality, already impacted by fire,
may be further impacted by proposed activities in the short term but
will recover more quickly over the long term by improved forest
regeneration, where excessive dead and down materials are removed, and
by reforestation activities.
<bullet> Economic effects: Post-fire timber salvage recovers the
economic value of forest products from burned areas, which contributes
to employment and income in local communities. Revenue from timber
salvage can support the forest products industry, fund reforestation
actions, create short-term employment opportunities, and may accelerate
burned area recovery to allow other revenue-generating permitted uses
(grazing, outfitter and guide services) and outdoor recreation and
tourism to more quickly and safely resume.
Schedule
The Forest Service expects to publish a Post-Fire Recovery
Environmental Assessment in April 2026. Subsequently, site specific
scoping, documentation, and decisions will be issued on a project-by-
project basis by forest or grassland supervisors or district rangers,
with consideration of the analysis set forth in the Post-Fire Recovery
Environmental Assessment. After a fire, and prior to a decision, the
responsible official will:
<bullet> Identify post-fire recovery opportunities consistent with
the activities and effects analyzed by this environmental assessment,
and produce maps that identify where activities will occur in and
adjacent to the burned area;
<bullet> Update proposed actions to specify methods and equipment
to be used and timing and duration of the activity;
[[Page 956]]
<bullet> Scope proposed actions consistent with applicable National
Environmental Policy Act regulations;
<bullet> Tailor design criteria or add mitigation measures, as
necessary, to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and
land management plans or to ensure effects do not exceed a significance
threshold when unique conditions or situations are encountered at the
project level; and
<bullet> Document project-level findings, such as consistency with
the applicable land management plan.
Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations Required
Any required permits, licenses, or authorizations will be procured
by local national forest and grassland units prior to the
implementation of activities analyzed by this assessment.
In accordance with 36 CFR 800.8(c), the USDA Forest Service is
hereby notifying the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, State
Historic Preservation Officers, and Tribal Historic Preservation
Officers that it intends to use this environmental assessment for the
purpose of compliance with section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
Comments, Objections, and Consultation
Comments received on this notice of intent will guide the
development of this nationwide environmental assessment. The Forest
Service is requesting comments on alternatives or effects, and relevant
information, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposal. Follow
the instructions for sending comments (see ADDRESSES section). Comments
should be provided prior to the close of the comment period and should
clearly articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions. When
lengthy or complex comments are provided, they are most effective when
accompanied by a brief, plainly worded summary of the main points.
Comments, including attachments and any personal information provided
in your comments, will be posted to the docket unchanged. Do not submit
any information you consider to be private, Confidential Business
Information, or other information the disclosure of which is restricted
by statute.
This nationwide environmental assessment is an opportunity to
provide comment and explore alternatives for actions that are generally
common to all actions. It is intended to expedite subsequent site
specific analysis. This nationwide environmental assessment will not be
subject to objection under the pre-decisional administrative review
processes established under section 105 of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515; Pub. L. 108-148, Section 105)
and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-74,
Section 428) at 36 CFR 218 because there will be no decision at the
national level. Site specific applications of this environmental
assessment will be subject to all laws and regulations determining
opportunity for notice, comment, or administrative review. Tribal
governments and Alaska Native Corporations will have the opportunity to
engage during the development of the environmental assessment through
various coordination events and formal consultation, if desired.
Cooperating and Participating Agencies
The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency. No Cooperating or
Participating Agencies have been designated. For purposes of this
nationwide Environmental Assessment, the Forest Service does not
anticipate designating any Federal, State, Tribal, or local agencies as
cooperating or participating agencies. These organizations are
encouraged to provide input through the public comment opportunity for
this notice of intent.
Responsible Official
The responsible officials for post-fire recovery project decisions
using the analysis in this environmental assessment will be forest or
grassland supervisors or district rangers.
Dated: December 31, 2025.
Lisa Northrop,
Associate Deputy Chief, State, Private, and Tribal Forestry and
National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2026-00221 Filed 1-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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