Comment on FR Doc # 2026-13281

I am commenting on the proposal to re-define the FS Manual for the future governance of our public lands. Our government lands were set aside in perpetuity for the American people. Any attempts to modify the rules governing our lands should continue to be guided by FS Manual 1103(6), which has allowed the Forest Service to deviate from mandatory direction in "extreme or highly unusual circumstances" only. Furthermore, with respect to E.O. 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, the proposed rule essentially redefines FS Handbooks to effectively remove accountability to Native Peoples. I have always been an avid user of our Public Lands. I frequently hike in the George Washington Forest and in Shenandoah National Park. My travel plans are centered around visits to America's parks. As John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt realized early in our history, our National Parks and Forests are the heartbeat of our country, which generate huge amounts of revenue for the country. The proposed changes to the administration to our Public Lands (36CFR200.4 (b) (1) ) are calculated to eviscerate them, by implementing drastic shifts in the handling and conservatorship of the people's lands. De-regulation, in modern terms, has been synonymous with degradation, implemented to plunder our lands to enrich the coffers of many millionaires and, sadly, many government officials. They have removed, and continue to remove the agency and rights of the American People, and specifically of the Native Peoples, to have a say in the continuing conservatorship of our Lands.