Comment on FR Doc # 2026-13281
AnonymousOpposeIndividual
Summary: A private citizen opposes the proposed rule change because it limits public input on Forest Service land management decisions. The commenter argues that the public deserves a say in how public lands are managed and requests that the Forest Service keep Manual and Handbook changes open to public comment.
I oppose this rule change, which would cut the public out of decisions about how the Forest Service manages OUR public lands.
I spend time photographing, hiking and recreating in the San Gabriel Mountains, Joshua Tree area, Eastern Sierra along Hwy395, Mammoth, Mono Lake, Yosemite, Sequoia and more. This land belongs to me, and all Americans, and we MUST be included in decisions made for these lands. I am opposed to mining, the timber industry and any decision that sells these lands off to private corporations who want to rape this land and leave it destroyed for future generations.
Forest Service Manuals and Handbooks set the rules for grazing allotments, timber sales, mining exploration, and land-use planning on the ground. They shouldn’t be treated as advisory texts.
Rolling back comment access on directive changes removes one of the only tools the public has to catch bad decisions before they’re locked in. Changes to a Forest Service Handbook can shape everything from mining review to trail access and the public deserves a say in that.
I’m asking the Forest Service to withdraw this proposal and keep directive changes, Manual and Handbook alike, open to PUBLIC comment.