federal actions
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USFS and BLM are to “issue new or updated guidance […] to facilitate increased timber production” under the Good Neighbor Authority, stewardship contracting, and the Tribal Forest Protection Act.
USFS and BLM are to develop expedited ESA (Endangered Species Act) review processes to “streamline” the approval of forestry projects.
USFS and BLM are to submit to the president a timber target for the next 4 years measured in millions of board feet.
USFS and BLM are to complete the “Whitebark Pine Rangewide Programmatic Consultation.”
The Secretaries of Ag. and Interior are to “consider and adopt” further Categorical Exclusions (CEs) to streamline the exemption of logging and forest management projects from NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) standards.
The Secretary of Interior is to “consider and adopt” CEs specifically for the exemption of timber thinning and salvage logging projects from NEPA standards.
Of these six directives, five are explicitly designed with the intention of increasing the presence of logging on public lands. Of those five, three seek to create channels for bypassing environmental review, allowing timber harvesting projects on public land without requiring legitimate consideration for environmental impacts. 70% of the Chattooga River watershed is public national forest land managed by the USFS.
Only one directive does not explicitly seek to increase logging on public lands—the 120-day directive concerning consultation for forest management projects impacting threatened Whitebark Pine forests in the West. It is also the only directive that, as of November 2025, has yet to be addressed.
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What you can do:
The misleading “Fix Our Forests Act,” (FOFA) is still pending in the U.S. Senate. Despite opposition from conservation groups, the Senate version of the bill retains many harmful provisions from a version that passed the House of Representatives on January 23, 2025.
- expanded categorical exclusions (CEs) from environmental review for USFS projects up to 10,000 acres, weakened Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections
- limits on citizen input and judicial review
- the misuse of emergency authorizations to push projects through before conducting environmental review
While certain aspects of the bill attempt to address legitimate concerns for wildfire mitigation in Western forests, the bill as a whole relies on an engendered blind faith in the USFS to act in the best interests of our nation’s threatened species and ecosystems—the same USFS that just pledged an annual timber target of 4 billion board feet by 2028, and is under a presidential directive to “fully exploit our domestic timber supply.”
Recklessly opening up our nation’s forests to increased logging is the most ecologically irresponsible solution to mitigating wildfire risk; instead, it will accelerate climate change, making our communities more vulnerable. Conservation groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife have voiced their preference for a more scientifically sound alternative proposal, the “Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act” or H.R.582 (read more).
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April 3, 2025
As directed by the March 1, 2025 “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” Executive Order–the Secretary of Agriculture issued a memorandum outlining a comprehensive strategy for the USFS to utilize emergency declarations to significantly increase logging activities across national forests. This initiative aims to fulfill President Trump’s Executive Order target to boost domestic timber production on public lands by 25%.
Per the memorandum, approximately 112.6 million acres (59% of national forest lands) are designated under “emergency situation,” and thus as priority areas for immediate logging. These logging designations blatantly ignore the boundaries of ecologically sensitive areas and/or areas protected by environmental regulations. In the Chattooga River watershed alone, the areas designated for logging cover 78% of national forest lands in the watershed and 70% of the Wild & Scenic corridor.
To expedite these sweeping and careless logging designations, the declaration exempts these designated forests from standard environmental review processes, such as those under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and significantly weakens other important ecosystem safeguards like those in the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Exemptions such as these allow for expedited logging operations without sufficient public comment periods or alternative action considerations.
Since the publication of this Secretarial memo, the USFS has been issued “implementation guidelines” that direct the agency to “employ existing, and develop new, innovative, options for expediting” environmental review processes to streamline logging operations and to “prioritize use of CEs to meet NEPA compliance” (read more).
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July 4th, 2025
The Budget Reconciliation Bill (named “One Big Beautiful Bill,” or OBBB), a sweeping legislative package of spending/revenue-related policy items, was signed into law by the president on July 4th, 2025.
In our June 2025 “Currents” issue, we highlighted certain environmentally alarming provisions pending in the OBBB prior to its enactment. Thankfully, one of the most shocking provisions, the threat of selling off public lands, caused so much outcry that it was removed from bill. Thank you to all who spoke out on that issue; we made a positive difference! Unfortunately, OBBB retained other provisions which will have negative implications on public land, like the national forests in the Chattooga River watershed.
These include:
- Cuts to USFS funding allocated for old growth protection, promoting forest resilience, climate change mitigation, and conservation through tree planting.
- Increasing volume of USFS timber sales by 250 million board feet every year:
- Requirements that USFS enter into at least 40 twenty-year or longer contracts every year from 2025 through 2034 to sell “national forest materials” (i.e., timber).
- Modifications to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to allow oil, gas, coal, timber, and mining companies to pay off the federal government in exchange for expedited environmental review. This provision further guts NEPA by allowing companies to buy their way into a short-cut around NEPA’s requirements (read more).
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June 23rd, 2025
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke L. Rollins has announced the agency’s intention to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule currently protects over 58 million acres of national forest lands, constituting approximately 30% of our national forests, by placing these areas off limits to logging and road construction with limited exceptions. When the U.S. Forest Service adopted the Roadless Rule in 2001, more than 1.6 million people commented during the rulemaking process, with 95% supporting strong roadless area protection. At the time, this was the most extensive public participation in the history of federal rulemaking.
Within the Chattooga River watershed, this rule helps safeguard areas like Overflow Creek, Sarah’s Creek Campground, and much of the river between Burrell’s Ford and the West Fork, all of which are either buffered by or within the Sarah’s Creek, Big Mountain, Ellicott Rock 1 & 2, and Overflow Roadless Areas (shown above).
According to a USDA press release, the agency has two motives for rescinding the Roadless Rule: economic development through timber harvesting and wildfire prevention. However, the agency’s 2023 estimates show that the agency-wide maintenance backlog, (or “deferred maintenance”) includes more than 386,000 miles of existing roads in the Forest Transportation System needing maintenance totaling over $8.6 billion dollars. This means that the USFS has already built more roads than they are financially able to care for.
Furthermore, research supports the idea that building new roads into wilderness areas increases wildfire risk, rather than prevents it (read more).
Status:
Intent was announced on June 23rd, 2025. During the Notice of Intent’s short 21-day comment period which ended September 19th, 625,737 comments were submitted, at least 500,000 of which were opposed.
RACA, which was introduced to the Senate on June 11th, 2025, was discussed briefly during the December 2nd meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. There has as of yet been no other actions regarding RACA.
What you can do:
The most crucial thing you can do is to call your representatives (GA senators Warnock and Ossoff, SC senators Graham and Scott, NC senators Tillis and Budd) and advocate for them to support the Roadless Area Conservation Act! You can also send them a note via American Whitewater. This legislation would permanently protect all federal roadless areas, including those in the Chattooga watershed.
While the comment period for the Notice of Intent is over, a second comment period is possible if the USFS files an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Check here or on our social media for updates on when and how you can make your voice heard!
July 3rd, 2025
Following Trump directives from an Executive Order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” the USDA (along with several other agencies) issued revised NEPA regulations. Each agency took a slightly different approach to updating their regulations; USDA’s strategy was to rescind all previous NEPA regulations and issue new ones via an interim final rule effective July 3rd.
Certain key changes include an omission of language concerning the assessment of the “direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts” of proposed agency actions, a former Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA standard that adheres to the spirit of the original Act and was codified as CEQ policy beginning in 1978. There is also no explicit requirement to assess climate effects of proposed agency actions—the keystone environmental issue of our time.
Another alarming change is the expanded use of categorical exclusions. Functionally, this means a generalization of specific categorical exclusions for inappropriate, universal use (i.e., a categorical exclusion originally authorized exclusively for Farm Service Agency actions on agricultural land can now be applied to approve projects in sensitive national forest environments).
The USDA’s NEPA revisions also further obscure opportunities for public review of proposed agency actions and environmental consequences. For example, draft EA documents are no longer required. These provided the public with critical data about anticipated environmental impacts, so they can make informed comments to the agency. Without a draft EIS, public comment opportunities are limited to an earlier stage in the process, when little information exists about the proposed action or available alternatives (read more).
Status:
Interim rule issued. Retroactive public comment period closed.
What you can do:
The mere fact of publishing an interim final rule without first soliciting public participation/comment is, itself, counter to NEPA procedures. This and other questionable aspects of USDA’s new interim final rule are expected to be challenged in court.
For now, Chattooga Conservancy has joined 80 organizations in signing on to a Southern Environmental Law Center letter opposing the interim final rule on several counts. NEPA was created to ensure that the voice of the public was heard and the interests of the environment considered; Chattooga Conservancy will continue to do all in our power to fight for those values. We thank you for your support.
July 24th, 2025
On July 24th, 2025, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced an agency-wide reorganization of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which houses the US Forest Service (USFS).
Our national forests are currently categorized into nine forest “regions,” with the Chattooga River watershed falling within Region 8, the Southern Region, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The memorandum’s wording is often concerningly vague, although it is clear that the USDA’s reorganization intends to “phase out” the 9 USFS regional offices, reassigning or moving USFS regional office staff. The USDA plan indicates, however, that “the Forest Service will maintain a reduced state office in Juneau, Alaska and an eastern service center in Athens, Georgia” (Rollins, 2025). The reorganization will also close four of five USFS research stations, including the one closest to us—the Southern Research Station, located in Asheville, NC—consolidating USFS research at a single remaining station in Fort Collins, CO (read more).
The plan was met with considerable congressional backlash, as well as public outcry that prompted the agency to extend its public comment period another month. The USDA’s own analysis of these public comments, released on December 8th, 2025, states that the “overwhelming majority of comments (82%) expressed negative sentiment,” with the first concern listed being the reorganization’s impact on the USFS’s ability to manage public land. Other concerns were a loss of local oversight/expertise, agency layoffs, and disregard for public transparency. Despite overwhelming public opposition, Deputy Secretary of Ag. Stephen Vaden indicated in an interview the same week that the USDA intends to proceed with reorganization, having it completed by end of next year.
While the USDA’s verbiage on reorganization implies a return from the desk to the field, it has become increasingly evident in the months following that the agency’s true destination is the backroom. Inevitable staffing cuts and scant details shared with the American public spell a change for the worse not only for USDA employees, but also for rural communities, farmers, and public lands throughout the country.
Image: Map of U.S. Forest Service regions
Status:
Announced July 24th, 2025. Senate Agriculture Committee review on July 30th, 2025—largely negative. Public comment period opened through August 26th, 2025. Public comment period extended through September 30th, 2025. Public comments reviewed December 8th, 2025—82% negative.
What you can do:
While public comment periods are over, the USDA was forced to concede that the vast majority of stakeholders don’t want this!
While the USDA currently seems intent on ignoring the voice of the public, the reorganization has received consistent and publicized congressional pushback—including from the Senate Agriculture Committee. As reorganization efforts build steam in 2026, we can be sure to hear more congressional pushback. The 82% negative public comment will provide excellent standing for opposition to come.
In the meantime, don’t let up! Call your senators (GA senators Warnock and Ossoff, SC senators Graham and Scott, NC senators Tillis and Budd) and make your voice heard! If you live in Georgia, be sure to call Sen. Warnock. He’s the only senator in the three states who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and could play a decisive role in hearings to come!
There may be future opportunities to stand up to the USDA, so keep your eye on our social media and newsletter!
November 20th, 2025
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly published on November 20th, 2025, a proposed rule that could substantially limit the scope (some estimates say by 60%) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Established when the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was rewritten in 1972, the CWA is one of the most influential modern environmental laws in the United States, serving as the primary law by which the US governs water pollution.
Seeking precedent under the 2023 Supreme Court rulings in Sackett v. EPA, the new proposed rule would remove protections not by direct amendment but by narrowing the definition of the phrase “Waters of the United States” as it occurs in the CWA—a tactic of litigious regulatory restriction that favors development over conservation and has been slowly eroding the CWA for years. Similarly, the rule also seeks to narrow the definitions of phrases “tributary” and “relatively permanent,” in a maneuver meant explicitly to loosen up restrictions on development impacting small streams and ephemeral wetlands such as the North Carolina Pocosin, an ecosystem vital for coastal flood regulation.
The Chattooga’s headwaters are in Cashiers, NC—an area that was at one time mostly wetlands. As the town of Cashiers grew, most of these rare and biodiverse wetland areas were filled in to accommodate development, a practice that unfortunately still occurs today. What little wetlands we have left must be protected—not only for their environmental and recreational benefits, but for the regulation and filtration of our drinking water. The CWA is bedrock legislation meant to protect these public goods—but this new proposed rule seeks to severely compromise that protection.
Status:
Published November 20th, 2025. Public comment period open until January 5th, 2026.
What you can do:
There is still time to act! Submit a public comment or use Trout Unlimited’s convenient comment form here and stand up for the Clean Water Act!
November 21st, 2025
On November 21st, 2025, following Trump directives from an Executive Order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) published four proposed rules to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA), rolling back protections to federally threatened and endangered species.
Status:
Published November 21st, 2025. Comment period open until December 22nd, 2025.
What you can do:
There is still time to act on this bill! Submit comments before December 22nd and let the USFWS know that endangered species protections are non-negotiable!