in effect
This is a final rule from the USDA Forest Service, effective February 27, 2026, updating the regulations that govern how oil and gas drilling and production are managed on National Forest System lands. It revises 36 CFR Part 228, Subpart E — rules that have been largely unchanged since 1990 — to modernize procedures, reduce redundancy, and better coordinate with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages the actual mineral leases.
The Forest Service now makes a single consent decision identifying which lands are open or closed to oil and gas leasing, rather than conducting a separate administrative review each time the BLM schedules specific parcels for a lease sale. Compliance enforcement moves from a two-step noncompliance process to a one-step process, and the agency now has a formal path to refer persistent violations directly to the BLM. When an operator temporarily stops operations, the Forest Service is now required (not merely permitted) to order interim erosion control and reclamation measures. Bond adequacy rules are updated so the Forest Service must explicitly evaluate whether existing BLM performance bonds are sufficient to cover surface reclamation costs, and operators may be required to post a separate Forest Service-held bond if they are not. The public objection process for surface use plan decisions is clarified: proposed decisions documented in an environmental assessment or impact statement go through the pre-decisional objection process under 36 CFR Part 218, while only the applicant may appeal a final decision under 36 CFR Part 214.
Oil and gas operators and lessees holding any of the approximately 5,154 Federal leases covering 3.8 million acres of National Forest System lands — including those with the 2,901 currently active wells — must follow the updated compliance, bonding, and operational standards on both existing and new leases. The Forest Service and BLM are affected institutionally, as the rule realigns their coordination procedures and clarifies each agency’s decision points and notification responsibilities.