Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined eight other attorneys general in sending a comment letter to the U.S. Forest Service opposing its proposal to dilute the pre-decisional administrative review process that applies to a broad range of Forest Service projects that affect public access, recreation and natural resources in national forests, such as Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

The proposed rule would amend the process for public participation by slashing some public comment timelines by more than 50%, eliminating neutral reviewing officials and imposing other new limits on how public comments are articulated, submitted or considered. In their letter, Raoul and the coalition explain the proposed rule would greatly limit public awareness and participation in Forest Service project-level decisions, such as timber harvests and hazardous fuels management, that can have a local and regional impact. 

“National forests like our very own Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, are beautiful, natural treasures our local communities have an interest in protecting,” Raoul said. “Residents who enjoy the national forests and live nearby should have an opportunity to communicate their concerns and participate in Forest Service decisions that impact public lands.”

On Feb. 5, the Forest Service announced proposed revisions to its pre-decisional administrative review process that had been in place since 2013. Raoul and the attorneys general state the proposed rule undermines and potentially forecloses meaningful public participation and, as a result, will impair the ability of the public, tribes and interested organizations to participate in project-level decisions.

The agency proposes to make the following procedural changes: 

• Slash the public comment and objection timeline from 30 days to 10 days for some projects, and from 45 days to 20 days for others. 
• Dispense with the role of a neutral reviewing official and instead allow the official responsible for the project to review and respond to any objections. 
• Change where notices of opportunities to comment or object to a proposed action are published. 
• Impose arbitrary page limits on objections to environmental impacts review, where presently there are none.
• Authorize the Forest Service to disregard comments that identify problems if they do not also include a clearly articulated recommendation or mitigation for the responsible official to consider.

Joining Raoul in sending the letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.