USDA

The Department of Agriculture seeks public input on Nonindustrial Private Forest Land related to technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs. The lands make up a large portion of the forested land base in the United States. Forest management decisions on these lands impact the nature and level of benefits derived from the land. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service welcomes input from stakeholders to assist with developing guidance about how to identify land for program enrollment purposes. NRCS must ensure the guidance is consistent with how other USDA agencies identify Nonindustrial Private Forest Land under identical or similar frameworks. The request for input is to improve transparency about how NRCS makes land eligibility determinations of forest lands. The criteria will be adopted after the close of the 30-day period and after consideration of all comments. NRCS requests input on the technical guidance through January 19, 2021. Electronic comments must be submitted through regulations.gov.