Locatable Minerals

Document 2026-03364 is a Proposed Rule published by the Department of Agriculture in the Federal Register on February 20, 2026. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Agency), is proposing to revise its regulations governing occupancy and use of the surface of National Forest System lands in connection with prospecting, exploration, development, mining, processing, and reclamation and reasonably incident uses authorized by U.S. mining laws and the Organic Administration Act of 1897. Regulatory revisions are needed to improve the efficiency and transparency of Forest Service regulation of locatable mineral operations conducted on National Forest System lands under the mining laws, and to minimize, to the fullest extent practicable, adverse impacts on surface resources. In addition, the revisions will support Federal policy to secure reliable and sustainable supplies of strategic and critical minerals in the United States. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/20/2026-03364/locatable-minerals.

No. Document 2026-03364 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.