Washington, DC — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking records on how the U.S. Forest Service is implementing a sweeping “emergency” designation that now covers roughly 65% of all National Forest System lands — raising serious questions about whether federal agencies are using emergency powers to fast-track projects unrelated to any genuine emergency.

In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an Emergency Situation Determination (ESD) following an executive order aimed at expanding domestic timber production. The designation applies to more than 112 million acres of national forest lands, authorizing the Forest Service to carry out projects on an expedited basis, including fuel reduction and vegetation management activities.

While emergency authorities are intended to address urgent threats to public safety or natural resources, PEER’s requests seek to determine whether these powers are being used far more broadly — including for projects with little or no connection to an actual emergency.

“Labeling more than half of our national forests as an ‘emergency’ raises a basic question: What isn’t an emergency?” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of PEER. “These authorities are meant to be used sparingly and for specific threats — not as a blanket justification to fast-track logging and other projects across tens of millions of acres.”

The FOIA requests seek records related to:

• Environmental reviews, including Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), conducted under emergency authorities;
• Use of categorical exclusions to bypass standard environmental review processes;
• Consultations required under the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Clean Water Act;
• The scope and scale of projects being implemented, including acreage and timelines; and
• Required internal reporting on the use of emergency authorities.

Under the Emergency Situation Determination, the Forest Service is permitted to accelerate project approvals that would otherwise be subject to more extensive environmental review and public input. PEER’s requests aim to determine whether those legal safeguards are being sidestepped.

The scope of the designation — covering nearly two-thirds of National Forest System lands — is unprecedented and raises concerns that the term “emergency” is being stretched beyond recognition.

“Emergency powers exist for a reason, but they come with limits,” Whitehouse added. “If those limits are ignored, it opens the door to sweeping decisions that avoid scrutiny and reshape public lands without accountability.”

The Forest Service is also required to report annually on its use of emergency authorities. PEER’s requests seek to determine whether those reports are being completed and whether they accurately reflect the agency’s activities.

PEER will make responsive records publicly available as they are received.

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Read an anonymous Forest Service employee’s concerns

PEER protects public employees who protect our environment, natural resources, and public health. We support current and former environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers, and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values across federal, state, local, and tribal governments.