Can the Forest Service waive the fees for personal use of forest botanical products?
Yes. The pilot program (PL 108-108, Section 335 (16 U.S.C 528 Note) directs the Forest Service to permit limited free use of forest botanical products for personal use. It mandates that the Forest Service establish a “personal use harvest level” for each product and directs that a person shall be exempt from fees if that person’s harvest of a product is below the “personal use harvest level.” The law also allows that these fees be waived. Why aren’t we doing NEPA on the proposed rule? The rule has no direct or indirect effect on the environment, nor do regulations or policies to establish Forest Service administrative procedures or instructions have a significant effect on the human environment, therefore, the Department’s assessment is that the proposed final rule falls within this category of actions, and that no extraordinary circumstances exist that would require the preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. How does the Forest Service plan to ma
