Forest Service · categorical exclusions

Which Forest Service CE fits your project?

Describe the work and find the Forest Service CE under 7 CFR 1b.4, with its old 36 CFR 220.6 number, its limits and an extraordinary-circumstances check.

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No sign-up until the draft
Every fact cites its source

ePlan fills in

Forest and district
Activity type
Matching CE under 7 CFR 1b.4
Old 36 CFR 220.6 number
Acre and road limits

How it works

CE documentation: finding of applicability and no extraordinary circumstances, from one answer

Describe the workOne answer starts the project. ePlan names it and looks up the place.
See the CE, its limits and its old number3 more questions, each with a "not sure yet" way out.
Read the CE documentation free; download it for $49The draft marks what to check (amber), what to pick (blue) and what to fill in (violet).

What you get

CE documentation: finding of applicability and no extraordinary circumstances and 3 more documents

The first draft is free to read. Each document after it is drafted from the same confirmed facts.

The first draft

CE documentation: finding of applicability and no extraordinary circumstances (FANEC)

Project name, location and map
Proposed action: acres, roads, timing
Category used: 7 CFR 1b.4 paragraph, with the old 36 CFR 220.6 number
How the action fits each limit of the category
Resources considered under 7 CFR 1b.3(f)(1)
Finding of no extraordinary circumstances

Modeled on: 7 CFR 1b.3(g)

Next · 2

Extraordinary circumstances checklist

Listed species and critical habitat
Floodplains and wetlands
Special sources of water
Designated areas: wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, inventoried roadless areas
Specially managed areas
Prime farmland

Next · 3

CE crosswalk: 36 CFR 220.6 to 7 CFR 1b.4

220.6(d)(1)–(12) → 1b.4(c)(19)–(29); 220.6(e)(1)–(25) → 1b.4(d)(26)–(47), reserved slots dropped
(d)(4) → (c)(22): repair and maintenance of roads, trails, landline boundaries
(d)(8) → (c)(26): minor special uses up to 1 year
(e)(3) → (d)(28): special uses up to 20 acres
(e)(6) → (d)(30): timber stand and wildlife habitat improvement (set aside by D. Or., Jan 13, 2026)
(e)(11) → (d)(34): post-fire rehabilitation up to 4,200 acres

Next · 4

Project record index

Proposal and maps
Specialist reports
Consultation records
Public involvement
CE documentation and signature

From public data

What ePlan fills in, and from where

Forest and ranger districtUSDA Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse
Wilderness and inventoried roadless areasUSDA Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse
Listed species and critical habitatUSFWS IPaC
WetlandsUSFWS National Wetlands Inventory
FloodplainsFEMA Flood Map Service Center
CE categories, current and former numbers7 CFR 1b.4 (eCFR)

82.3%

of 33,976 Forest Service NEPA decisions from 2005 to 2018 were categorical exclusions.
Source: Fleischman et al., Journal of Forestry (2020), from PALS

Questions

Forest Service CE finder: what people ask

Where did 36 CFR 220.6 go?

USDA rescinded the Forest Service's NEPA rules at 36 CFR part 220 on July 3, 2025, moving its categorical exclusions to 7 CFR 1b.4, and made that final on April 3, 2026. The old 220.6(d) and (e) categories are now 1b.4(c)(19)–(29) and (d)(26)–(47).

Source: federalregister.gov

Is a decision memo still required?

For the CEs in 7 CFR 1b.4, USDA requires documentation of a finding of applicability and no extraordinary circumstances: the category, how the action fits it, the resources considered, and a signature. Work may start once it is signed. Statutory CEs, such as the fuel-break CE, still call for a decision memorandum.

Source: ecfr.gov

What counts as an extraordinary circumstance?

7 CFR 1b.3(f) lists the resources to weigh, including listed species and critical habitat, floodplains and wetlands, wilderness and roadless areas, historic properties, and tribal sacred sites. Their mere presence does not rule out a CE; what matters is the degree of potential effect.

Source: ecfr.gov

Can I still use the timber stand improvement CE?

Check first. On January 13, 2026, the federal district court in Oregon set aside the CE known as CE-6, formerly 36 CFR 220.6(e)(6) and now 7 CFR 1b.4(d)(30), in Oregon Wild v. U.S. Forest Service. Check the case's status before relying on it.

Source: oregonwild.org

Can people object to a CE?

No. Section 431 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, exempted categorically excluded projects from the Forest Service's predecisional objection process, and the 2026 objection rule writes that into 36 CFR part 218.

Source: federalregister.gov