USFS Is Fast-Tracking Oil & Gas Drilling in National Forests

The U.S. Forest Service just made it easier for oil and gas companies to lease land in our national forests—and worse, it’s moving to stop doing site-specific environmental assessments for new leases.

That’s not “efficiency.” That’s a green light for drilling with less oversight, less transparency, and more pollution.

National forests belong to all of us. They protect clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and sacred places. They also store massive amounts of carbon and help buffer communities from the worst impacts of climate change—wildfires, drought, flooding, and extreme heat.

So why would the Forest Service weaken protections now, when the climate crisis is already here?

Skipping site-specific reviews could shut out the public while fossil fuel projects move forward in places that are too fragile, too important, and too irreplaceable to gamble with. It means more methane leaks, more habitat destruction, more road-building, and more climate pollution—locked in for decades.

And once drilling expands into these forests, it’s incredibly hard to undo the damage.

We’re calling on USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to step in immediately and reverse this decision. Restore full environmental review for every new oil and gas lease in national forests. No shortcuts. No rubber stamps. No giveaways to Big Oil.

Our forests are not a sacrifice zone for fossil fuels.

Secretary Rollins: Do your job. Protect our public lands. Put climate first.

The petition reads: Secretary Rollins: We are calling on you to immediately overturn the U.S. Forest Service’s reckless decision to ease oil and gas leasing rules and skip site-specific environmental reviews in our national forests. This is a giveaway to Big Oil that will fuel climate pollution and put public lands at risk. Reverse it now and restore full protections.
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Sources:

https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2026/01/28/forest-service-eases-oil-and-gas-leasing-rules-00750105

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27012026/forest-service-streamlines-oil-and-gas-leasing-rules/