Permits
The Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands offer two primary types of permits to our customers: forest product permits and special use permits. Forest product permits involve things, natural resources that are sold to customers for personal or commercial use and can vary based on the type of product, the reason for purchase, and the volume sold. Special forest products include edible plants, wild mushrooms, fruits and nuts; medicinal plants and fungi; floral greenery and horticultural stock; fiber, oil resins, and other chemical extracts from plants, lichens, and fungi; as well as fuelwood and small diameter wood used for poles, posts, and carvings. Special use permits involve places, permission for a specific use of the land for a specific period of time and are granted through a legal document such as a permit, term permit, lease, or easement called a special use authorization, which allows occupancy, use, rights, or privileges of NFS land.
Special use authorizations are required if...
- ... you will need to occupy, use, or build on NFS land for personal or business purposes, whether the duration is temporary or long term; or...
- ...if there is a fee being charged or if income is derived from the use; or...
- ...if an activity on NFS land involves individuals or organization with 75 or more participants or spectators.
Each year, the Forest Service receives thousands of individual and business applications for authorization for use of NFS land for over 180 types of uses. The Forest Service carefully reviews each application to determine how the request affects the public's use of NFS land.
Forest Product Permits
The Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands sell several types of wood products, including firewood permits, post-and-pole permits and commercial wood permits. These don't apply to firewood gathered while camping, to be used on the forest during your stay- for that you can harvest anything that's dead and down and as long as you don't leave the forest with it no permit is needed. If you want to leave with the wood, or to cut down a tree to harvest from, you'll need one of these permits, depending on what you're using the wood for:
- Personal firewood permits are measured by cord of wood (4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet = 128 square feet) and sold at $5 per cord.
- Posts and poles are sold by total count, at $0.50 each. Posts are less than 8 inches in diameter at the thicker end and between 6.5 and 10 feet long, and poles are less than 6 inches in diameter at the thicker end and between 10 and 16 feet long.
- Commercial wood permits are used for wood intended for commercial purposes and may also be used for wood that exceeds the quantity limits of personal firewood and post/pole permits. Contact your local Forest Service office for information on commercial wood permits.
The minimum purchase price of a permit is $20, whether or not you collect the full value of that permit (512 square feet of personal firewood or 40 posts/poles). To get a wood permit contact the District you want to harvest from to inquire about maps of acceptable harvesting areas, any areas that are off-limits to harvesting, or any special rules or regulations, and arrange a time to come in to file the permit and pay the fee. You must have your permit on your person when harvesting and it must have a description and license plate number for the vehicle you'll be using.
*Note- Piles along the roads in the Bessey Ranger District are currently under contract and may not be used by unapproved visitors for any purpose, whether that purpose requires a permit or not. Please inquire at the Bessey District Office for a map of piles approved for wood product permits.
Information on timber sale permits can be found here.
*Note- Piles along the roads in the Bessey Ranger District are currently under contract and may not be used by unapproved visitors for any purpose, whether that purpose requires a permit or not. Please inquire at the Bessey District Office for a map of piles approved for timber permit purchasers.
Christmas Trees can now be purchased on Recreation.gov for the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, beginning the Monday before Thanksgiving. As we get closer to the date sales will open, contact the District where you'd like to harvest for a list of the regulations and the current year's version of the map of acceptable cutting areas.
Information on non-wood forest product permits can be found here.
Special Use Permits
If your proposed use meets any of the criteria at the top of the page, you'll need a special use permit, but don't worry, we have you covered! It helps to figure out what kind of special use applies best to you:
- Non-commercial group use. This is an activity that involves 75 or more people, either as participants or spectators, where an entry or participation fee is not charged, and the primary purpose is not the sale of a goods or service. Examples include weddings, family reunions, church services, camping trips, hikes, and music festivals.
- Commercial recreation events, regardless of the number of participants. Examples include dogsled, bicycle, motocross, or triathlon type races, jeep rallies, fishing contests, adventure games, youth treks, and concerts.
- Filming and commercial photography. All filming projects and photography where the photos are sold.
- Outfitting and guiding. This includes spotting vehicles, transporting persons, and providing equipment, supplies and services.
- Utility rebuilds. Examples include realignment or reconstruction of existing authorized utilities, substantial line clearing.
- Research permits.
- Continued permitted uses of an expiring special use permit.
- Contact a Forest Service office and request an application. At minimum you will need to show your proposed use, the proposed timeframe, a map of the area you'll want to use, and a reason why private land is unsuitable.
- Prior to submitting the proposal, you are required to arrange a preapplication meeting at the local Forest Service office where the use is being requested. A staff member will discuss your proposal, potential land use conflicts, application procedures and qualifications, probable time frames, fees, bonding requirements, additional coordination with other agencies, any necessary reports, and field reviews.
- Most commercial uses require additional information with the application. You may need business plans, operating plans, liability insurance, licenses/registrations, or other documents. A commercial use is when an applicant intends to make use of NFS lands for business or financial gain.
- Complete and submit the application form, including supporting documents, to the local Forest Service office. An incomplete proposal could delay the processing.
- From there the Forest Service will process your request, reach out for any additional information, and ultimately decide whether to issue the permit or to deny the request.
Most permits require at least 90 days to be processed, sometimes more depending on how complex the permit is. Applicants for special-use permits should note that the permitting process can, depending on the request, be time-consuming. It may require analysis under applicable laws and still ultimately may not be approved.
The Forest Service will evaluate special-use applications to see if they are in the public interest. At a minimum, these proposals should be
- Consistent with Forest Plan management area objectives, standards, and desired future conditions
- Consistent with other applicable Federal, State, and local statutes and regulations
- Not be undertaken on national forest land if they can be reasonably accommodated on private land.