Quarterly Proposed Projects List

Forest Service regulations (36 CFR 220) required the quarterly publication of a Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA) to provide the status for ongoing and future proposed projects on National Forest System lands subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) NEPA regulations (7 CFR part 1b) no longer require a SOPA so it will no longer be published or posted on any Forest Service website. Although no longer a regulation requirement, Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests (GMFL NFs) staff will continue to prepare and distribute a quarterly proposed projects list (PPL) to keep the public informed of proposed project activity on GMFL NFs. 

About the Quarterly Proposed Projects List (PPL)

The purpose of the quarterly PPL is to provide a status and short summary of projects that are ongoing or will soon be proposed on GMFL NFs. This list is intended to provide the public with informal notice of proposed management activities. Project proposals are required to comply with USDA NEPA regulations prior to approval and implementation. 

An effort will be made to seek public comments to help identify issues or concerns associated with proposed projects. Requests for comments may be in the form of letters, email notifications or phone calls that will include more specific information for the public to provide meaningful feedback that may be incorporated into the environmental analysis process. When required, legal notices announcing project information will be published in the Rutland Herald or Ithaca Journal, our newspapers of record for the Green Mountain National Forest, and Finger Lakes National Forest, respectively.  

The quarterly PPL includes the name, location, and a brief description of the proposal. Also included is the public comment invitation date (which indicates when public participation began or will begin), decision or approval date, and the expected implementation date. Analysis which supports any decision is documented in either an Environmental Assessment (EA), or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Proposals which have been "categorically excluded" (CE) from documentation in an EA or EIS are documented in a Findings of Applicability and No Extraordinary Circumstances (FANEC). More information regarding levels of NEPA documentation can be found in the USDA NEPA regulations at 7 CFR part 1b.2(f) and is illustrated on the Council on Environmental Quality Guidance webpage.