Pursuant to a Presidential Memorandum issued April 15, 2025 and a subsequent Permitting Technology Action Plan issued by the Council on Environmental Quality on May 30, 2025, the US Forest Service (along with all agencies in the Departments of Agriculture and Interior) is quickly implementing the use of AI in its permitting and environmental review processes for infrastructure projects, such as roads and bridges. As noted in the CEQ Plan, “technology has tremendous potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of agency NEPA and permitting practices.”
Consistent with this mandate by the current administration, a related OMB memorandum stated that “agencies must cut down on bureaucratic bottlenecks and redefine AI governance as an enabler of effective and safe innovation.” While much of the current direction is primarily focused on infrastructure projects and does not explicitly refer to recreational permits, it is likely the use of AI will also soon be applied to those types of permits as well.
