Honorable Tribal Leader:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, in conjunction with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, is notifying you of the opportunity to consult on the implementation of Section 121 of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, also known as the BOLT Act.

This requires the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to identify opportunities to develop or complete long-distance bike trails. The Summary Analysis document summarizes key pieces of the BOLT Act and identifies how implementation may affect Tribal governments, Alaska Native Corporations, and the Tribal citizens they may represent.  It also identifies how bike trails, maps, signage, and promotional activities, identified through Section 121 could be leveraged by Tribes to support Tribal tourism efforts. 

This information, as well as information on other agency issues, is also available on the Forest Service, Office of Tribal Relations’ National Consultation webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/tribal-relations/national-consultation.

Together, the agencies are planning a Tribal Forum engagement session on June 29th to share information related to EXPLORE Act sections anticipated for 2026 and answer questions pertaining to Section 121. The details of the forum are below as well as the registration link. Please follow the link below to register for the Tribal Forum engagement session.

 Tribal Forum Details
Date: June 29^th, 2026
Time: 1-2:30 eastern
Platform: Zoom
Registration Link: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/5hn21LRnTw-ry-xxxTYnJw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The agencies are using email to ensure timely communication of this notification of opportunity to consult. The agencies are available to facilitate consultation with agency Consulting Officials. Consultation Officials will summarize issues and report the outcomes of consultation to relevant Directors. To allow the agencies adequate time to consider and incorporate the results of consultation, we request that you submit your requests or comments within 120 days of receipt of this correspondence.

Please contact the agency consulting official in your area, or the Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, D.C., at SM.FS.otrtribalcon@usda.gov, to ask any questions. Thank you for your time and consideration.