Sponsors
The bill secures a long-term, fee‑exempt, fast permit for local residents and nonprofits to display a flag at Kyhv Peak, but it does so by removing environmental review and shifting costs and access priorities in ways that reduce federal environmental oversight and broaden taxpayer liability.
Local Utah County residents and nonprofits gain a guaranteed 10-year permit to display and maintain a U.S. flag at Kyhv Peak, preserving a seasonal local tradition and securing continued public access for those groups.
Permit holders (local residents and nonprofits) are exempt from Forest Service land‑use and cost‑recovery fees, reducing their out‑of‑pocket costs for flag display and maintenance.
Local governments, nonprofits, and applicants get faster and more predictable permitting because the Secretary must issue or renew the permits within 180 days.
Rural communities and local lands lose environmental safeguards because the bill exempts the permitting and flag activities from NEPA review and requires issuance 'notwithstanding any other law', limiting the Forest Service's ability to assess or mitigate ecological or cultural harms.
Federal taxpayers and local land management may bear higher costs because fee exemptions shift administrative and cost‑recovery burdens from permit holders to the Forest Service and the public budget.
Non-local or new applicants are disadvantaged because giving priority to prior applicants or longstanding flaggers restricts access for others who might provide maintenance or public benefit.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Forest Service to issue a 10-year special-use permit within 180 days for a specified U.S. flagpole at Kyhv Peak, exempts related fees and NEPA review.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Mike Kennedy · Last progress May 20, 2026
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service Chief) to issue a 10-year special-use permit, within 180 days of enactment, for installation, operation, maintenance, and removal of a U.S. flag-bearing covered flagpole at a specific lookout point on Kyhv Peak. Priority for the permit goes to prior seasonal applicants or individuals who previously displayed the flag; if none accept, a qualified Utah County resident or local nonprofit/volunteer with flagpole experience may receive the permit. Permits and renewals must be issued within 180 days, may include reasonable terms to protect safety and natural resources, and must be advertised online and in a local Utah County newspaper. The law exempts these permits from Forest Service land use fees and certain cost-recovery fees and excludes issuance, renewal, and administration of the permits and related flagpole activities from NEPA environmental review.