Sponsor
Mike Kennedy
Representative · R-UT
Representative · R-UT
The bill secures a 10‑year, fee‑free permit for local caretakers to maintain a civic symbol on Kyhv Peak—preserving a local tradition and reducing volunteer costs—while bypassing environmental review and limiting Forest Service discretion, which shifts some risk and potential costs to the public.
Local Utah County residents and nonprofits can display and maintain a U.S. flag on Kyhv Peak with a 10-year permit and timely renewals, preserving a local tradition and civic symbol.
Permit holders (local volunteers and nonprofits) are not charged land‑use or cost‑recovery fees, reducing the direct financial burden on those who maintain the flag.
The bill creates predictable, long‑term authorization (10‑year permits and processes for timely renewal), lowering administrative uncertainty for caretakers and local organizations.
The exemption from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) removes environmental review for this permit, eliminating a safeguard that could protect public lands and wildlife around Kyhv Peak.
Mandating permit issuance 'notwithstanding other laws' limits Forest Service discretion and could prevent the agency from enforcing broader land‑use rules or protecting resources in this area.
Prohibiting fees shifts maintenance, oversight, or repair costs onto the Forest Service or taxpayers if the flag or site requires federal intervention, potentially increasing public costs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Forest Service to issue a 10-year permit for a U.S. flagpole at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point, waiving NEPA and prohibiting certain land-use fees.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a special use permit with respect to the maintaining of a flagpole bearing the flag of the United States at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point, Utah, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Mike Kennedy · Last progress May 20, 2026
Requires the Forest Service to issue a 10-year special-use permit, within 180 days of enactment, to install, operate, maintain, and remove a U.S. flag-bearing flagpole at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point in the Uinta National Forest. Priority is given to specified individuals with prior seasonal display activity; if they decline, the permit may be issued to a qualified Utah County resident or Utah County-based nonprofit or volunteer organization. The Secretary of Agriculture (through the Chief of the Forest Service) may set reasonable terms and conditions, must not charge land-use or cost-recovery fees for the permit, must publish notice of availability online and in a local paper, must authorize reasonable access while limiting activity to the smallest practicable area, and is explicitly exempted from NEPA review for issuance, renewal, or administration of these permits.