property us-federal-government government
How long can the National Forest put off responding to my request?
<p>I own an inholding within Inyo National Forest. I requested to gain motorized access to my property but was denied citing that it was reasonable to walk in or take mules. About a year ago, I emailed the Forest Lands Officer asking if I could do some trail repairs to make it accessible by mules. I received an email saying they would get back to me with some stipulations and guidance. That was a year ago; since then, I have emailed kindly asking for an update. I recently (a month ago)  received an email saying that someone from the NF was supposed to call me. This still has not happened. I sent another email asking for an update. In the meantime, I wanted to see if there is any legal obligation for the NF to get back to me. I've thoroughly searched the internet but have not found anything. They can't put this off forever, right?</p>

<h2>Forever</h2>
<p>AFAIK, they have no legal duty to respond to your request. It's their trail and the default position is you can't modify it without their permission. You don't have their permission until they grant it and they don't have to grant it. Therefore, they can ignore your communications for as long as they like.</p>
<p>You can approach your elected representative to apply <em>political</em> pressure, but you have no <em>legal</em> recourse.</p>
