I think people are reading more into this than what's really here. This should not affect basic trail maintenance activities that have always been exempt, although they will be more likely to notify the public and accept comments on their decisions. I don't see any time requirements for documenting categorical exemptions, so the only delay will be drafting and publishing a decision memo. This is not the same as the Environmental Assessment process or EIS process with specific time limits.
This applies nationwide because this is a legal decision regarding how FS policy implements NEPA everywhere. They specifically mention sale of timber, but I don't see any mention of commercial pack operations in this letter. This change just opens up all activities covered by land management plans to more review - probably too much review and paperwork, but it's not clear where this will go.
As mentioned in posts above, they've been pushing the law and they got caught. A Whitney example is the removal of the toilets and implementation of the wag bag program without completing a decision memo. They just did it without finishing the process.
