Locals hopeful that Good Neighbor project will boost logging

Montana’s Environmental Quality Council held a session last Thursday morning to hear updates about the Good Neighbor Authority Project.

GNA is used by 26 states across the country. The Montana program is still in its infancy, but is expected to complete a number of significant projects in the next five years.

All of the project profits will stay in the state of Montana and be used to complete more work on federal lands.

In 2014, The Farm Bill, signed by Governor Steve Bullock, permanently authorized Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) as a means for federal land management agencies to appropriate land restoration services on federal lands at the state level.

Doug Turman, Montana DNRC unit manager, said through GNA, they are actively working on three projects comprising 950 acres and an estimated timber value of $1.2 million.

“We are hauling logs to the mill right now,” Turman said.

For fiscal year 2020, GNA is planning nine sales for 4,800 acres at $2.7 million to be generated.

“Both USFS and BLM are fully engaged and behind this program and are working to make it happen,” Turman said.

Jodi Turk, GNA forester and long time Libby resident, spoke to the changes she has witnessed in the area over the last 20 years.

“I’ve seen the pendulum swing and I’ve seen our forest become more of a liability rather than an asset,” Turk said.

The primary goal of GNA is to provide another tool to increase the pace and scale of restoration efforts and to strengthen partnerships between state and federal agencies to get more done across jurisdictional boundaries.

Specifically the GNA program aims to reduce the fire risk to the forest and surrounding communities and increase the land resiliency.

“GNA is a great mechanism for the state to add capacity to the Forest Service,” Turk added.

Chad Benson, Kootenai National Forest Supervisor, praised the program, “we feel the lift that we are getting on the Kootenai is well worth the wait.”

Benson added that the Forest Service is excited about the jobs and profits the program can bring to the state and community.

“We look forward to the next 5 years to find that balance of having GNA be something that is a pinnacle of what the state can be proud of.”