GNA Information and Resources

Photo Credit: Laura Wagner

GNA Information and Resources

Introduction

The Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) is an important partnership tool available to the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with the intent to increase the pace and scale of forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration across jurisdictional boundaries. Permanently enacted in the 2014 Farm Bill and amended in the 2018 Omnibus Appropriations and the 2018 Farm Bill, GNA enables States, Counties, and Indian Tribes to act as an agent of the federal agencies to complete authorized restoration services on federal and non-federal lands.

This webpage provides a repository of informational and educational resources about GNA for western states forestry agencies, federal agencies, and partners.

GNA Spotlight

Authored by Fred McCartney | April 27, 2021

In 2018, the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS) signed a Master Agreement with the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands (NNF&G). This agreement, the first of its kind in Nebraska, authorizes the NFS responsibility for preparation, contracting, and administration of specific management activities on USDA Forest Service lands in Nebraska.

In November 2019, the NFS completed GNA Case 1, a 346.7 acre fuels reduction project in a 2012 burn footprint. GNA Case 2 is presently underway with a 210.0 acre project in the same burn footprint, estimated to be completed May 2021.

The treatments involve felling and masticating the fire-killed trees in place, as the ponderosa pine fuels have deteriorated to the point where it is no longer practical to handle them with traditional cut/skid/pile methods. Funding is in place for GNA Case 3, which will treat fuels in a green footprint.

For more information about this project and GNA in Nebraska, contact Fred McCartney.

Photo Credit: Fred McCartney.