Forest Service outlines Bridger‑Teton and Black Hills plan timelines; Wyoming ramps Good Neighbor Authority work

The U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming State Forestry briefed the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee on June 19 about two forest plan revision processes and an expansion of Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) activity in Wyoming.

Chris Campbell, deputy regional forester for the Forest Service Intermountain Region, said the Bridger‑Teton assessment is due to be released this summer and the Forest Service plans multiple public meetings in July (Afton, Jackson and Pinedale with later meetings planned in Bondurant, Cokeville, Evanston, Kemmerer, Marbleton, Moran, Rock Springs and Wilson). He described the Black Hills plan revision as adjusted to ensure capacity, with a notice of intent and proposed action tentatively planned for early 2026; the Black Hills team is awaiting two lidar deliveries to inform analysis.

Campbell said forest plan revision is “a marathon, not a sprint” and emphasized that the Bridger‑Teton plan revision has robust cooperating‑agency engagement so far. He told the committee the assessments will present current conditions and that plan revisions set landscape‑scale direction for future projects.

Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris and Forestry Partnership Coordinator Jeremy Dedick described how the state has used GNA to accelerate work. State Forestry reported it manages roughly $10.3 million in federal GNA funding through agreements with six national forests (21 active USFS agreements) and three active BLM agreements. For 2025 the state expects to contract about 21,000 acres of project work — roughly five times 2024 acreage — and said its GNA accomplishments to date include more than 34,000 contracted acres, 60 contracts and over 42,000,000 board feet of federal timber sold (approximately 8,600 log‑truck loads).

Norris told the committee the Wyoming statute that authorizes the GNA revolving account and the number of employees the state may hire under GNA (W.S. 36‑15‑103 and 36‑15‑102) constrains growth: current statute limits state forester hires to no more than four full‑time employees and six at‑will contract positions supported from the GNA account, and it restricts funding sources to federal funds deposited to the account. Norris proposed legislative changes to allow the state to accept voluntary nonfederal contributions for GNA work and to reconsider the limit and mix of full‑time versus at‑will employees so the program can retain trained staff.

Committee members pressed for metrics linking GNA and active management to wildfire risk reduction and local economic benefits. Norris and Campbell said they can provide additional, more detailed metrics and recommended continued state–federal collaboration. Senator Larson moved (and the committee approved) a motion instructing staff to draft a letter to the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service requesting increased funding and support for GNA expansion; Representative Wharf also moved and the committee approved a motion instructing the Legislative Services Office to draft statute amendments to the cited GNA state statutes for future committee consideration.