Officials urge faster use of Good Neighbor Authority as beetles, fires increase tree mortality

State and federal forestry officials told the joint Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee at a forest‑health briefing that insect outbreaks, drought stress and last year’s large wildfires have raised tree mortality across Wyoming and that expanding use of Good Neighbor Authority and acting on recent federal executive orders could speed timber sales and fuels treatments needed to reduce wildfire risk.

The briefing, led by Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris and attended by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management officials, outlined survey results and management priorities for 2024 and described steps the agencies say are needed to move projects on the ground more quickly. “In 2024, approximately 17 and a half million acres of forested lands were surveyed for forest health threats,” Norris said. Of that acreage, she told the committee, roughly 79,000 acres showed insect, disease or abiotic problems, excluding fire.

Why this matters: committee members, mill owners and local foresters said mills are operating at reduced capacity and that a faster timeline for contracting and timber administration is needed to keep the local industry viable and to remove hazard fuels before more severe fires. Mill owner Jim Nyman told the committee the situation for regional sawmills is urgent: “We’re at a point we need emergency action. We need support from the house and senate to help Kelly out on Good Neighbor.”

Most important facts - Officials reported a heavy 2024 fire…