Senate committee advances Good Neighbor Authority bill to expand state timber and fuels work

The Wyoming Senate Minerals Committee on an unspecified date approved Senate File 17, a bill to expand the state's Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) work that allows the state forester to accept grants, gifts and donations and to use retained timber receipts and external funds to support increased project work and staffing.

Kelly Norris, Wyoming State Forester, testified the GNA is rooted in federal law (the Farm Bill) and lets the state sell federal timber through state contracting systems, retain proceeds in state accounts and prioritize on-the-ground projects. Norris said the program sold about "12,260,000.00 board feet of timber" last year and recently completed a "5,000,000 board" timber sale in the Bear Lodge Ranger District. She described how retained receipts and updated shared-stewardship agreements are being used to pay for additional staff and project work.

Committee members asked for clarity on projected revenue and implementation. A senator noted language on page 3 that would prohibit the state forester from accepting an interest in real property for GNA projects. Norris said that provision came from LSO and the intent was to avoid the agency amassing property; the committee debated and then voted to strike the prohibition, with a senator observing that existing state statutes and land offices provide mechanisms to handle property if it were ever received.

On funding, committee members asked whether the $6,000,000 annual projection referenced in the bill comes from timber sale receipts and shared-stewardship funds; Norris confirmed the $6 million was based on expected timber receipts and recent agreements, and noted an expected $2,000,000 in shared-stewardship funds to help pay employees.

Support for the bill came from county and industry stakeholders, including the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, the Wyoming Fire Advisory Board, the Intermountain Forest Association, and local sawmill operators. Testimony cited examples where GNA projects protected watersheds, reduced hazardous fuels and supported local mills. Bill Novotny (Wyoming County Commissioners Association) said the program had been used to protect the Clear Creek watershed and Buffalo's water supply; Shad Cooper (Wyoming Fire Advisory Board) said GNA projects were essential to hazardous-fuels reduction in Sublette County.

The committee approved an amendment to strike the statutory prohibition on accepting property and then took a roll-call vote. The bill passed out of committee on a 5-0 vote (Senators Cooper, Jones, Nethercott by absentee, Rothfuss and Chairman Anderson recorded as aye). The bill will be returned with committee amendments for further consideration.