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Idaho paving the way with Good Neighbor
Authority |
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September 28, 2017 |
By Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter
As wildfire season winds down in Idaho and other
parts of the West, one initiative ramping up in
Idaho has the potential to tamp down fears about
the future of federal lands that make up so much
of our state.
Working together through a federal law called
Good Neighbor Authority, the State of Idaho and
U.S. Forest Service are implementing plans to
remove dead trees and other fuels, use fire’s
natural benefits on the land through prescribed
burning, plant new trees and carry out other
on-the-ground activities on federal lands.
With more of the West’s growing population
living in previously undeveloped areas, we no
longer can afford to let wildfire manage our
lands for us. We must do more to minimize the
impacts of the small percentage of fires that
escape initial attack and become long-lasting
megafires costing taxpayers millions of dollars
to suppress, damaging wildlife habitat, pumping
millions of tons of carbon into the air, piling
sediment into our waterways, hurting our
economy, and harming the health of our citizens.
The one factor of fire behavior over which we
have immediate control is the buildup of
wildfire fuels such as dead and dying trees and
vegetation.
Roughly two-thirds of Idaho – more than 33.5
million acres – is owned and managed by the
federal government.
That’s almost as big as the whole State of New
York.
The Forest Service has identified more than 12.6
million acres of national forest in Idaho that
warrant consideration for some level of
proactive treatment. Good Neighbor Authority
aims to increase the pace and scale of forest
and watershed restoration work on the portion of
these areas that are at highest risk of deadly
infestations from insects and disease, and
ultimately fire.
Right now, Good Neighbor Authority is the only
realistic option for states like Idaho to be
actively involved in managing the federal lands
within our borders. And we are seizing the
opportunity. The Forest Service is using
streamlined State contracting processes and
additional Idaho Department of Lands foresters
to carry out its federal forest plans.
The projects have been vetted through federal
environmental review processes and are supported
by local collaborative groups.
While the Forest Service maintains oversight and
decision-making power on all Good Neighbor
Authority projects on national forests, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture agency and our
Department of Lands have been working well
together in the interest of the resource and the
people it benefits.
Work already has started on two Good Neighbor
Authority timber sales on north-central Idaho’s
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Ten
proposed Idaho projects will treat 10,000 acres
during the next three to five years, producing
enough timber to support 1,300 direct forest
industry jobs and 300 indirect jobs, providing
$68.5 million in additional wages and
contributing $118 million to Idaho’s economy.
We expect program income from projects to
self-fund the program in Idaho within five
years. Funding from industry, the State and the
federal government kick-started the program, and
with a little more investment Good Neighbor
Authority projects could result in 10 percent
more timber harvested annually in Idaho.
I left Congress to run for governor so I could
make a bigger difference in the lives of the
people I serve. I want Washington, D.C., to look
to Idaho for solutions on public land
management, not the other way around. I’m
confident that the Forest Service and Idaho
Department of Lands will continue working
together to reduce the risk of catastrophic
wildfires, improve the health of lands and
watersheds across ownership boundaries, and
create more jobs using Good Neighbor Authority.
For years, frustration has grown throughout the
West about how public lands are managed,
mismanaged or not managed at all. Many have
earnestly debated whether states or the feds
should be managing these vast tracts. In Idaho,
we’re showing how the answer can and must be
both.
We are using Good Neighbor Authority to manage
federal public lands in a way that embraces the
complexity of 21st century life in the West.
Good Neighbor Authority and the federalist
philosophy it represents hold great promise for
resource management throughout our state and the
nation. Idaho is leading the way in
demonstrating how we can accomplish more on the
ground by working together . |
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