Committee members, the state forester and local legislators told the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee on July 1 that expanding Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) tools would speed forest fuel-reduction work and support timber harvests needed to reduce wildfire risk.

Representative Scott Heiner described a July field visit with a Forest Service supervisor to the Willow Creek fire area, saying that a 300-foot fuel reduction along a highway helped stop the fire from moving into heavier timber. Heiner reported that fuel-reduction work costing about $96,000 prevented what the supervisor estimated could have become a far larger, more expensive fire.

“[They] spent $96,000 on that fuel reduction, and it saved $90,000,000,” Heiner said, and he urged the committee to support increased GNA capacity so the state can help move projects through contracting and completion faster.

Kelly Norris, Wyoming State Forester, told the committee the state’s contracting system and flexibility can reduce project timelines compared with some federal contracting processes. She said a recently amended draft removes the cap on the number of GNA full-time and at-will positions the state can hire and permits use of non-federal funds on GNA projects — changes the division and committee say are needed to scale up work quickly.

“The flexibility that’s gonna be provided here … is exactly what we’re gonna need,” Norris said, adding that longer-term, district-scale shared stewardship commitments (10-year horizons) are being discussed with federal partners and would require the staffing flexibility provided by the proposed changes.

Why it matters: Committee members said the state faces an opportunity to revitalize small timber industries, accelerate forest restoration projects already NEPA-cleared, and create defensible fuel breaks in key corridors. Senators and representatives cited specific restoration or harvest projects in the Bridger‑Teton and other forests, and County or municipal partners and non-governmental organizations offered or will offer matching funds and operational help in some cases.

Implementation and next steps: Staff confirmed the bill draft under the committee’s prior work removes statutory limits on GNA positions and allows funding flexibility. Committee members urged getting the amended bill “over the finish line” for enactment so state forestry can ramp up hiring and contracting where federal partners have cleared projects and funding is available.

Ending: The co-chairs closed the meeting after committee members expressed support for the amended GNA language and noted the immediate opportunities in western Wyoming forests.