With the aim toward furthering cooperation and efficiency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has signed a Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) master agreement with the U.S. Forest Service which will allow DNR foresters to work on federal land, including timber sales.
The two units of government signed the agreements this past winter, said DNR Forestry Regional Manager Patty Thielen, who is based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
“GNA was passed by Congress in 2014, and allows states to do restoration work (timber sales, planting, and many other projects),” said Thielen. “We agreed to start off with a pilot project in each forest, and looked for potential timber harvest sites of around 100 acres.”
The master agreement covers the Chippewa and Superior National Forests and is among the first signed GNA master agreements in the country.
“The project in the Chippewa National Forest was an 80-acre red pine thinning, 427 cords in Beltrami County. It was sold in June on a sealed bid auction. It was bid up 51 percent over the base price,” Thielen said.
“The project in the Superior National Forest was 89 acres in St. Louis County (near the town of Cook), a total of 1,370 cords (predominantly aspen and northern hardwoods). Unfortunately we didn’t receive any bids on this project. It will be available for purchase over the counter at the base price for several months.”
Results of these combined workforces should represent an increase in timber sales and would not replace existing planned sales. Revenues from these sales will go to paying back the state for its help and any further profits will be shifted to pay for restoration, habitat, water quality or other projects that would enhance the federal forests.
Minnesota DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said, “This program is a tribute to the leadership of the U.S. Forest Service to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of forest management.”
According to Thielen, “We have agreed to move in to the next year’s worth of projects soon. Our staffs will be working together to find one to two timber sales for us to set up.”
As far as setting up a GNA sale in Cook County, Thielen said, “The project team will be deciding where the next project will be over the next few months; we haven’t decided on any particular area to focus in yet.”
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