The forest products industry and related sectors have grown to support 40,000 jobs in Minnesota and directly contribute $9.7 billion in economic output
During a recent tour at the Boise Paper Mill in International Falls, I heard concerns about the slow implementation of the U.S. Forest Service “Good Neighbor Authority” in Minnesota as compared to Wisconsin and Michigan.
In part because the borders of the Superior National Forest do not neatly align with private, state, or other federal boundaries, I worked on including a nationwide expansion of Good Neighbor Authority in the 2014 Farm Bill to give the U.S. Forest Service flexibility to work with the state to increase the speed and efficiency of important forest management projects.
In February 2016, the U.S. Forest Service signed a final agreement with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to allow the state to perform forest and watershed restoration projects on national forest system lands and to add to ongoing projects by working across state and federal boundaries.
Now that the final agreement has been signed, I would encourage the U.S. Forest Service to move forward on Good Neighbor Authority projects quickly so the benefits to forest products mills and forest economies can be fully realized.
Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senator
Washington, D.C.
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