The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS) today signed a nearly $65 million, 10-year Good Neighbor Agreement to support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Western North Carolina.
Under the comprehensive agreement, the NCFS will reduce hazardous fuels across areas of wildland-urban interface impacted by the storm, as well as develop strategies to address non-native and invasive species that can potentially thrive in the aftermath of a landscape-scale disturbance. The agreement will also increase the pace of forest restoration while bringing new job opportunities to the impacted area.
“This is a significant investment in Western N.C. and in helping protect homes, property and timber resources in the region from the increased fire risk of downed trees and debris that remains on public and private lands following Hurricane Helene,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “The Good Neighbor Agreement and funding will allow work to remove these potential fire fuels to also take place on private lands in disaster impacted counties that meet shared management goals, which I know will be especially beneficial.”
NCFS estimates that Helene impacted more than 800,000 acres of forestland in Western North Carolina, including tens of thousands of downed timber across the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests, creating an unprecedented level of fuel for wildfires that continues to pose a significant safety risk to neighboring homes and communities.
Downed debris and changes to the landscape following the storm have also created access issues in certain areas of the forest, potentially placing firefighters’ lives at risk—a serious concern for response agencies as the region prepares to enter a potentially busy fall fire season.
“In the two years since Helene, we’ve already experienced substantial wildfire activity in areas with some of the heaviest amounts of blowdowns, but thanks to the close cooperation between federal and state responders, these fires were quickly contained,” said Forest Supervisor James Melonas with the National Forests in North Carolina. “That’s what makes this Good Neighbor Agreement so important. Despite the amount of work that has been completed to reduce hazardous fuels, an unacceptable level of risk remains for families living in vulnerable communities. This agreement is a major step forward toward mitigating those risks.”
With four national forests across North Carolina, the USDA Forest Service and NCFS have worked closely together through the two agencies’ decades-long partnership. After Hurricane Helene struck, NCFS leadership locally and in Raleigh quickly reached out to the National Forests in North Carolina to begin coordinating response efforts.
“When disasters like Hurricane Helene impact our communities, our agencies are trained to respond, to protect the public and the forest resources we all benefit from and depend on,” said NCFS Assistant Commissioner and State Forester Greg Hicks. “After Helene, we knew we were looking at years of recovery and mitigation work to reduce increased wildfire risk across Western North Carolina. We knew the needs would require substantial funding and manpower. The Good Neighbor Authority and strong agency and community partnerships are critical tools for not only restoring forests and communities but for preparing them for wildfire.”
What is the Good Neighbor Authority?
First approved by Congress in 2001 and later expanded by the 2018 Farm Bill, the Good Neighbor Authority allows the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements with state agencies, county governments and federally recognized tribes to engage in critical management work to keep forests healthy and productive. These cross-jurisdictional agreements provide federal funding to address issues such as watershed management, invasive species mitigation and fuel reduction. More information on the Good Neighbor Authority is available on the USDA Forest Service website.
Visit the National Forests in North Carolina’s website and follow @NFSNC on Facebook for the latest information on Helene recovery.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
About the North Carolina Forest Service: The North Carolina Forest Service is a division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and we envision a North Carolina with healthy trees and forests that provide essential environmental, economic and social benefits served by a professional workforce recognized as a leader in forest protection, emergency response, resource management and environmental education. Our mission in meeting this vision is to protect, manage and promote forest resources for the citizens of North Carolina.