WARREN –– The state Bureau of Forestry and Allegheny National Forest officials have forged an agreement that provides the bureau the opportunity to undertake future forest and watershed restoration activities on the federally owned Allegheny National Forest.

Officials from both agencies signed the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) Master Agreement in March. Details of the agreement were announced Thursday at a gathering of bureau and USDA Forest Service representatives at the Marienville Ranger District Office.

“Our Bureau of Forestry and Allegheny National Forest have maintained a long history of cooperation on natural resource management issues, ranging from wildland fire suppression to watershed habitat improvement,” said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “The two agencies share similar missions and natural resource management responsibilities for the forests of Pennsylvania. Working closer together, the agencies will be able to better leverage resources; learn from each other; and conserve the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.”

The agreement allows the USDA Forest Service to sign agreements or contracts with states to allow the states to perform forest and watershed restoration services on National Forest System lands. Both the bureau and USDA Forest Service note the additional, complementary collaboration allowed for under the GNA will further positive working relationships between the agencies that have a shared stewardship for Pennsylvania’s forests.

“Our two agencies now have the opportunity to more effectively coordinate our efforts to address forest and watershed health concerns across the Allegheny Plateau, the larger region within the PA Wilds that includes the Allegheny National Forest and a number of State Forests,” said Allegheny National Forest Acting Forest Supervisor Chris Cook. The enacting of the Master Agreement is the first step in the GNA process for the bureau and Allegheny National Forest.

The GNA, authorized through the Farm Bill, allows existing cooperation between the two agencies to expand to landscape-level restoration activities including: insect and disease treatments; invasive species control; silvicultural practices; and fish and wildlife habitat management and improvements. The agencies have begun to explore these specific activities through Supplemental Project Agreements, to be implemented in the future.

Neither agency has received additional staff for GNA work.  Any capacity devoted toward related projects will come from within existing complements or by using contractors.  

This agreement expands the use of the GNA in Pennsylvania as the Allegheny National Forest and Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission are moving into the fourth year of their GNA agreement.