GNA Spotlight, Wyoming, October 2024
The Sandstone Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) Fuels and Forest Health Project is located on the Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest in southeast Wyoming. The project resides on the western slope of the Sierra Madre Range in one of the headwaters of the Colorado River. This portion of the Sierra Madre Range is dominated by aspen ecosystems. The entire landscape including the project area has seen little to no disturbance within the aspen stands for the last century. This has led to heavy conifer encroachment, and these aspen landscapes to succeeding to mixed conifer. The Sandstone GNA Project aims to restore these aspen landscapes by cutting and removing the conifer trees and mature dying aspen trees. This will support the regeneration of aspen trees, increase watershed protection, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce wildfire concerns.
This project is completing cross-boundary fuels reduction on neighboring private lands as well. In 2022, Wyoming State Forestry Division (WSFD) was awarded a Community Assistance Funds Adjacent to National Forests Grant from the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service). In total, this project is treating 610 acres of Forest Service and private lands. Having one contract to complete vegetation management on different ownerships is crucial. It allows for increased efficiencies, cross-boundary management, and restoring these ecosystems at a landscape approach. The project included Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
The project area is being treated with mechanical and hand treatments. The contractor is skidding, processing, and decking the merchantable timber within the Forest Service lands. Once this project is complete, WSFD will sell these timber decks. Revenue from selling these decks will be spent on additional restoration activities across the Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest.
Next door, WSFD laid out the Bud Aspen GNA Project, which aims to improve 70 acres of wildlife habitat in the same aspen landscape. Additionally, the next stage of the Sandstone landscape restoration work continued with the state laying out 970 acres of additional aspen restoration work during the summer 2024. This GNA project will adjoin to the current Sandstone Project with hopes to begin operations by 2026.
For more information, please contact Travis Pardue at travis.pardue@wyo.gov.
