The Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) is an important partnership tool enacted by Congress with the intent to increase the pace and scale of forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration across jurisdictional boundaries.
Permanently authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill and amended in subsequent legislation, GNA enables states, counties, and Indian Tribes to act as an agent of the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service to complete authorized restoration services on federal and non-federal lands.
This webpage provides a repository of informational and educational resources about GNA for western state forestry agencies, federal agencies, and partners.
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GNA Spotlight - Montana, June 2026
Author: Sarah Lyngholm, GNA program manager, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
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Jackknife Timber Sale, 2024. Photo: Josh Tomlin
The Jackknife project includes over 1,000 acres of commercial fuels reduction work on the Tally Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. It is located just outside the community of Olney, Montana. The project is being implemented through a Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) agreement between the Flathead National Forest and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health in the wildland urban interface.
The surrounding landscape is a mix of private, state, and federal land. DNRC and Forest Service staff worked together to plan and implement the project, using GNA to increase each agency’s capacity to complete priority work. Activities include thinning overly dense stands and creating shaded fuel breaks along roads to help slow fire spread and create safer conditions for firefighter engagement in the event of a wildfire.
Timber harvest associated with the Jackknife project will generate an estimated 2.7 million board feet of timber and 7,000 tons of additional small-diameter material by project completion in 2026. Local sawmills and other forest products manufacturers are utilizing commercial material, supporting Montana’s wood products industry and rural economies. Project revenue of about $305,000 from product sales will be reinvested in the GNA program to help fund future forest restoration and fuels reduction projects across the state.
This short video highlights the collaborative partnership and the people behind the Jackknife project.
DNRC and the Forest Service have grown the Montana GNA program significantly since its first year in 2018, when there was a single project. In federal fiscal year 2025, there were over 70 projects and 54 million board feet of timber sold through GNA. Through collaboration and shared values, this agency partnership is successfully managing forests to benefit present and future generations of Montanans.
GNA Learning Series - Collection of recordings from the virtual GNA Learning Series, hosted by the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) in Fall 2020.
