The thomas BAY agreement involves a project to harvest and remove both state and federal timber and also accomplish resource restoration activities in the vicinity of thomas BAY, alaska, within the…

The U.S. Forest Service Region 10 (Alaska Region) awarded a Cooperative Agreement totaling $202,221.05 to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources under the Good Neighbor Authority (CFDA 10.691) on September 16, 2025. The Thomas Bay Agreement authorizes the State of Alaska to coordinate and collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service to prepare, implement, and administer a timber harvest and removal project on federal and state lands within the Thomas Bay vicinity of the Petersburg Ranger District in the Tongass National Forest. The agreement encompasses all office and field tasks necessary to complete the project, with additional funding generated through retained receipts from timber sales to support the overall initiative through the ultimate completion date of August 31, 2031.

The Good Neighbor Authority enables states to conduct forest restoration and commercial timber harvesting activities on National Forest System lands to support land management objectives and generate revenue for restoration work. Under this agreement, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources will execute timber harvest operations while simultaneously undertaking resource restoration activities in the Thomas Bay area. This cooperative arrangement allows the state and federal government to increase the pace and scale of forest management activities and reinvest generated revenue into regional forest and watershed health priorities, consistent with the program's statutory authorization under 16 U.S.C. § 2113a and § 8571.

The thomas BAY agreement involves a project to harvest and remove both state and federal timber and also accomplish resource restoration activities in the vicinity of thomas BAY, alaska, within the petersburg ranger district of the tongass national forest. The state will coordinate and collaborate with the U.S. Forest service to complete all office and field tasks necessary to prepare, implement, and administer the project. This new agreement will fund retained receipts from the sale of timber will fund the rest of the project. The tongass national forest will not be able to meet its timber production goals required by law and statue, this will open up the U.S. Forest service to possible lawsuits from sawmills, loggers, private industry, and other stakeholders.