This agreement will support collaborative forest management activities across seven national forests in montana through their partnership program with federal land managers

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R1-Northern Region awarded a $5.05 million Cooperative Agreement to Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation on December 31, 2025, under the Good Neighbor Authority program (CFDA 10.691) to support collaborative forest management activities across seven National Forests in Montana.

The award funds expanded capacity for resource specialist staff to meet National Forest Management Act survey obligations and increase timber sale outputs across the seven forests. The work includes planning, preparing, and selling timber sales that generate revenue for future operations while pursuing shared stewardship objectives between state and federal land management agencies. Additional field capacity aims to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk across the state.

Performance spans Montana through December 30, 2045. The Good Neighbor Authority program authorizes the Forest Service to enter cooperative agreements with states to conduct restoration and other services on federal lands across jurisdictional boundaries, with generated revenue reinvested into land management goals. Projects are negotiated between the Forest Service and the cooperating state agency, and all Good Neighbor Agreements are approved based on negotiated work products, project objectives, and alignment with regional forest and watershed health priorities.

This initial investment aims to build the program's capacity to plan, prepare and sell timber sales that generate revenue for future operations while meeting shared stewardship objectives between state and federal land management agencies. By adding additional capacity across the seven national forests in montana, this agreement expands access to resource specialist staff in meeting our national forest management act survey obligations as well as adding other field capacity to increase timber sale outputs across the state thereby reducing the opportunity for catastrophic wildfire.