The purpose of the good neighbor authority agreement is to fund hazardous fuels reduction maintenance projects from 20232027 in the village of alatna alaska

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) awarded a $410,813.50 Cooperative Agreement under the Good Neighbor Authority (CFDA 15.015) program to the Alatna Tribal Council in Alatna, Alaska. The purpose of this award is to fund hazardous fuels reduction and maintenance projects from 2023-2027 in the Village of Alatna. The Alatna Tribal Council will use the funds to hire qualified local and other workers to conduct fuels reduction activities, creating defensible spaces and fire breaks to make the community more resilient to the threat of wildfire. This aligns with the Good Neighbor Authority program's focus on supporting ecosystem restoration, forest management, and watershed conservation projects through partnerships with state, county, and tribal governments.

The alatna tribal council will be the beneficiaries of this award and will use funds to hire qualified local workers and or other qualified workers to accomplish fuels reduction maintenance projects to make the communities more resilient to the threat of fire. Interior alaska is a fire dependent ecosystem and due to forest structure age fire suppression activities and remoteness from wildland fire suppression resources fire poses a direct threat to the community of alatna a community wildfire risk assessment completed in 2019 by the BLM alaska fire service rates the community at moderate to high risk from impacts from wildland fire. The BLM has made strides to reduce alatnas risk to wildfire as a fire break was created adjacent to the community in 2022 with BIL infrastructure funding. The three mile fuel break was constructed with over 3000 woody debris piles that will need to be burned.intermittent maintenance will need to be performed as grass shrubs and saplings have and will continue to encroach making the fuel break less effective. Unauthorized burning in the communitys landfill may cause fires to escape into the wildlands. Landfill fires pose not only a threat to the community but they are also difficult to manage as not to expose first responders to the burning of nonorganic material. By cutting and removing grass and brush around the landfill will reduce the threat of wildland fire propagation. Finally by creating and maintaining defensible space around critical infrastructure community buildings following firewise methodology the community will be more resilient to the threat of wildland fire provide a strategic operational advantage for fire management and most importantly provide for the safety of community members and first responders.