ODF release – SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Forestry, in cooperation with the US Forest Service, recently sold 1.6 million board feet of timber in a restoration thinning project located on the Powers Ranger District in Coos County. In the “Gobbler GNA” restoration thinning project, smaller trees will be removed and larger trees and minor species will be retained. The treatment area is located where Douglas-fir trees were planted in the 1960s following a clear-cut harvest. The objectives of the treatment are to reduce stand densities to improve forest health, reduce fuels, and promote species diversity. This timber sale and treatment will be completed on Forest Service lands, but sale preparation and the contract is being administered by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) under a Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) Agreement. Silviculturist Matt Timchak with the U.S. Forest Service said, “This is an exciting new way to get more work done on Forest Service lands to increase the pace and scale of fuels reduction and restoration treatments. Shared stewardship of these lands is helping build relationships and understanding, provide more forest products, and get more meaningful treatments done on public lands.” The timber was auctioned off to the highest bidder on Sept. 15, selling for $303 per thousand board feet to 3H Forestry based out of Myrtle Point, Ore. The total revenue of approximately $490,000 will be used for fuels-reduction treatments, tree planting, other potential aquatic restoration projects, and preparation of the next GNA project between the US Forest Service and ODF. The Federal Forest Restoration Program (FFRP)—administered by the Oregon Department of Forestry—has been using Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) since 2016 to complete restoration activities on lands managed by the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. the Gobbler GNA project is one of 54 timber sales between 2016-2020 on nine national forests in the Pacific Northwest Region that is being successfully implemented under this authority.
