DNRC formalizes shared‑stewardship Good Neighbor Authority on two national‑forest landscapes

Wyatt Frampton, DNRC deputy forestry division administrator, told the interim budget subcommittee that DNRC has formalized a shared‑stewardship agreement with the U.S. Forest Service covering two Montana landscapes, the Bitterroot and the Flathead.

"This is a 20 year agreement that we've entered with the forest service," Frampton said, describing the partnership as a way for DNRC to add capacity — carrying out NEPA support, contracting and helping deliver commercial timber while advancing restoration work to lower wildfire risk.

Frampton said DNRC has brought more than 130,000,000 board feet of commercial timber to market under Good Neighbor Authority and has completed tens of thousands of restoration and thinning projects statewide. The agency identified about 400,000 acres across the two landscapes for further prioritization and said it will develop two‑ and five‑year plans so industry and partners can forecast work and capacity needs.

Committee members asked about selection criteria; Frampton said the process is collaborative with the Forest Service and driven by field‑level priorities: where risk to communities, commercial viability for timber sales and forest health objectives best align. He said DNRC seeks a balanced portfolio in which some areas are selected for risk reduction near communities while others support timber markets that generate revenue to sustain restoration work.

Kaster and Frampton said the agreement is the first of its kind in Montana and that the Forest Service has offered initiation funds. The agency encouraged industry and local partners to watch for upcoming project solicitations and said additional landscapes may be announced in the coming months.

DNRC will provide the committee with more detailed project plans and the two‑year work schedules it is completing with national forests.