{"id":352943,"date":"2026-06-27T20:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T20:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/352943\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T20:23:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T20:23:21","slug":"texas-am-forest-service-works-alongside-the-u-s-forest-service-through-the-good-neighbor-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/352943\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&M Forest Service works alongside the U.S. Forest Service through the Good Neighbor Authority"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Good Neighbor Authority allows state forestry agencies to conduct forest management work on national forest lands. In Texas, this partnership helps both agencies meet forest management needs while creating meaningful benefits for forests, wildlife and communities.<\/p>\n

Through the Good Neighbor Authority, Texas A&M Forest Service is working alongside the\u00a0USDA\u00a0Forest Service<\/a>\u00a0to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk and support local communities across\u00a0East\u00a0Texas.<\/p>\n

The Good Neighbor Authority allows state forestry agencies to conduct\u00a0forest\u00a0management work on national forest lands. In Texas, this partnership\u00a0helps\u00a0both agencies\u00a0meet\u00a0forest management\u00a0needs\u00a0while\u00a0creating meaningful benefits for\u00a0forests,\u00a0wildlife\u00a0and communities.<\/p>\n

Currently, Texas A&M Forest Service is managing a 647-acre timber sale in the Davy Crockett National Forest in Trinity County. The project includes\u00a017\u00a0stands\u00a0that have\u00a0not\u00a0been thinned since\u00a0replanting efforts after southern pine beetle infestations in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal timber sales can take several years to move from planning to implementation,\u201d said Zachary Ovelgonne, Texas A&M Forest Service district forester. \u201cThrough the Good Neighbor Authority, we were able to prepare and begin operations within about a year and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas A&M Forest Service managed the project similarly to work conducted on state-managed forestlands, including timber sale preparation, timber marketing, contract\u00a0administration\u00a0and oversight of harvest operations.\u00a0The agency also\u00a0uses timber sale tools and approaches to\u00a0attract\u00a0additional\u00a0buyers and move\u00a0the\u00a0project forward efficiently.<\/p>\n

For the USDA Forest Service, the partnership provides\u00a0additional\u00a0capacity to\u00a0accomplish\u00a0important forest management work across national forest lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Good Neighbor\u00a0Authority\u00a0partnership with Texas A&M Forest Service demonstrates what can be accomplished when we work together toward a common goal,\u201d said Kimpton Cooper, forest supervisor for the USDA Forest Service. \u201cBy combining our expertise and resources, we can complete critical forest management work that improves forest health, reduces wildfire risk, supports local economies and ensures these national forests remain healthy and resilient for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over time, the stands became densely packed and increasingly vulnerable to\u00a0wildfire\u00a0and\u00a0insect outbreaks.\u00a0Through\u00a0thinning\u00a0operations, crews are reducing tree density,\u00a0improving forest\u00a0health\u00a0and creating conditions that better support long-term forest resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re reducing\u00a0overcrowding in\u00a0these stands\u00a0to lower southern\u00a0pine beetle risk and improve overall forest\u00a0health,\u201d said\u00a0Ovelgonne.<\/p>\n

The work also supports wildlife\u00a0habitat, including\u00a0habitat\u00a0for the\u00a0red-cockaded woodpecker<\/a>.\u00a0Thinning\u00a0helps create the open forest conditions preferred by the species while supporting a diversity of wildlife across the landscape.<\/p>\n

The partnership also supports local communities. Timber harvesting creates opportunities for local logging crews, truck drivers, equipment\u00a0operators\u00a0and forest products mills\u00a0throughout East Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s local people doing the work, and it provides steady employment\u00a0over\u00a0several months,\u201d\u00a0Ovelgonne\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Good Neighbor Authority projects allow\u00a0revenue\u00a0from local timber harvests to remain connected to the national forest and surrounding communities where the work takes place. In Texas, Texas A&M Forest Service has partnered with counties to reimburse improvements to roads that support access to national forest lands.<\/p>\n

The project has also created\u00a0collaboration\u00a0opportunities for Texas A&M Forest Service personnel. Foresters and resource specialists from multiple regions\u00a0have\u00a0participated\u00a0in timber cruising, project\u00a0preparation\u00a0and forest management activities throughout the effort.<\/p>\n

The Good Neighbor Authority is an example of a shared stewardship approach, where federal,\u00a0state\u00a0and local partners work together to address landscape-scale challenges.<\/p>\n

Forest health challenges do not stop at property boundaries. By working across\u00a0ownership lines, Texas A&M Forest Service and the USDA Forest Service can improve conditions not only on national forest lands, but across the broader East Texas landscape. Improving forest health on national\u00a0forests also helps protect neighboring private forestlands and communities\u00a0from threats such as wildfire,\u00a0insects\u00a0and diseases.<\/p>\n

By improving forest conditions\u00a0today, the Good Neighbor Authority partnership is helping create\u00a0healthier, more resilient forests for the future while supporting the communities connected to\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

Article source and photo credit:\u00a0Savanna Montgomery, Communications Specialist \u2013\u00a0Texas A&M Forest Service Communications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Good Neighbor Authority allows state forestry agencies to conduct forest management work on national forest lands. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-352943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}