MICHIGAN — Hiawatha National Forest and Gnoozhekaaning, Place of the Pike, or Bay Mills Indian Community recently signed a Good Neighbor Authority agreement, making the parties among the first in the nation to utilize the tribal GNA granted in the 2018 Farm Bill.

The authority provides an opportunity to cooperate on some types of restoration services on National Forest System lands. In its first year, the GNA agreement between the Hiawatha and BMIC will facilitate timber stand improvement as well as wildfire response and prescribed fire.

“The Forest Service is excited to partner with the Bay Mills Indian Community in managing public lands,” said Emily Platt, acting forest supervisor on the Hiawatha. “The Good Neighbor Authority agreement will benefit both parties and the public through timber stand improvement and additional fire protection.”

In the first year’s program of work, the Forest Service will contract services from the BMIC fire crew, which has assisted Forest Service fire crews for six years. With this expansion of the BMIC crew’s existing contributions to the Hiawatha’s programs for prescribed fire and wildfire response, the GNA agreement will benefit both parties. BMIC crew members will be employed for a longer season and gain valuable experience, while their expertise will help care for these national forest lands.

The BMIC fire crew is also slated to complete 500 acres of timber stand improvement on the Hiawatha, including cleaning canopy gaps and conducting precommercial thinning in hardwood stands to promote high-quality, desirable regeneration. Additionally, the crew will prune pine stands to improve tree quality and reduce the risk for forest health issues like white pine blister rust.

Unlike other contractors, the BMIC crew will be available year-round, which allows for greater flexibility in scheduling timber stand improvement projects. This flexibility in timing makes it easier to achieve optimal outcomes.

“We are excited to expand existing cooperative efforts with the Hiawatha National Forest,” said BMIC president Whitney Gravelle. “We hope this will be the first of many collaborative efforts utilizing the 2018 Good Neighbor Authority.”

In future years, the GNA agreement’s terms would allow for other types of forest and watershed restoration activities — ranging from insect and disease treatment, to hazardous fuels reduction, to fish and wildlife habitat improvement.