The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service announced that the first Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) timber sale contracts have been awarded to Biewer Lumber, LLC. The timber sales are located in the Huron-Manistee National Forest in Lake and Wexford counties.
Under the GNA partnership, the DNR acts as an agent — in collaboration with the Forest Service — to conduct land-management projects on national forest lands. A 10-year master agreement was signed by the Forest Service and the DNR in October 2015.
“Michigan greatly appreciates the diligent work by the U.S. Forest Service to make this agreement a reality,” said Bill O’Neill, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “The success of this first contract is a great example of how this partnership will continue to maintain and create healthy forest conditions, as called for in the national forests’ management plans, while providing additional wood fiber to industry.”
Michigan’s forest products industry contributes $20 billion per year to the state’s economy. Across the state, the forest products industry employs more than 96,600 people in diverse positions — from loggers and truck drivers in rural areas to furniture and cabinetry makers in more urban settings. In the Upper Peninsula, the forest products industry alone is responsible for one-third of all manufacturing jobs.
“This is an excellent example of a state and federal agency partnership functioning efficiently and effectively to serve the needs of the state’s local and rural economies,” said O’Neill, who also serves as Michigan’s state forester. He said that the current focus for Good Neighbor Authority projects is on commercial timber sale preparation, bidding and contracting, with completion of most of this work by the end of October.
From USAgNet.com: https://www.usagnet.com/state_headlines/state_story.php?tble=MI2016&ID=995