IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Good Neighbor Authority

The Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) is intended to facilitate partnerships with states, counties, and federally recognized Indian tribes to plan and implement forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration projects. The GNA authority specifically authorizes treating insect-and diseaseinfested trees; reducing hazardous fuels; any other activities to restore or improve forest, rangeland, and watershed health, including fish and wildlife habitat. GNA applies to Federal land, non-Federal land, and land owned by an Indian tribe. Under this program, funds may be used for GNA projects on non-BLM managed lands if the project directly benefits BLMmanaged lands. This program also supports the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Public Law 117- 58, Section 40804(b) Ecosystem Restoration with funding limited to States and Indian tribes to conduct treatment on Federal lands. Good Neighbor projects funded through Section 40803 Wildfire Risk Reduction are not limited to state and Indian tribes or Federal lands. This program supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI. Example of Alaska projects include but not limited to: • Noxious weeds and invasive species treatments – Treatment of noxious weeds and invasive species is often carried out across multiple ownerships in a coordinated effort. GNA can be an effective tool to partner with a cooperating entity that is carrying out weed treatments, whether using herbicide, mechanical, or biological controls, in a coordinated cross boundary effort. • Fuels Management – Mechanical treatments (e.g. thinning, piling, mastication, mowing) chemical and biological applications, and prescribed fire to protect communities at risk, improve wildfire resiliency, and provide a safe and effective wildfire response. • Community Assistance – Projects across ownership boundaries with mutual benefit and the ability to leverage funds to complete work on the ground. Some treatments could include thinning around a community at risk, juniper removal to improve landscape resiliency. Page 3 of 22 • Forest Management – Conduct treatments to enhance resilience of forests to wildfire, insect, disease, and drought through density management. • Rangeland plant restoration – Whether impacts are from wildfire, drought, or noxious weeds and invasive species, it is often necessary to aid the re-establishment of rangeland vegetation. This could entail development of plant materials, seed collection, site preparation, and seed or seedling planting. Native plant restoration is also often a cross boundary need and where a cooperating entity is conducting these activities, GNA can be used to conduct these activities on BLM managed lands. • Wildlife movement, migration, and habitat connectivity – GNA can be used to facilitate cross-boundary cooperative habitat restoration and rangeland structural improvements to improve habitat connectivity and support unimpeded movement of wildlife populations across landscapes. Examples of cooperative habitat connectivity projects may include: cross-boundary work associated with fence removals or upgrades to reduce animal fatalities and movement barriers; invasive species control and reseeding or planting of native vegetation along migration corridors and stopover areas; and enhancement of water resource availability within important wildlife movement areas (i.e., development and protection of natural springs, removal of invasive riparian species to increase water availability, construction of guzzlers and other artificial water sources, wet meadow restoration, etc.). • NEPA – GNA stipulates that the BLM decision cannot be delegated to a cooperating entity. However, a cooperating entity can provide assistance in conducting NEPA for a restoration project when it is a part of the overall project to implement Authorized Restoration Services. • Riparian restoration – Restoration work following flood events, large washouts, or changes to riparian area form and function that support wildlife and livestock is often more effective when implemented throughout a stream reach in coordination with a cooperating entity and other federal agencies. GNA can be used to install headcut and erosion control structures, check dam repair and removal, leaking ditches, re-contouring, or re-vegetation to support stream banks. • Targeted grazing – Targeted grazing (prescribed grazing or managed herbivory) is the carefully controlled grazing by livestock to accomplish specific vegetation management objectives. Livestock may be used as a means to improve land health through weed control, wildfire fuels reduction, and other restoration activities. Activities that are often needed to implement targeted grazing include installation of fence, installation of range improvements including enclosures, maintenance of improvements, and livestock and range monitoring.