North Carolina Forest Service Receives Nearly $65 Million To Restore National Forest And Surrounding Communities

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and North Carolina’s Forest Service (NCFS) signed a nearly $65 million, 10-year Good Neighbor Agreement to support Helene recovery efforts. Under the agreement, NCFS will reduce hazardous fuels across areas of wildland-urban interface impacted by the storm and develop strategies to address non-native and invasive species that can thrive in the aftermath of landscape disturbance. The new agreement will increase the pace of forest restoration and bring new jobs to Western North Carolina. 

“This is a significant investment in Western N.C. and in helping protect homes, property and timber resources in the region from the increased fire risk of downed trees and debris that remains on public and private lands following Hurricane Helene,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “The Good Neighbor Agreement and funding will allow work to remove these potential fire fuels to also take place on private lands in disaster impacted counties that meet shared management goals, which I know will be especially beneficial.” 

NCFS estimates that Helene impacted more than 800,000 acres of forestland in Western North Carolina, including tens of thousands of downed timber across the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests, creating an unprecedented level of fuel for wildfires that continues to pose a significant safety risk to neighboring homes and communities. Downed debris and changes to the landscape following the storm have also created access issues in certain areas of the forest, potentially placing firefighters’ lives at risk—a serious concern for response agencies as the region prepares to enter a potentially busy fall fire season. 

“In the two years since Helene, we’ve already experienced substantial wildfire activity in areas with some of the heaviest amounts of blowdowns, but thanks to the close cooperation between federal and state responders, these fires were quickly contained,” said Forest Supervisor James Melonas with the National Forests in North Carolina. “That’s what makes this Good Neighbor Agreement so important. Despite the amount of work that has been completed to reduce hazardous fuels, an unacceptable level of risk remains for families living in vulnerable communities. This agreement is a major step forward toward mitigating those risks.” 

With four national forests across North Carolina, the USDA Forest Service and NCFS have worked closely together through the two agencies’ decades-long partnership. After Hurricane Helene struck, NCFS leadership locally and in Raleigh quickly reached out to the National Forests in North Carolina to begin coordinating response efforts. 

“When disasters like Hurricane Helene impact our communities, our agencies are trained to respond, to protect the public and the forest resources we all benefit from and depend on,” said NCFS Assistant Commissioner and State Forester Greg Hicks. “After Helene, we knew we were looking at years of recovery and mitigation work to reduce increased wildfire risk across Western North Carolina. We knew the needs would require substantial funding and manpower. The Good Neighbor Authority and strong agency and community partnerships are critical tools for not only restoring forests and communities but for preparing them for wildfire.”