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