Oregon and Ochoco National Forest Complete First Good Neighbor Authority Reforestation Project

The Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Federal Forest Restoration Program and the Ochoco National Forest have completed a first-of-its-kind reforestation project in the Crazy Creek Fire burn area, planting and protecting more than 74,000 ponderosa pine seedlings across 424 acres of federal forestland.

According to ODF, the project is the first reforestation effort on federal forestland in Oregon completed through a state-written and state-administered planting contract under the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA). The authority, established under the 2014 Farm Bill, allows the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to partner with state agencies on forest, watershed, and rangeland restoration projects on federal lands.

The project follows a destructive 2024 fire season on the Ochoco National Forest, where the Crazy Creek, Rail Ridge, and Wiley Flat fires burned hundreds of thousands of acres. In spring 2025, the Ochoco National Forest and ODF entered into an agreement for the state agency to plant 424 acres within the Crazy Creek burn area during the 2026 planting season.

The Forest Service supplied seedlings and protective materials, while ODF completed field reconnaissance, unit layout, contract administration, inspection, and project oversight. The contract covered eight planting units, where crews planted ponderosa pine seedlings and installed rigid Vexar netting to reduce browsing damage from elk and deer.

In addition to the 424-acre project, ODF supported a separate Forest Service planting effort covering approximately 3,000 acres and more than 500,000 seedlings across the Crazy Creek, Rail Ridge, and Wiley Flat fire areas.