Editor’s Note: This article kicks off a series that will spotlight projects all around the country. These projects underscore the importance of collaborating with partners to manage the land and promote Shared Stewardship.
Orange hard hats stand out against the deep blue Colorado sky as a group of forestry technicians carry chainsaws and an assortment of hand tools single file up a steep trail on the Gunnison National Forest. The crew is in a race against time and determined to stop the spread of Mountain pine beetle kill. Alongside state and local forestry partners working nearby, they are battling to slow the spread of an outbreak on dead, dying, and susceptible lodgepole pine trees.
The project is one of several efforts underway across the U.S. as state and federal partners double down on collaboration to do critical forest restoration.
This sort of collaborative approach isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s well known in forestry circles where state managers, tribes and partners are accustomed to setting cross-boundary priorities together to make a difference across shared landscapes.
Since 2018, the USDA Forest Service has entered into more than 20 Shared Stewardship agreements that cover 47 states, one tribal government, and a host of partners. The agreements strengthen longstanding relationships and focus resources where they are needed most.
“We are at an exciting time with Shared Stewardship,” said Jessica Robertson, Forest Service national integrated restoration coordinator. “Across the country, the Forest Service and its partners have laid the critical groundwork – sharing data across boundaries and jointly identifying priorities. And we are beginning to see the results of these investments.”
Even though most of the agreements are in their first year, efforts have led to nearly 200,000 acres treated under shared stewardship and the initial treatments are just the start.
Shared land management also offers more extensive participation with tribal nations. Tribal heritage has a deep connection to the land, and tribal members carry with them generations of knowledge about how to care for natural resources.
“Integrating tribes into shared stewardship on the nation’s forests and grasslands honors tribal sovereignty, and allows us to benefit from millennia of knowledge provided by the first stewards of these lands” said Reed Robinson, Forest Service director of the National Office of Tribal Relations. “Through expansion of the tribal authorities we have, such as the Tribal Forest Protection Act, we are poised to make big strides to address risks at a landscape scale in collaboration with tribes.”
Healthy and productive forests support jobs as well, particularly in local economies. The outdoor economy in Montana, Idaho and Washington alone generates approximately $30 billion in direct yearly spending and supports more than 300,000 jobs. Healthy forests across all boundaries create economic activity that is key to rural communities recovering from the recent economic downturn.
Coordinated action across property lines and jurisdictions is also key to improving large, urban watersheds like the Chesapeake Bay, which encompasses tens of thousands of square miles. In fact, communities like Baltimore, Denver and Las Vegas depend on forests hundreds of miles away for clean sources of municipal water. When we improve watershed health, we improve the lives of millions who live downstream.
Whether it is curbing the spread of the mountain pine beetle in Colorado or restoring riparian buffers in the Chesapeake Bay, everyone has a role to play in forest health. Working together creates lasting effects on forest ecosystems and local communities that depend on those forests.
To learn more about how your state, tribal nation, or organization can get involved, contact your local USDA Forest Service office.
