Partnerships
Partnerships in land stewardship reflect a growing and important trend: the joining of passion and resources by committed citizens, organizations, and government agencies to achieve social, economic, and ecological goals.
The Forest Service has worked with partners throughout its 100-year history. But the problems of land management have grown more complex, and the needs of the public more varied. The American people today are voicing their strong desire to volunteer and participate in the stewardship of natural resources and in the decisions that affect their communities.
The Forest Service is responding by empowering employees and partners to create and sustain successful partnerships. Internally, the Forest Service is aligning its structure and policies to help partnerships run more smoothly.
Partnership with the Forest Service
The words "partnership" and "partners" are used in a broad way to describe relationships between the people, organizations, agencies, and communities that work together and share interests. The Forest Service regularly works in partnership with other entities, including tribes, states, federal agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and communities. However, it is important to understand that the word "partnership" also has a more precise meaning according to federal policy.
Federal policy defines partnerships as "arrangements that are voluntary, mutually beneficial, and entered into for the purpose of mutually agreed upon objectives." In this definition, "mutual benefit" specifically means that each partner shares in the benefits the project provides. The terminology can be confusing because the Forest Service commonly uses the word "partnership" more loosely to refer to work with others where the benefits are not shared. For example, when the Forest Service gives grants to communities for revitalizing urban forests, the primary benefit is to the community.
The agency also uses contracts to purchase goods or services that directly benefit the Forest Service. These types of formal arrangements are partnerships in the sense that they help each party achieve their goals and build skills, knowledge, and relationships that provide the foundation for future work together.
The Forest Service also frequently works with partners through informal activities that may serve as springboards for formal arrangements later. For example, many agency employees participate in community networks to offer educational events and share skills and expertise with local landowners and citizens without a formal, documented arrangement. In practice, this broadens the meaning of partnership beyond the specific definition under federal policy and beyond formal arrangements.
A group of organizations have come together to support the Eldorado National Forest Resilience Strategy by implementing shovel ready projects across the forest, continuing the planning process for new projects, and seeking funding to complete this work.
Learn more about:
In 2017, federal, state, and private partners founded the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI) to pilot innovative solutions to improve science-based forest management and restoration. The TCSI aims to restore the resilience of 2.4 million acres of Sierra Nevada forested watersheds and to act as a model for similar initiatives in other at-risk landscapes in the state.
The Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group (ACCG) is a community-based collaborative organization that works to create fire-safe communities, healthy forests and watersheds, and sustainable local economies. The Eldorado National Forest worked with ACCG, and the Stanislaus National Forest to develop the Cornerstone Project (2012-2021), which used a landscape strategy to implement a collaborative approach for restoration plan development, land treatment project design and implementation. It also used multi-party monitoring to inform adaptive management, with a focus on sustainability in three dimensions: environment, community, and economy. The Cornerstone Project strengthened collaboration that continues today.
A large group of stakeholders is working together to improve fire safety in the South Fork American River watershed. This collaborative had its beginnings in August 2014, when the Eldorado National Forest was one of two forests in California selected to begin implementation of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, an all-lands approach to wildland fire management on a landscape scale.
The Forum was created in July of 2000 to share information about the Rock Creek Recreational Trails and to build collaboration within the community of trail users. The discussion focuses on trail maintenance, special events, and volunteer efforts.
Who can attend? Anyone with an interest in the Rock Creek area. As this is an information sharing opportunity there are no members to the forum and no meeting notes. People come when they have an interest in the particular subjects to be discussed.
When does the Forum meet? The Forum meets approximately four times a year.
Who leads the Forum? The group suggests topics for the agenda. Recreation Management Specialist Kayla Nimmo facilitates the meetings.
Contact:
To be added to the email list for the meetings or suggest agenda topics contact Kayla Nimmo:
Kayla Nimmo, Recreation Management Specialist
Georgetown Ranger District
kayla.nimmo@usda.gov
530-333-5550
The Penny Pines Reforestation Program plays a vital role both in renewing the national forests in California, and in multiple-use management. Trees help the ground store precious water, protect against soil erosion, and add to the scenic beauty of the national forests. Penny Pines donations have helped maintain the National Forests in California. Participation in the program has also helped many people understand important things about the conservation of natural resources and wise management of the public forestlands that belong to them.