A Tool with an
Attitude:
The philosophy of stewardship
end-result contracting
February 11, 2009
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In the mid-1990’s…
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The Forest Service was in
“process gridlock”
Budgets were shrinking
Forest Communities were
suffering under
economic/social conditions
Needed resource
management wasn’t getting
done
Photos courtesy of the US Forest Service
2
Everybody was frustrated…
Photo courtesy of Dave Wilson,
National Wild Turkey Federation
Around the
country,
diverse
interests
started seeking
solutions
3
A new approach was needed…
We needed to break
the mold we were in
– getting projects
appealed and ending
up in court…”
*All quotes, unless otherwise noted,
are from Forest Service personnel
interviewed during the annual
multiparty monitoring of the role of
communities in stewardship
contracting.
Photos courtesy of Microsoft
4
Stewardship end-result
contracting…..a new option…
Clearwater Stewardship Project,
Lolo NF,
Photo courtesy of Tom Toman,
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Colville NF, Bangs
Biomass Utilization
Photo courtesy of Ed
Maffei
Clearwater Stewardship
Project, Lolo NF
Photo courtesy of Carol Daly,
Flathead Economic Policy
Center
5
Collaboration is essential…
“ Everybody has got something at
stake…If you’re an advocate for
fisheries but against timber [harvest],
you have to realize those interests are
not mutually exclusive; they’re entwined.
It gets people who might be adversarial
looking at other people’s needs.”
6
The focus is changed…
Photo courtesy of
John Lampereur
Photo courtesy of the Ottawa National
Forest
7
To what’s left….
the desired
end-result on
the ground.
Photo courtesy of D. Rambo,
Ozark NF
Raspberry Stewardship Project
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The benefits…
“It…takes a lot of
work, but when
you don’t get
litigated at the
end, it speaks
volumes.”
Paint Emery Stewardship Project
Flathead National Forest
Photo courtesy of Carol Daly,
Flathead Economic Policy Center
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Getting needed work done…
“It allows us to do the
right thing on the
land….We have the
ability to produce the
treatments we want
the way we want
them, and get the
folks out there to do
the right things
right.”
Forest Service, Idaho
Before trail rehabilitation for fisheries
Forest Service, Idaho
Four years after trail rehabilitation
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Working closely with partners…
“We did this project
through an assistance
agreement with [a national
wildlife group], and that
worked better…. It created
a little more trust with the
local people than if it was
just the local feds doing the
project.”
Photo courtesy of the
National Wild Turkey Federation
* From an interview of a BLM field
staff person conducted during the
annual multiparty monitoring.
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…and contractors…
Photos courtesy of Ed Maffei, Colville NF,
Quartzite Fish Passage
[Getting involved] is not
an option. If you have an
opportunity to make your
social, cultural, and
economic environment
better, you have to. It’s
a tremendous tool that
Congress has afforded
the local communities,
and we want to avail
ourselves of that
opportunity.”*
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Bundling projects to address
multiple resources…
“…Not just timber harvest
but the whole range of
habitat and fuel reduction
projects…. [Being] able to
accomplish [those] in one
package with work done
by folks suited to do that
work ends up with the
best for us with a good,
reasonable price.”
Photos courtesy of the US Forest Service
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Reconnecting with
communities…
Clearwater Stewardship Project,
Lolo National Forest
Photo courtesy of Carol Daly,
Flathead Economic Policy Center
Before: “We were
mending the
agency’s
relationships with
the community – or
not even having a
relationship to
repair.”
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Working with communities…
Now: “We’re working through
conflicts or opportunities from a
different standpoint – being more
open to considering other things.
We’ve developed some good, new
relationships and new appreciation
from the community of what we
do.”
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Meeting community needs…
“ Citizens like the
concept of stewardship
contracting. They
think it makes sense.
…. There’s hope that
we can put people
back to work in the
community. They can
share in the economic
as well as the
ecological benefits.”
Photo courtesy of the Croatan
National Forest, North Carolina
(FS-799)
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Making scarce dollars go
farther…
Photo courtesy of Dave Wilson,
National Wild Turkey Federation
“Stewardship
contracting gives us
the opportunities to
do so many things
that we’ll never get
funding for
otherwise. We get
to do good on-theground work and also
build relationships,
partnerships, and
trust levels.”
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…and sharing the responsibility…
“There’s a sense of ownership that’s
new and different. It gives people a
chance to have some pride and some
hands-on involvement… This
stewardship thing. It makes us all
stewards. It makes us all have some
responsibility toward the land. I like
that.”
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Success in our area…*
The Chickasawhay
Ranger District on
the De Soto NF
has realized
multiple benefits
from collaboration
that was started in
2004 to improve
conditions for a
threatened
tortoise.
Photo courtesy of the
De Soto National Forest
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Change isn’t easy…
“I’m somewhat resistant to change –
especially being really busy, shortstaffed, and having to perform
multiple jobs due to staff cuts.
When we started [this project], it
wasn’t something I looked forward to.
We were told to do one…and I wasn’t
excited about being a guinea pig….”
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But the results are worth it!
“After
working
through the
process, however,
I have a much
more positive
impression of
stewardship
contracting. I
think it’s got a
place. It can be
handy tool.”
Photo courtesy of the
White Mountain NF,
Forest Discovery Trail
Stewardship Project
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Stewardship
Contracting/Agreements
Not our ONLY toolbut a very GOOD one!
Photos courtesy of the Ottawa NF, Cisco Camp-Redlight Creek Stewardship Project
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Advice and
Technical Assistance…
Presenters of this program
 National Stewardship Coordinator
 Regional Stewardship Coordinators
 In-house peers/mentors
 Partners
 Websites
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Support from the Chief…
“Let me assure you that the
Forest Service is committed to
continuing and expanding use of
the stewardship contracting tool,
including the use of agreements.”
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Letter from the Chief to the Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation; February 2008
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