by Brent A. Rudolph, Ph.D. – RGS & AWS Chief Conservation and Legislative Officer
Printed in Covers Spring 2020
FROM PRINCIPLES TO POLICY TO PRACTICE: STEWARDSHIP OF OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
Increasing the Scope and Scale of Critical Forest Treatments
On August 16, 2018, the USDA Forest Service published a report, Toward Shared Stewardship across Landscapes: An Outcome-Based Investment Strategy, and announced the implementation of a new strategy for improving forest conditions by increasing “the scope and scale of critical forest treatments.” In reality, the tools and strategies composing Shared Stewardship represented the realization of opportunities supported through an investment of considerable time and effort by the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society to accomplish key policy changes. In many ways, these stewardship efforts represent a pathway through the bureaucratic hurdles to achieving the original Forest Service mission across the modern conservation landscape.
National Forest Stewardship Principles
In the broadest sense, the concept of stewardship has been around since the initial days of the conservation movement. Early North American case law and foundational legislation established wildlife as a public trust resource, managed by the government for the benefit of all people. The Organic Administration Act of 1897, under which most national forests were established, committed national forests to “furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States.” For just as long as natural resource managers have been practicing stewardship of forests and wildlife, non-government conservation organizations have collaborated to support and enhance their efforts, from voluntarily providing funding to enhance habitat management and land acquisition, to advocating for foundational legislation and policies to support professional resource management. The most recent iteration of Forest Service Shared Stewardship is another example of how this partnership supported policy innovation to fulfill these principles better.
Shared Stewardship through Stewardship Contracting Policies
Stewardship contracting, more formally defined as “stewardship end result contracting,” is a mechanism for both the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to “trade goods for services” in a particular project by applying the revenue of harvested forest products to cover the costs of restoration services. Stewardship contracting allows these agencies to combine forest product harvesting and restoration services in a single contract to more efficiently pursue land management goals – or the “end results” the land managers are seeking. Through stewardship contracting, organizations like RGS & AWS can administer a commercial timber sale, recover the organization’s expenses through reimbursements funded through the timber revenue and then work with the Forest Service to dedicate the rest of the revenue to non-commercial operations further supporting forest restoration.
The mechanisms of stewardship contracting grew out of individual collaborative forest restoration projects implemented in several western states in the late 1990s. The FY1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act authorized a pilot program, and a 10-year authority was legislatively provided in 2003. Escalated concerns regarding the growing frequency and severity of wildfires provided the initial impetus and early extensions of authorization of stewardship contracting. The 2014 Farm Bill defined seven different specified land-management goals which activities conducted under stewardship projects must address, and granted permanent authority for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to enter into stewardship contracting projects. In addition to non-profit organizations, potential partners on stewardship contracts include state and local governments, tribes and, in rare instances, other federal agencies.
The “end results” stewardship projects achieve must include one or more of seven specified land management goals as identified in the 2014 Farm Bill:
- Road and trail maintenance or obliteration to restore or maintain water quality.
- Soil productivity, habitat for wildlife and fisheries or other resource values.
- Setting of prescribed fires to improve the composition, structure, condition and health of stands or to improve wildlife habitat.
- Removing vegetation or other activities to promote healthy forest stands, reduce fire hazards or achieve other land management objectives.
- Watershed restoration and maintenance.
- Restoration and maintenance of fish and wildlife.
- Control of noxious and exotic weeds and reestablishing native plant species.
Congress similarly authorized pilot efforts within western states in 2000 (Colorado) and 2004 (Utah) for “Good Neighbor” projects, wherein states that performed “similar and complementary” work on non-Federal land could be granted authority to continue that work on Federal lands. As with Stewardship Contracting, Good Neighbor was expanded and permanently authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill added county and tribal governments as Good Neighbor participants, though only states may retain the revenue from the sale of Federal timber. The State Forester and Forest Service Regional Forester or Forest Supervisor must jointly agree upon what restoration work may be funded on National Forest lands using Good Neighbor revenue, though funds may be transferred from one project area to other Good Neighbor Agreements within the state. If states cannot complete restoration projects themselves, they may subcontract work to non-profit organizations like RGS & AWS, or else the retained revenue will ultimately return to Treasury.
Non-profit organizations are not only a potential partner for accomplishing conservation outcomes through opportunities created under Shared Stewardship, but they were also partners that contributed to the opportunity for these programs to exist. Each legislative establishment and expansion of authorities and mechanisms for Stewardship Contracting and Good Neighbor authority occurred with considerable input from RGS & AWS and other conservation partners. RGS & AWS members have been called upon to voice support for these legislative initiatives and should be proud of their contributions to leveraging the power of partnerships.
Stewardship Projects in Practice
Stewardship principles and policies have expanded opportunities to practice conservation within the National Forest System. RGS & AWS staff have taken these opportunities to increase engagement with National Forest restoration partnerships steadily. Our most recent 10-year Master Stewardship Agreement was established with the Forest Service Southern and Eastern Regions (Region 8 and 9) on August 22, 2019, and will remain in effect through July 31, 2029. Under our prior Master Agreement, RGS & AWS established unit-specific equipment and cost-sharing project agreements with state agencies and individual National Forests to promote healthy forests and restore wildlife. We have served as a partner to leverage State Drummer Fund dollars with a match from Stewardship Contracting retained receipts. Partnerships have been leveraged in states ranging from Michigan to West Virginia, and a project agreement was recently finalized under our latest Master Agreement for RGS & AWS to administer timber sales to improve early successional habitat along hunter walking trail systems on the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota, with the exploration of additional similar agreements currently underway. Stewardship principles will always define conservation of public trust resources in the United States, and RGS & AWS will continue to advocate for common-sense policies to enhance professional management of these resources, with a constant commitment to stepping up when those policies create an opportunity for practicing on-the-ground conservation for the benefit of healthy forests, abundant wildlife and a conservation ethic.
