Institutionalizing the United States Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Western United States

Abstract

The USDA Forest Service’s 2018 Shared Stewardship Strategy emphasizes partnerships with states, tribes, and other organizations or stakeholders to identify priority areas for forest management, coordinate across jurisdictions, and leverage capacities to expand forest restoration and wildfire mitigation. Through ninety-six interviews across nine western states with Forest Service and state agency staff and partners, we researched how the Shared Stewardship Strategy was being translated into practice. We found that, in most states, actors have relied on existing programs and partnerships to set the foundation for Shared Stewardship. Some states developed new positions or committees to support enhanced coordination, inclusive representation, and joint prioritization. Interviewees said that realizing shared accountability among partners and trying new approaches required training staff on existing mechanisms to work across jurisdictions and clear communication and support from leaders. Monitoring how efforts around the Shared Stewardship Strategy interact with other initiatives can inform future institutional changes to support multi-partner, landscape-level work. Federal and state agency staff and their partners supported increased state-level coordination to do more cross-boundary forest management in line with the Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy. They needed clear direction and support from agency and organizational leaders to share accountability and risks in trying new approaches. Existing and new coordinator positions and multi-partner advisory committees were essential for building partnerships and cross-jurisdictional work. Monitoring the social (e.g., trust among partners) and ecological (e.g., improved forest health) outcomes of partnerships and joint prioritization could indicate successful approaches and provide important context for future efforts across jurisdictions.