The role of collaboration in stewardship contracting

Abstract

Stewardship contracting was introduced over 10 years ago as a way to simultaneously address national forest management goals and community needs through collaborative processes. However we do not have clear measures of the extent to which collaboration is used in these processes, the outcomes associated with varying levels of collaboration, or the actors influencing the use of collaboration in stewardship contracting. This presentation will provide an overview of stewardship contracting on US national forests and research findings on the extent to which collaboration has been used in these processes. I will outline specific details of collaboration in stewardship contracting - including the number of interests involved, the role of the community, the outreach mechanisms used, and the perceived levels of collaboration and associated outcomes by participants - over time and across regions. This understanding contributes to further research identifying the outcomes of and the contextual factors influencing the use of collaboration in U.S. Forest Service stewardship contracts. A better understanding of these factors will help inform the development of environmental governance approaches that seek to simultaneously achieve resource management and community objectives.