Contact Information
| Contact Person | |
|---|---|
| Courtney Schultz (P.I.), Colorado State University | Courtney.Schultz@colostate.edu |
| Jesse Abrams (co-P.I.), University of Georgia | Jesse.Abrams@uga.edu |
| Heidi Huber-Stearns (co-P.I.), University of Oregon | hhuber@uoregon.edu |
If you are involved with a multi-partner, cross-boundary land management project or effort and think it would be valuable to share lessons learned with others, please contact us!
See our Project Overview and read below for more information.
A Review of the Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy
The Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy emphasizes partnership with the states, tribes, and other collaborators to identify priority areas for management, coordinate work across jurisdictions, and leverage diverse capacities. Since 2018, the Forest Service and states have been translating these principles into action, building upon existing state and regional efforts and partnerships.
We are conducting a longitudinal research project looking at perceptions of the Strategy and the nature of its implementation across states. In 2020, we conducted nearly 120 interviews across the Western US states and with national-level land managers and partners to understand how Shared Stewardship is being interpreted, what opportunities the Strategy presents, how its implementation is playing out across states, potential challenges, and needs for new organizational approaches to support successful implementation.
In 2021, we are conducting similar interviews in eight Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern US states with Shared Stewardship agreements. We are also developing case study research using in-depth research into specific Shared Stewardship projects and partnerships. Our goal is to highlight different approaches to Shared Stewardship across the country, including: how partnerships develop and evolve; the role of collaboration, science, and other factors in prioritization and decision making; which mechanisms, authorities, and policies facilitate and challenge cross-boundary work; and the range of issues being embraced with a Shared Stewardship approach, such as forest restoration, fire mitigation, recreation, habitat management, or watershed improvements.
Products
Publications
Kooistra, C., Schultz, C., Abrams, A., Huber-Stearns, H. 2022. Institutionalizing the United States Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Western United States. Journal of Forestry. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvac010
Briefing Papers
Schultz, C., Kooistra, C., Huber-Stearns, H., Abrams, J., Kee, D., Aldworth, T. (2021). Assessment of the Implementation of the U.S. Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy. CSU Public Lands Policy Group Briefing Paper #7, Fall 2021. PLPG Briefing Paper #7.
Practitioner Papers
Aldworth, T., Schultz, C., Huber-Stearns, H, Abrams, J., and Kooistra, C. (2022). Field-level implementation of the US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship strategy: Six case studies of large-scale cross-boundary forest management. Public Lands Policy Group Practitioner Paper no. 10. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
Kee, D., Aldworth, T., Abrams, J., Kooistra, C., Schultz, C., and Huber-Stearns, H. (2021). Early Implementation of the US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Eastern United States. Public Lands Policy Group Practitioner Paper no. 12. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Kooistra, C., Schultz, C., Huber-Stearns, H., Abrams, J., Greiner, M., & Sinkular, E. (2021). Assessment of early implementation of the US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy. Public Lands Policy Group Practitioner Paper no. 10. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
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