Five Conservation Partnerships Win Two Chiefs' Partnership Award

Five conservation partnerships that deliver excellence in conservation and forest stewardship each received the Two Chiefs' Partnership Award from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Arlen Lancaster and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Gail Kimbell.

Outstanding conservation partnerships in Utah, Kentucky, Oregon, Arkansas, and California received awards for successful conservation and forest stewardship collaboration among Federal, State, and local partners.

The Two Chiefs’ Partnership Awards, begun last year by Chief Lancaster and then-Forest Chief Dale Bosworth, recognize outstanding partnerships in forest conservation work among Conservation Districts, State Foresters, the Forest Service, and NRCS. This year's recipients are:
 

Utah Partners for Conservation and Development projects like this one help Utah farmers and ranchers recover from losses caused by major fires.

Utah Partners for Conservation and Development
This partnership focuses on multi-stakeholder watershed issues, wildlife habitat improvement, and wildfire rehabilitation. It has initiated 240 restoration projects on 150,000 acres throughout Utah since 2005. The group’s partnership approach led to rapid response to this year's major wildfires, and has brought the benefits of immediate restoration and long-term rehabilitation planning and support to fire-struck communities.

Partners are: USFS Intermountain Region, NRCS, and the Bureau of Land Management; and the State of Utah and Utah's Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture and Food.

 

The Kentucky CREP's program area borders a 100-mile section of the Upper Green River Watershed, extending from the Green River Dam downstream into Mammoth Cave National Park, encompassing all or part of eight counties.

Kentucky Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Partnership
This partnership targets agriculture-related environmental concerns in the Upper Green River Watershed. This is Kentucky's first designated Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) area, and holds the distinction of being the largest conservation program designed to protect a unique and biologically diverse watershed in the State's history. So far, the partnership has reached two-thirds of its objectives for enrolling land in CREP.

Partners are: NRCS and the Farm Service Agency; Kentucky's Divisions of Conservation, Forestry, and Water and its Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; The Nature Conservancy; and 14 local conservation districts.

 

The CSP restores habitat such as this that boost populations wild coho salmon, and for ensuring clean drinking water for thousands of Clackamas residents.

Clackamas Stewardship Partners
This Oregon partnership restores ecosystem health and ecological function to the Clackamas River Basin and supports the economic viability of local communities. CSP’s seven stewardship contracts include 1,350 acres of commercial thinning. An additional $650,000 in receipts has been retained to fund additional projects. Through the partnership’s recommendations, USFS has approved additional restoration projects that will be advertised and awarded this and next fiscal year.

Partners are: USFS' Clackamas River Ranger District, Pacific Northwest Research Station - Portland Forestry Sciences Laboratory; NRCS; the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; the Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District; the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners; the Clackamas River Basin Council; the Northwest Oregon Resource Conservation and Development Council; Portland State University; the Northwest Forest Conservancy, Bark, Oregon Wild, and the Gifford Pinchot Task Force.

 

This outreach partnership works at the community level, bringing minority and limited resource landowners together to stewardship of Arkansas' forests.

Outreach to Limited Resource and Minority Forest Landowners in Arkansas
This partnership of several agencies moves conservation at the local level. On its way to the Two Chiefs’ Award, this partnership set up several workshops that target minority and limited resource forest landowners, an effort that tripled assistance given to this group of landowners. It created an Outreach Coordinator staff position to further target minority communities. It developed a Revolving Loan Program for the cost share portion of the Forest Land Enhancement Program and Southern Pine Beetle Prevention and Restoration Program; this has reduced the financial burden for minority landowners who want to join those programs. Partners also created the Forestry for Women Program that provides forestry education to Arkansas’ female landowners.

Partners are: NRCS; the Arkansas Forestry Commission; the Arkansas Resource Conservation and Development Council; and the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts.
 

Alder Springs' projects like this one thin forest stands to reduce the size and intensity of future wildfires and keep carbon in the soil.

Alder Springs
California's cutting edge intergovernmental and nongovernmental organization partnership Alder Springs improves forest health, reduces fuel use, and boosts carbon sequestration. This partnership thins forest stands and removes biomass to reduce the size and intensity of future wildfires, while improving forest health. This biomass is in turn converted to electricity. Forest Service researchers work with partners to measure greenhouse gas emission reductions that result from fuels and forest management treatments; evaluate and quantify potential revenues in current and future carbon markets; and evaluate the potential for renewable energy credits and incentives associated with biomass energy production.

Partners are: USFS’ Mendocino National Forest, Region 5 SPF, and PSW Research Station; the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; and Winrock International.

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