Stewardship Contracting
Congress has enacted legislation extending and expanding stewardship contracting authority with communities, the private sector, and others, allowing the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to enter into long-term contracts (up to 10 years) to meet land-management objectives (for example, to reduce wildland fire risk and improve forest and rangeland health). Stewardship contracts focus on producing desirable results on the ground that improve forest and rangeland health and provide benefits to communities. Among other things, the new stewardship contracting authority allows forest products to be exchanged for ecological restoration services, which may include thinning and removing brush.
Stewardship contracting allows private organizations or businesses to do the necessary thinning and remove small trees and undergrowth; as partial payment, stewardship contractors are able to keep part of what they remove.
- News Release
A news release entitled "Federal Agencies Announce Guidelines for Stewardship Contracts and Agreements" on the Department of the Interior's website.
Generally, stewardship contractors remove woody biomass. This is defined as the by-product of restoration and hazardous fuel reduction treatments, including trees and woody plants (i.e. limbs, tops, needles, leaves and other woody parts, grown in a forest, woodland, or rangeland environment). Stewardship contractors' utilization of woody biomass includes its harvest, sale, offer, trade, and/or use. This utilization results in the production of a full range of wood products including timber, engineered lumber, paper and pulp, furniture and value-added commodities, as well as bio-energy and/or bio-based products such as plastics, ethanol and diesel.
Bureau of Land Management
- Stewardship Contracting with the BLM
- Stewardship "End Results" Contracting Guidance, Version 2.0 (PDF, 1.07 MB)
Guidance for the preparation, implementation, and tracking of BLM Stewardship Contracting Projects, in accordance with Section 323 of Public Law 108-7, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003. - Instructional Memorandum: Issuance of Stewardship Contracting Guidance and Identifying Stewardship Contracting Opportunities and Projects
- Bureau of Land Management Stewardship Contracting: Fact Sheet (PDF, 16 KB)
- Bureau of Land Management Stewardship Contracting: Q&As (PDF, 32 KB)
- Federal Register Notice of January 28, 2004 (PDF, 52 KB)
USDA Forest Service
- U.S. Forest Service Stewardship Contracting
- U.S. Forest Service Stewardship Contracting Training - Stewardship Contracting training resources.
- FSH 2409.19 Renewable Resources Handbook, Chapter 60 Stewardship Contracting (Microsoft Word document, 542 KB)
This chapter of the Forest Service Handbook provides the agency direction to implement stewardship contracting authority. The guidance and procedures in this direction include appropriate use of the authority, stewardship contracting project development and implementation, and monitoring the use of the stewardship contracting authority. Effective Date: December 12, 2005. - Forest Service Manual FSM 2400 - Timber Management (Microsoft Word document, 388 KB)
Amendment to the Forest Service Timber Management Manual including updates for Stewardship Contracting. - Forest Service Stewardship Contracting Questions & Answers (PDF, 25 KB)
Questions and answers about Stewardship Contracting as it affects the Forest Service. - Forest Service Stewardship Contracting Fact Sheet (PDF, 13 KB)
Fact sheet about Stewardship Contracting as it affects the Forest Service, including goal, authority, and definitions. - Federal Register Notice - Notice of issuance of agency interim directive (PDF, 36 KB)
Published January 28, 2004, the Forest Service notified the public that an interim directive was issued providing guidance for Stewardship Contracting. - Stewardship Contracting Fact Sheet
Find Stewardship Contracting Projects by State...
Select a state to see a list of that state's Stewardship Projects.
