“Shared Stewardship is about working together in an integrated way to make decisions and take actions on the land.”
- USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen
Shared Stewardship
Today’s forest land managers face a range of urgent challenges, among them catastrophic wildfires, more public demand, degraded watersheds, and epidemics of forest insects and disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service has a new Shared Stewardship Strategy to address these challenges by working collaboratively to identify priorities for landscape-scale treatments.
Through Shared Stewardship, we will work with a variety of partners to do the right work in the right place and at the right scale. By coordinating at the state level to prioritize, we will be able to increase the scope and scale of critical forest treatments that support communities and improve forest conditions.
Such approaches are essential to achieve common benefits, such as protecting life and property in the wildland urban interface, where homes and businesses intermingle with state and federal wildlands.
The Shared Stewardship Strategy builds on a foundation of collaborative work, such as the Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Partnership, the National Cohesive Strategy for Wildland Fire Management, and the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. It also builds on authorities created or expanded in the 2018 Omnibus Bill and the 2018 Farm Bill, such as Good Neighbor Authority.
As we move forward together in Shared Stewardship, we will use updated performance metrics to account for complex outcomes. We will continue to improve the efficiency of our National Environmental Policy Act process as we employ new tools that aid in evaluating risk, setting mutual priorities, and making land management investments at scales where the payoffs are the highest.
We will build on this foundation as we move forward, working more closely than ever with states, tribes, and other partners to set cross boundary priorities.
Formal Shared Stewardship Agreements
National Announcements
- 10/09/20 – News Release: USDA Forest Service, Chesapeake Bay State Foresters Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement
- 9/4/20 – News Release: USDA and Nebraska Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement to Improve Forests and Grasslands
- 8/25/20 – News Release: USDA and Wyoming Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement to Improve Forests and Grasslands
- 8/18/20 – Video: Florida Shared Stewardship Signing Ceremony
- 8/13/20 – News Release: Federal and State Foresters Pledge Increased Collaboration
- 8/13/20 – California News Release: California, U.S. Forest Service Establish Shared Long-Term Strategy to Manage Forests and Rangelands
- 7/16/20 – USDA News Release: USDA and Texas Sign Historic Agreement to Improve Health of Public and Private Lands
- 7/14/20 – Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance News Release: Largest Collaborative Agreement for Forest Management in the Country Signed
- 7/7/20 – Arizona News Release: USDA and Arizona Sign Shared Stewardship Memorandum of Understanding to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Increase Forest Health
- 2/28/20 – Hawai’I News Release: Federal and state foresters pledge collaboration on urgent challenges
- 11/23/19 – Georgia News Release: USDA and Georgia sign Shared Stewardship Agreement highlighting cooperative approach to land management
- 11/21/19 – Massachusetts News Release: Baker-Polito Administration and USDA Forest Service Sign Stewardship Agreement to Support Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership
- 11/15/19 – Nevada News Release: Governor Sisolak and Federal Agencies Sign Plan to Reduce Nevada Wildfire Risk
- 11/14/19 – New Mexico News Release: State Partnership in New Mexico Aims to Take Collaboration to the Next Level
- 10/23/19 – Colorado News Release: Colorado and USDA Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement to Improve Public and Private Forest and Grassland Conditions
- 9/25/19 – North Carolina News Release: New agreement between federal, state agencies highlights cooperative approach to land management
- 9/4/19 – Arkansas News Release: Governor Hutchinson and U.S. Secretary Perdue Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement
- 8/14/19 – Oregon News Release: Forest Service, Oregon officials sign Shared Stewardship agreement
- 7/16/19 – Utah News Story: USDA Forest Service and State of Utah invest in Utah’s Future through Shared Stewardship
- 5/8/19 – Washington News Release: State of Washington, Federal Agencies Align for Historic Partnership to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Improve Forests, Water and Habitat
- 6/10/19 – News release: WGA announces agreement with USDA on collaborative land management projects
- 4/15/19: Montana News Release: Montana Shared Stewardship Leaders Intent
- 12/18/18 – Idaho News Release: Idaho and USDA sign historic agreement to improve forest health
- 12/12/18 – News release: Western Governors, U.S. Department of Agriculture sign MOU to address land management collaboratively
- 8/16/18 – News Release: USDA Forest Service Announces New Strategy for Improving Forest Conditions
Shared Stewardship by Region
Click to watch a short video about Shared Stewardship!
Science and measurement
- Science Supporting Shared Stewardship at the Rocky Mountain Research Station
- More Science and Technology Tools and Products
Frequently Asked Questions
Background and additional resources
State and Forest Service Contacts
Forest Service Contact Information