Assessment of Early Implementation of the US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy

In 2019, Colorado State University entered into a
challenge cost-share agreement with USFS State
and Private Forestry to conduct independent research
on the implementation and development
of Shared Stewardship efforts. The first phase of
our work took place in 2020, when we interviewed
agency and state employees and representatives of
partner organizations in states in the West that had
signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with the USFS to formally pursue Shared Stewardship.
Our primary goal was to understand the
main factors affecting the early stages of Shared
Stewardship efforts across these states, including
key actors’ perspectives on the Strategy and early
planning and development efforts, primary opportunities
and challenges, and the types of capacities,
mechanisms, and direction needed to move ahead
successfully with partnerships and Shared Stewardship
implementation.