Partnering to Fund Wildland Restoration

The Clearwater National Forest (CNF) in north-central Idaho began a modest road removal program in 1992, and due to limited funding decommissioned less than 10 miles per year over the next three years. Then, after a winter of severe flooding and landslides in 1996, an unexpected partner appeared: the Nez Perce Tribe had recently received $350,000 from the Bonneville Power Admin­istration, in part for road removal projects on the CNF. Ira Jones, the Nez Perce’s Watershed Coordi­nator, approached the Forest Supervisor with “an offer you can’t refuse.” The tribe and the forest had taken on projects together in the past, so they al­ready had a good working relationship. Now, nearly ten years later, the road removal partnership still thrives, removing about 40 miles of roads per year.

One of the biggest obstacles to road removal is a lack of funding. Funding for road decommission­ing on Forest Service lands, for example, usually comes from watershed, fisheries and wildlife, or road maintenance funds, all of which are scarce and in high demand. For the Forest Service, forming a partnership with a nonprofit group, or a state or tribal agency is one way to leverage additional fund­ing — non-federal partners have access to funds that federal agencies do not (see RIPorter 8.1). Part­nerships are often the best, and sometimes the only, way to get road removal and restoration projects underway.

Below are a few examples of successful federal and non-federal entities partnering up to restore wildlands.

Nez Perce Tribe/Clearwater National Forest
The unique quality of the relationship between the Nez Perce and the CNF is that it works in all aspects as a partnership, not simply for obtaining funding. From project planning to completion the tribe and the Forest Service are in constant commu­nication, and both sides work with the assumption that nothing will go forward unless it is to the mu­tual satisfaction of both. “That’s probably why it is so successful, because we’re planning it, designing it, and doing the monitoring and all of that together, so every phase of the project is a true partnership” says Ira Jones. Former CNF Forest Supervisor Jim Caswell sums up the forest’s position by saying that if the CNF had to cut programs because of limited funding, the road-decommissioning program would be the last to go. The Nez Perce tribe is now expanding its partnerships and projects to other national forests, such as the Umatilla and the Nez Perce National Forests.

Headwaters Forest Reserve – Northern California
The Pacific Coast Fish, Wildlife and Wetlands Restoration Association (PCFWWRA) was estab­lished after the northern California salmon fishery crashed and the region received federal funding for displaced salmon fishermen. In 1998 PCFWWRA began assessing sediment sources in the private Headwaters timberland area and in March 1999 the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cali­fornia Department of Fish and Game acquired the 7,400-acre Headwaters Forest Reserve. PCFWWRA helped prioritize the worst sources of sediment and since that time has worked with the Department of Fish and Game, BLM, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Water Resources Control Board, Green Diamond Resource Company (formerly Simpson timber company) and others to decommission over 28% of the exist­ing roads in the watershed assessment area. PCFWWRA has been able to bring in California fisheries restoration funds to help leverage BLM funds — according to Mitch Farro of PCF­WWRA, partnering is the only way to get this work done.

Karuk Tribe/Six Rivers National Forest – Northern California
The Karuk Tribe and the Six Rivers National Forest (SRNF) have an established road removal partnership that began in 1998 when the Tribe initiated its Tribal Restoration Division. The Steinacher road on the SRNF seemed an ideal start-up project because it was a high priority road to remove for salmon restoration, an issue deeply important to the tribe. The tribe secured funding and then approached the Forest Service. The two entities already had a solid relation­ship after working on fisheries projects together for a decade, and the Forest Service agreed to the project. (For more on the Steinacher Road project, see Road RIPorter Volume 7, #4, 2002.)

The success of that initial project has led to many others, including the Ishi Pishi Watershed Restoration Project, which also includes Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) as a partner. The Karuk tribe and Forest Service collaboratively developed the project, which involved decommissioning an unnecessary and eroding road and training tribal equipment operators and laborers. RCAA provided detailed training in native revegetation techniques and helped leverage the fund­ing for the project. This is one of the only training programs of its kind — in which tribes are training their own members to do restoration work, providing an expanded, skilled local workforce for restoration projects. Both sides benefit from this partnership: the tribe has a hand in the management of ancestral lands, while the Forest Service receives funding as­sistance from the tribe. The partnership has made the water­shed restoration program successful by defraying expenses, generating jobs, and creating local acceptance of the projects.

Conclusion
At this point in time, some of the most successful road removal programs involve partnerships. Partnerships can involve federal agencies, tribes, state wildlife or environmen­tal quality agencies, local watershed groups, water boards, conservation districts, conservation groups, and local job programs. The underlying benefits include increased funding, an expanded pool of skilled workers, and community benefits (such as employment) that help generate a positive local at­titude toward road decommissioning.

The advice that the Nez Perce tribe gives for starting partnerships is to start modestly, building relationships first. Persistence and patience are essential. Also, stay positive: it takes a long time to develop strong partnerships, and you have to ignore possible conflicts outside the project boundar­ies. That is why a trusting, personal relationship is neces­sary: to carry the project past the rough spots and not take the glitches personally.

For more information on forming partnerships to leverage funding and create positive restoration projects, contact Marnie Criley at Wildlands CPR.