An Overview: Stewardship contracting and what it might mean for the small log industry.

Stewardship contracting is basically designed to improve efficiencies within the Forest Service and how projects are implemented on the ground.

1. Efficiencies to the USFS:
1. End Results Contracts allows the Forest Service to award contracts on what the “end results” will be, not by a rigid prescription with marked trees. This allows the Forest Service to use designation by description, where the contractor describes what he will do, for both commercial and non-commercial material. Designation by prescription, where the Forest Service describes what they want the end result to be, may be used for non-commercial material but only for commercial material if the sale is scaled. Both methods are currently being used on private lands in the area. Both techniques obviate the need for the Forest Service to paint trees; thus, saving that cost. Local landowners have used test plots to instruct the operator. The evidence of stumps are left and provide ‘accountability”.
2. Best value contracts means that the Forest Service can award a contract to whomever will do the best job and produce the best results. The forest Service is not controlled by the traditional requirement for “low bid for service work” and “high bid for timber products”. The Forest Service may consider the past record of the contractor, who the contractor intends to sub-contract with, and any innovative techniques to enhance the value of the work to be done. This is a significant change in legislation from the past constraints.
3. Goods for Services allows the Forest Service to trade the value of the material removed, if any, for the costs of the services provided. This is typically the value of the usable small diameter material is exchanged for the removal of the small material that has no commercial value. Since it is expected that the WUI areas will require fairly intensive thinning, the value of the material removed should be greater than the costs of the services provided. Even if the value of the material removed does not equal the entire costs of services, the value of the materials would be an off-set to the services costs.
4. Residual Receipts or Retention of Receipts allows the local Forest to retain the funds that are generated from the project above the costs of the services of the project. Again, the WUI projects should result in a “retention of the residual receipts”.
5. Combined Contracts, Combined Contracting Officers and one Administrative Path reduces the duplication that exists when one contract for a logging sale must be let and another for thinning services.

2. The Stewardship approach allows the Forest Service to combine its Timber Program goals with its Fire Program goals.

3. Community Collaboration:
1. The Coalition has been instrumental in breaking the “conflict” model of resource management on the public lands in northeastern Washington. The Coalition has proven that it is, indeed, the collaborative voice of these communities.
2. The National Fire Plan and Stewardship authorities require “community collaboration”. The Colville Coalition is willing and able to continue to provide this function for the WUI/CE projects, as well as for other projects.
3. Community collaboration is intended to prevent appeals of Forest Service projects by providing the up-front dialogue with the Forest Service so that all reasonable issues are addressed. Stewardship authorities will provide the most direct link between Forest Service management plans and the voice of the local community.

4. Industry and the Economy:
1. The local economy can be stabilized and stimulated by the use of Stewardship authorities because these Stewardship Projects are not likely to be appealed and will provide materials to the local mills.
2. Stewardship authorities also provide that a preference is to be given to “local contractors” that will benefit the local community. This authority allows the Forest Service to insure that there will be local economic benefits from the project.
3. Job training and educational components can be made a part of a Stewardship Project.

5. Multiple Purpose Projects:
1. Stewardship authorities allow a project to address many functions that need to be addressed in one administrative project. Projects can be designed that will remove merchantable material, non-merchantable material, provide prescribed fire, prune trees, repair or remove roads, trails, bridges and culverts, address riparian concerns, repair or establish recreational facilities, etc., or any combination of these.
2. Retained receipts from one stewardship project can be moved for on-the-ground functions at a different location in another stewardship project.

6. Multi-Party Monitoring:
1. The stewardship authorities do not require and do not fund multi-party monitoring of the on-the-ground project. However, the Colville Coalition will provide the resources for multi-party monitoring function for each project. We believe that this is necessary in order to provide a before and after “picture” of the project and to provide at least some level of determining if the project was successful or not.

7. Public Perception of the Forest Service:
1. Stewardship Contracting will provide the opportunity for the Forest Service to have an intimate relationship with the public through the “community collaboration” process that is required. This interaction will eliminate the public impression that has long haunted the Forest Service; to wit, that the management plan has already been decided and you now have the right to comment on the project. The Colville Coalition has already taken the stance that up-front discussions will substantively and perceptually change this image of the Forest Service.

Section 61.21 of the Forest Service Stewardship Handbook does not allow retained receipts to be used on the NEPA planning for the next successive stewardship project. This is somewhat disappointing to us, but we will work with the Forest Service to acquire the needed funding from the Region, from the Counties’ Title II and Title III funds and from grants if necessary. As stated by the environmental community: “We should have ten of these WUI/CE Stewardship projects going simultaneously in the Colville National Forest”. We want to see this happen.