Stewardship Program
The BLM Forestry Staff has been tasked with administering the stewardship program. Stewardship contracting is a relatively new authority for the BLM. It involves caring for the public lands through broad-based public and community involvement. The contracts are designed to achieve ecological restoration and maintenance objectives that may include the capture of some value of forest or rangeland material that is created as a part of the project. This material is used to offset the cost to taxpayers of the restoration project and to provide opportunities for local economic development in the fields of biomass for energy and alternative wood products. Ultimately, stewardship contracts will make forests and rangelands more resilient to natural disturbances, such as wind, flood, fire, insects, and disease. For more information, visit BLM’s National Stewardship website: http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/forest_initiative/stewardship_contracting/