The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service signed an Agreement to Advance Shared Stewardship, strengthening their commitment to collaborative land management efforts throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The signatories on the agreement were Ellen Shultzabarger, Pennsylvania state forester and director of the Bureau of Forestry, and Randy Moore, chief of the USDA Forest Service.
The agreement establishes a framework that advances the state and the Forest Service to work collaboratively on forest management, accomplishing mutual goals, furthering common interests, and effectively responding to the increasing suite of challenges facing the communities, landscapes and natural resources in Pennsylvania.
"The opportunities and challenges, such as invasive species and pests and adapting to a changing climate, that our forests face are best met working together at a landscape level. This agreement builds on the long history of collaboration between the Commonwealth and the USDA Forest Service," Shultzabarger said. "It's symbolic that we sign it at desks used by Gifford Pinchot, as it helps strengthen and advance his legacy of forest conservation in Pennsylvania."
"Shared Stewardship is a way of doing business that emphasizes a collaborative approach to land management. It puts a renewed emphasis on collaborating across jurisdictions to address challenges on shared landscapes," Moore said. "This agreement will reinforce our partnership and make our working relationship even stronger. Together, we will use new science and planning tools to identify shared conservation priorities and develop cross boundary strategies that make impacts at a landscape scale."
The federal, state, and private land managers in Pennsylvania face a range of urgent challenges, among them are invasive insect and disease outbreaks, non-native invasive plant invasion and increased risk of wildfire and floods.
The new agreement sets the stage to meet these challenges with proactive measures across all lands including:
- Improving and restoring forest health and resilience
- Reducing the risk of wildfire through prevention, treatment, and suppression
- Managing forests to improve overall health and resilience of native species and ecosystems
- Supporting a diverse forests products industry and measured economic development strategies that keep working forests productive.
- Protecting watersheds to ensure plentiful clean water supplies and helping with flood control
- Continuing to provide sustainable, quality outdoor recreation opportunities
- Healthy forests provide clean air and water, diverse plant and animal habitat, and support strong and resilient communities.
By working together, developing joint priorities, and using collective authorities, the commonwealth and the Forest Service can ensure that the scale of the work matches the scale of the challenge.
Categories: Pennsylvania, Government & Policy