A Toolbox of Resources

During this peer learning session, speakers shared why there was a need for a Region-wide aquatic restoration Environmental Analysis (EA), discussed the process of developing the EA, shared case studies of early applications of the EA, and shared some related lessons learned. Speakers included Patrick Shannon, National Forest Foundation Pacific Northwest Program Director; James Capurso, Pacific Northwest Region Fisheries Biologist; Nate Dachtler, Deschutes National Forest Bend/Fort Rock/Cresent Ranger District Fisheries Biologist; and Lizeth Ochoa, Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest Gold Beach and Powers Ranger Districts Soil Scientist and Hydrologist. Moderated by the National Forest Foundation's Ben Irey.

During this web meeting speakers shared updates related to the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) and took stock of needs and opportunities in the CFLRP community. Participants heard from both CFLRP alumni and new projects alike. This web meeting provided an opportunity for the CFLRP community to come together to hear and discuss program updates from various perspectives. Speakers included Chuck Oliver, U.S. Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Coordinator; Lindsay Buchanan, U.S. Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Coordinator; John Souther, U.S. Forest Service, 4FRI Monitoring Coordinator; Amy Waltz, Northern Arizona University, Ecological Restoration Institute, Science Delivery Director; John Heissenbuttel, Heissenbuttel Natural Resource Consulting; Steve Cole, U.S. Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest, Integrated Resource Staff Officer; McRee Anderson, The Nature Conservancy, Interior Highland and Fire Program Director; Shawn Martin, Cibola National Forest and Grasslands Forest Silviculturist; Jay Williams, Cibola National Forest Timber Program Manager; Leonora Pepper, Forest Stewards Guild, Southwest Program Manager; and Amber Ingoglia, U.S. Forest Service, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Partnership Coordinator.

During this peer learning session participants will: -Gain an understanding of the Partnerships on Every Forest (PEF) program and how it works to address partnership challenges, -Hear a case study of the PEF program from the Bighorn National Forest, -Learn how to engage in the PEF program, and -Have opportunities for to ask questions of the speaker and panelists.

This guide is the result of collaboration between the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the USDA Forest Service. NACo staff and Forest Service employees produced this guide for local elected officials and Forest Service employees to learn about each other's organization and behaviors that foster strong working relationships.

Are participants losing interest in your collaborative effort? Has the purpose of your collaboration become unclear? Is your collaborative no longer making sufficient progress? Does your collaborative lack a sense of accomplishment? Has their been an increase in dissent among participants? Is collaboration just not fun anymore? If you answered, "Yes" to any of these questions then you should have a look at this document from the USDA Forest Service National Collaboration Cadre.

Whether building, evaluating, or rebuilding a collaborative effort, all require thoughtful consideration to what people will accomplish and how they will do it. This document guides collaboratives through the process of constructing or reconstructing a solid foundation for collaboration based on the collaborative's purposes, people, process, and products.

How can you tell if a collaborative effort is working? People often ask if a collaboration has succeeded, but perhaps it is better to ask what progress is being made by a collaborative. From there, progress can be broken down into progress on substance, processes, and relationships.

When the parties in a natural resource collaboration focus on their positions and overlook their interests the entire collaborative process may slow or shut down. Searching for common ground can seem impossible when people take extreme and mutually exclusive positions. Moving from positions to interests provides the seedbed for innovative ideas that move land management forward in creative ways that sometimes none of the participants had foreseen.

In both professional and personal situations, people develop expectations about their interactions with others. Whether creating a business partnership, joining a civic organization, or getting married, people anticipate and expect certain behaviors and outcomes. Multi-party collaborative efforts involving public lands management is no different. Finding ways to develop, communicate, and maintain alignment of the participants' expectations in collaborative efforts is critical to a collaborative group's vitality and effectiveness.