Lincoln, Nebraska, September 4, 2020 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue joined Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts today to sign a Shared Stewardship Agreement between USDA’s Forest Service and the State of Nebraska. The Shared Stewardship Agreement establishes a framework for federal and state agencies to promote active forest management, improve collaboration, and respond to ecological challenges and natural resource concerns in Nebraska.
“This agreement strengthens the already strong partnership between the Forest Service and the State of Nebraska,” said Secretary Perdue. “Through Shared Stewardship, Nebraska and the Forest Service will work together to identify landscape-scale priorities and build capacity to improve forest conditions.”
“The Trump Administration has empowered states by shifting decision-making from Washington, D.C. back to statehouses across America,” said Governor Ricketts. “Thanks to Secretary Perdue and the USDA for putting Nebraska’s priorities first in conservation and for partnering with us to wisely steward our forests.”
Under the agreement, the State of Nebraska and USDA will work together on forest and grassland restoration across all land ownerships, with a focus on protecting at-risk communities and watersheds from wildfire. The agreement identifies shared principles and priorities to include joint planning, pooling resources and continued investment in existing partnerships and programs that support collaborative work.
The agreement can be found at: Agreement for Shared Stewardship between Nebraska Forest Service and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region (PDF, 322 KB).
The national USDA Forest Service shared stewardship strategy can be found at: www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/toward-shared-stewardship.pdf (PDF, 14 MB).
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