USDA and Wyoming sign Shared Stewardship Agreement to improve forests and grasslands

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue joined Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon in a virtual ceremony to sign a Shared Stewardship Agreement between USDA’s Forest Service and the State of Wyoming. 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 Wyoming.

"This agreement strengthens the already strong partnership between the Forest Service and the State of Wyoming,” said Secretary Perdue. “Through Shared Stewardship, Wyoming and the Forest Service will work together to identify landscape-scale priorities and build capacity to improve forest conditions.”

"I am excited to sign this agreement today with Secretary Perdue. It marks an increased opportunity for us to combine expertise and resources, better our National Forests and Grasslands, and serve all of the citizens of Wyoming,” said Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. “The importance of our National Forest System lands, to our communities, for water, for businesses like logging and agriculture, and just for general enjoyment cannot be understated. I applaud the efforts to date and am genuinely excited to see what we can do together in the future."

Under the agreement, the state of Wyoming 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 for can be found here.

The national USDA Forest Service shared stewardship strategy can be found at: www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/toward-shared-stewardship.pdf