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Title: |
White Mountain Stewardship Contract
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Type: |
Biomass utilization
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Arizona
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Program Description: |
In August 2004, the USDA Forest Service awarded Future Forest, LLC, the White Mountain Stewardship Contract on the Apache�Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona.
The Apache�Sitgreaves National Forest, which comprises a significant portion of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in North America, exposes adjacent communities to a large-scale risk from wildland fires. The suppression of fire over the past hundred years contributed to the development of very dense forests. These forests that once were characterized by 20 to 60 trees per acre now average more than 400 trees per acre, which makes the forest vulnerable to intense wildfire and insect damage.
This project is the largest 10-year stewardship contract in the nation (for information on the USDA Forest Service Stewardship Contracting program, see side bar below). The contract allows for the treatment of about 15,000 acres per year, up to 150,000 acres in 10 years. The stewardship contract also facilitates the development of a wood products industry better suited to market the excessive number of small-diameter trees on national forest lands. Results include healthier forests, enhanced rural development, and utilization of previously unmarketable small-diameter trees and woody biomass.
The designated contractor, Future Forest, LLC, is providing services to perform woody biomass management, which may include tree removal, treatment of existing slash and dead trees, erosion control, resource protection, and haul-road maintenance. Future Forest, LLC, was formed by the partnering of two companies --W.B. Contracting for fuels removal and Forest Energy Corporation to process biomass into wood pellets, compressed logs, and other products to realize this stewardship opportunity.
Because of the size, complexity, costs, and urgency of the task at hand, Future Forest, LLC, is engaging many other forestry and forest product entities in the White Mountains and elsewhere as they move forward to create healthy forests. The following wood products businesses in the community are currently receiving and successfully producing value-added products from material removed as a result of the White Mountain Stewardship Contract. These enterprises are described on this website at the following links:
- W. B. Contracting
- Forest Energy Corporation
- Reidhead Brothers Lumber Mills, Inc.
- Cheyenne Log Homes, Inc., doing business as Arizona Log & Timberworks
- American West Structures, LLC
What is Stewardship Contracting?
(Source: USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us)
Over the past two decades, the Federal timber sale program has declined while the need for restorative work or maintenance in ecosystems remains. Some of the project work includes watershed restoration and maintenance, road obliteration for sediment control, wildlife habitat improvements, fuel load reductions, timber stand improvements, and insect and disease protection.
To accomplish the USDA Forest Service�s stewardship responsibilities, creative approaches are needed to complete the necessary work and simultaneously contribute to the economic growth of local and rural communities. �Stewardship End Result Contracting� is one solution to this problem.
Stewardship contracting includes natural resource management practices seeking to promote a closer working relationship with local communities in a broad range of activities that improve land conditions. These projects shift the focus of Federal forest and rangeland management towards a desired future resource condition. They are also a means for Federal agencies to contribute to the development of sustainable rural communities, restore and maintain healthy forest ecosystems, and provide a continuing source of local income and employment.
In February 2003, the U.S. Congress authorized the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to implement stewardship contracting for a period of 10 years. Some features of the authorizing legislation include allowing USDA Forest Service and BLM to apply the value of timber or other forest products removed as an offset against the cost of services received, apply excess receipts from a project to other authorized stewardship projects, select contracts and agreements on a �best value� basis, and award a contract or agreement up to 10 years, which may stimulate long-term investment in the local community. The authorizing legislation is found in the 2003 Appropriations Act (16 U.S.C. 2194 Note).
Contact information
Elaine Zieroth (Forest Supervisor) at [email protected], phone: 928-333-6300 or Bill Greenwood (Eagar, AZ Town Manager) at [email protected], phone: (928) 333-4128, ext. 226).
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