The social and livelihood benefits of USDA Forest Service agreements with community-based organizations

Abstract

The federal government is the largest landowner in many western communities. It contributes to local socioeconomic vitality by providing opportunities for businesses and partners to perform land management activities and process natural resources. How federal agencies produce these benefits depends on the type of mechanism (e.g., timber sales, service contracts, or stewardship contracts and agreements) used to sell goods or procure services. To perform land management work on the ground, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service or U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management typically goes “to the market” by soliciting service contracts or offering timber sales in the private sector. The agency also chooses how to structure the opportunity—for example, setting an amount of timber to be sold or acres to be treated—and selects a business to purchase goods or perform work. In turn, how this business conducts work further determines community benefits such as the number of jobs created or retained and the wages paid.