Contextual Factors Influencing Collaboration Levels and Outcomes in National Forest Stewardship Contracting

The number of policies promoting collaborative processes in national forest management has increased considerably over the past decade but do mandates alone increase the levels of collaboration in national forest management? Collaborative governance literature identifies the importance of the situational context for the emergence and performance of collaboration but does not identify the role of specific attributes and processes. This article presents a comparative case-study analysis of factors influencing levels of collaboration in USDA Forest Service stewardship contracting processes. Incorporating concepts from the collaborative governance literature and Institutional Analysis and Development framework we found policy and administrative guidance alone will not increase the use of collaborative processes associated with stewardship contracts. A combination of existing agency-community planning efforts, leadership, and agency support were essential for collaboration to materialize. Top-down policy direction meant to increase the use of collaboration to achieve natural resource management objectives must incorporate opportunities to establish these conditions.