History
During the 1980s and ‘90s, federal lands management was characterized by gridlock and public controversy. As the work on our national forests slowed, the health of our forested landscapes and the vitality of the communities that depend on them suffered. Fortunately, community-based collaboratives have emerged across Oregon and the West as a way to address the critical need for restoration of our forests. By creating a space for citizens to better engage with public lands managers and share in the designing of projects, collaboratives are helping the Forest Service get their work done better.
Starting with a few innovative local partnerships in the 1990s, there is now at least one collaborative group on every national forest in Oregon (see map to the right). Collaboratives in Eastern Oregon have grown around the need to address catastrophic wildfire, insects and disease, and economic challenges. The Northern Blues Forest Collaborative is the outcome of a recent merger between the Umatilla Forest Collaborative Group and the Wallowa-Whitman Forest Collaborative, which formed, like many other collaborative groups, in an effort to restore our local landscape and increase economic and community viability within our region.