By James Wright
The latest installment in NASF’s showcase of successful state forestry partnerships highlights the work of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division, and the USDA Forest Service (USFS).
Given that non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners hold 12.5 million of Arkansas’ 19 million acres of forestland, these agencies’ collaboration has been—and continues to be—essential to delivering technical and financial assistance to the more than 345,000 family forestland owners throughout the state.
Between 2019 and 2021, the USFS and the Arkansas Forestry Division teamed up to write 525 forest stewardship plans for woodland owners that covered over 92,500 acres. Many of these plans served as an entry point for NIPF owners to participate in NRCS forestry financial assistance programs.
This effort, coupled with several cooperative agreements between NRCS and the Arkansas Forestry Division, helped NRCS provide $20.8 million in support of forestry practices on NIPF lands during the same timeframe. Additional information on Arkansas’ multi-agency forestry partnership is provided in this briefer, which is also linked below.
Want to know more? Contact NASF’s Forestry Partnership Coordinator James Wright to discuss state-level collaborative efforts in your area.