United States Department of Agriculture

Collaborative Forest 

Landscape Restoration Program 

5-Year Report

Forest Service FS-1047 March 2015
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

2

COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION 

PROGRAM: FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, 

Title IV

The purpose of Title IV is to—

• Encourage collaborative, science-based restoration.

• Support ecological, economic, and social sustainability.

• Leverage local, national, and private resources.

• Facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs 

and risks, including through reestablishing natural fire 

regimes.

• Demonstrate the degree to which various restoration approaches achieve ecological and watershed health objectives.

• Use forest restoration byproducts to offset treatment costs 

while benefiting local rural economies and improving 

forest health.

Project Selections

The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) 

Advisory Committee evaluated project proposals and made 

recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) to make selections. The committee evaluated proposals based on criteria outlined in Title IV. The 

landscape needed to be primarily National Forest System 

lands in need of restoration and accessible for woody biomass utilization. Project restoration strategies needed to be 

substantially complete and include reduction of hazardous 

fuels and maintenance of old growth, as well as not establish 

permanent roads, among other criteria. The committee also 

evaluated proposed projects on the strength of collaborative 

support and their investment and funding plans.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Deschutes Forest 

Collaborative Project, OR 

(Ally Steinmetz)

Across the country, tens of millions of acres of forests and watersheds are in need of restoration. 

Resilient landscapes provide integral resources and services 

to ecosystems and communities. From water purification to 

recreational opportunities, to wildlife and plant diversity, 

to a sustainable supply of wood products, our Nation relies 

on our forested land for ecological, social, and economic 

benefits. Restored landscapes are not only better able 

to sustain these benefits—the landscapes are also more 

resilient to stressors, which range from invasive species 

infestations to drought. Moreover, since 2000, at least 10 

States have had their largest fires on record and some States 

have broken records more than once. To protect forests 

from uncharacteristic wildfire and make communities safer, 

fire-adapted landscapes must be restored to reduce wildfire 

risk and severity.

At the 5-year mark, the CFLR program is on track to meet 

its 10-year goals. In the past 5 years, the CFLR program 

learned important lessons, celebrated a range of successes, 

and identified new opportunities as the program moves into 

the next 5 years. 

Congress authorized the CFLR program in the 2009 Omnibus 

Public Lands Management Act to accelerate restoration on 

high-priority landscapes, support much-needed economic 

stability in rural communities, and reduce the risk and associated costs of catastrophic wildfire. During the 5 years since 

the initial 10 CFLR projects began implementation, the program has demonstrated that collaborative, landscape-scale 

restoration efforts can help achieve a range of integrated 

outcomes, including1

—

• More than 1.45 million acres treated to reduce the risk 

of catastrophic fire.

• More than 84,570 acres of forest lands treated to achieve 

healthier condition through timber sales.

• More than 1.33 million acres improved for wildlife habitat.

• More than 73,600 acres treated for noxious weeds and 

invasive plants.

These and other CFLR restoration activities have collectively 

generated more than 1,256 million board feet of timber 

volume sold, $661 million in local labor income, and an 

average of 4,360 jobs per year. Moreover, CFLR projects 

attracted new partners and built community relationships, 

leveraging more than $76.1 million in partner match funds.

This report describes achievements to date and assesses the 

extent to which the CFLR program is fulfilling its purposes. 

It is framed around a set of five national indicators developed 

by the Forest Service, an agency of the USDA, and collaborative partners—(1) economic impacts, (2) fire risk and 

costs, (3) ecological condition, (4) collaboration, and 

(5) leveraged funds. (See page 4 for additional background 

on the indicators.) Although the report is divided into sections 

based on these indicators, restoration treatments are closely 

integrated. For example, hazardous fuel treatments reduce 

risk of uncharacteristic wildfire on the landscape and make 

nearby communities safer, but they also can improve wildlife 

habitat conditions. Activities and accomplishments should 

be viewed as part of a larger landscape-scale picture of 

restoration outcomes.

Additional information is available on the CFLR Web site: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/index.shtml.

1

 Please see the “Developing National Indicators” section on page 4 for more 

information on data.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

3

CFLR: FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT

CFLR Projects at a Glance

• 10 projects were funded in 2010, 10 in 2012, and 3 in 2013.

• Project landscapes range from 130,000 to 2,400,000 acres.

• Some project collaboratives have been working together for more than a decade; others

formed recently.

• Each project’s requested lifetime CFLR program funding ranges from under $5 million to

more than $35 million.

• Landscapes include a range of ecosystems, from high alpine peaks to ponderosa pine

forests to grasslands.

23 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Sites

Individual project accomplishments reflect differences in 

landscapes and project priorities.

Program Oversight

The Forest Service coordinates the CFLR program at the 

local, regional, and national levels to maximize efficiency 

and promote shared learning. Projects have a designated 

CFLR coordinator to manage work on the ground with local 

partners. All Forest Service regions (see map to the left) have 

a regional CFLR coordinator who facilitates communication 

among projects within the region and provides support and 

guidance. The Forest Management director in the National 

Office in Washington, DC, provides programwide management and oversight. Communication and networking 

are important aspects of the program and include monthly 

coordinator calls, site visits, in-person regional workshops, 

and virtual “peer learning” Webinars. Furthermore, each 

project submits an annual report to the National Office, 

outlining the accomplishments and challenges for the year 

and plans for future work (reports are available on the CFLR 

Web site). The reporting process provides a mechanism 

for tracking progress and proactively identifying potential 

issues. The Forest Service works closely with partners, 

including the CFLR Coalition2

 and the National Forest 

Foundation (NFF) to collect data, convene meetings, and 

support progress.

2

 The CFLR Coalition Steering Committee includes representatives from American Forests, Defenders of Wildlife, Forest Business Network, The Nature 

Conservancy, Society of American Foresters, Sustainable Northwest, and The 

Wilderness Society.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

4

CFLR: FULFILLING THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT

How To Read This Report

Performance Measure Bars: For most of the CFLR performance measures, projects have met or exceeded planned 

performance targets. We expect that more accomplishments 

will be achieved in the second half of the program than in 

the first, as projects ramp up implementation after initial 

planning, organizing, and responding to unexpected obstacles.

Each performance measure bar included in this report 

displays the 23 projects’ total actual accomplishments to 

date and the total planned

accomplishments to date—

what performance targets 

projects planned to achieve 

between fiscal year (FY) 2011 

and FY 2014, which may 

not equate to 50 percent of 

lifetime goals. Each bar also 

includes the 23 projects’ total 

planned lifetime accomplishments (what projects plan 

to achieve from the start of 

implementation through FY 2019). If the color on top is 

light green, the projects exceeded their targets. If it is 

green, the projects did not meet their target.

Ecological Indicator Maps: Each ecological indicator 

(watershed condition, invasive species, wildlife habitat, 

and resiliency of landscape to fire) includes a map depicting 

how CFLR projects assessed their progress toward defined 

desired conditions. Each region where data are available 

shows a pie chart with the number of projects assessing 

progress as “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor.” In the example that 

follows, the Pacific Northwest Region had three projects 

assess progress as “Good” and two projects as “Fair.”

Performance Measure Bars 

(Example)

Where we are

LIGHT GREEN: 

Total CFLR project 

accomplishments 

(as of 11/2014)

Goal by FY 2015

DARK GREEN:

Total CFLR 

project planned 

accomplishments 

(FY 2011–FY 2014)

Ecological Indicator Maps (Example)

Developing National Indicators

In 2011, the NFF led a process with collaborative partners 

and Forest Service representatives from each of the first 

10 CFLR projects to develop a set of national indicators. 

Participants set as core principles that the indicators should 

maximize project autonomy and minimize additional reporting, while responding to the purpose of the authorizing 

legislation. The resulting five indicators, which form 

the basis of this 5-year report, address (1) economic 

impacts, (2) fire risk and costs, (3) ecological condition, 

(4) collaboration, and (5) leveraged funds. The indicators 

are designed to tell a national story about the CFLR program, measure outcomes across projects, encourage regular 

collection and reporting of data, and provide a coarse-scale 

picture of programmatic impacts.

The data used to support these indicators come from a number of sources3

, including—

3

 Visit http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/index.shtml for additional 

information and project reports.

Dinkey Landscape Restoration Project, CA (Dorian Fougères)

• Annual reports: Provide yearly updates on performance

measures and expenditures.

• Treatments for Restoration Economic Analysis Tool

(TREAT): An economic tool developed by the Forest

Service to estimate employment and labor income

impacts from proposed restoration activities.

• Risk and Cost Analysis Tool (R-CAT): An economic

modeling tool developed to estimate wildland fire management cost savings using the analysis outputs and other

information on treatment costs and revenues.

• National Forest Foundation Collaboration Survey: NFF

and the CFLR Coalition coordinated two national surveys

to assess the successes and challenges of collaborative efforts.

• Ecological Indicator Reports: Each CFLR project developed a set of desired conditions across four ecological

categories: (1) resiliency of landscapes to fire, (2) watershed condition, (3) invasive species, and (4) wildlife

habitat. Projects then developed measurable indicators to

gauge progress toward these desired conditions, resulting

in an assessment of “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor.” These ratings

are meant to provide for a programmatic-level review of

all projects; they are not intended to compare projects

or regions to one another. Furthermore, some projects

do not yet have data available to assess certain ecological

indicators, because they are in the beginning stages of

implementation and have not yet collected all the relevant

monitoring data.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

5

ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC WELL-BEING

Local labor income includes total impacts from project funding 

expended, including matching funding. Regional variances 

are due to a number of factors, including differences in the 

amount of CFLR funding requested by each project in their 

proposals, the size of the landscape, and differences in the 

types of jobs projects may generate.

CFLRP Investments and Associated Local Labor

Income Ouputs (FY 2011-FY 2014)

4

 Employment and labor income impacts are estimated using the Treatments 

for Restoration Economic Analysis Tool (TREAT), a standard interface designed for 

CFLR that generates project impacts from proposed restoration activities. Each 

year, the projects work with Forest Service economists to complete analysis. 

Learn more at http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/guidance.shtml. Job 

and labor income figures include part- and full-time direct jobs (in industries 

involved directly in doing the work—for example, loggers and contractors) and 

indirect and induced jobs (in the industries that provide supplies and services to 

the direct industries and by employees spending wages in the local economy). 

The local labor income estimates are based on “local” impact areas: the counties 

where the activities will occur for each project. The national estimates use the 

whole United States as the impact area, thereby capturing all economic activity.

5

 See http://ewp.uoregon.edu/sites/ewp.uoregon.edu/files/downloads/BP23.pdf

for report.

CFLR creates or 

maintains an average 

of 4,360 local jobs each 

year (FY 2011–FY 2014)

Between FY 2011–

FY 2014, CFLR 

projects generated 

over $661 million in 

local labor income4

By investing in forest and watershed restoration, the 23 CFLR projects generate considerable economic 

impacts in rural communities. Studies have shown that, 

in general, dollars invested in restoration double their value 

in economic outputs as they flow through the community5. 

CFLR dollars help bring in project managers, contractors, and 

crews who purchase equipment and services and spend wages 

on goods and services in the local community. Additionally, 

CFLR projects have helped forestry and related businesses 

stay open, or even expand. Even so, the lack of local markets 

and infrastructure for forest products remains a major hurdle. 

(See the “Successes and Challenges” section for further discussion about forest products.) Restoration work also creates 

a range of jobs outside the forestry industry, such as hiring 

crews to construct fish passage structures, maintaining and 

decommissioning roads, treating noxious weed infestations, 

and reforesting with native trees and plants. In fact, one 

study shows that every $1 million spent on restoration 

activities generates 15 to 24 local jobs, comparable to 

the construction and infrastructure sectors. Healthier 

forests and improved infrastructure can also draw visitors 

to the forest, who then support the local economy by 

spending in area communities.

“Without the CFLR we would simply not be here. 

Without the funding, guidance, and help, MTM 

would have closed during the recession. We 

reinvented our company to do forest restoration.”

—Mt. Taylor Machine, LLC, Zuni Mountain, NM

Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, OR (Ally Steinmetz)

Weiser-Little Salmon Headwaters, ID: Between 2012 and 

2014, the Payette National Forest awarded four stewardship 

contracts to Evergreen Forest, a local company that owns and 

manages the last remaining local sawmill. Thanks to CFLR project area sales, the mill added a second shift and created 

15 full-time jobs. As of February 2014, one stewardship contract 

is halfway complete and has generated 3.4 million board feet, 

$380,000 in employee wages at the mill, $183,000 in employee 

wages on site, and $620,000 in wages to local contractors. Evergreen Forest paid the Forest Service $690,000 for stumpage, 

which helped offset restoration treatment costs (such as road 

and trail improvements, aquatic organism passage projects, and 

prescribed fires). The stewardship contract manager at Evergreen 

Forest, who is also a member of the CFLR Coalition, understands 

the goals and objectives of the stakeholders and the project ob­jectives. That knowledge contributes to successful implementation 

of the stewardship contract.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

6

ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC WELL-BEING

The Accelerating Longleaf Pine project in Florida has contributed more than $10 million to 

gross domestic product, garnered more than 

$1 million in State and local tax revenue, and 

generated $7 million in salaries and wages.

CFLRP National Labor Income Generated by Activity Type

(FY 2011–FY 2014)

Arange of CFLR project activities support restoration and generate labor income. More than 87 percent of 

labor income generated nationally is from commercial forest 

products activities like logging and milling of restoration 

byproducts. Other activities also make significant contributions to labor income, from culvert work to monitoring.

This graph does not include the economic impact from visitors 

attracted to the forest and surrounding communities for 

recreation opportunities.

A suite of hazardous fuels reduction and restoration activities contribute to job opportunities and economic impact. The CFLR performance measures below represent a snapshot of project activities and related outputs that contribute to job opportunities and 

labor income:

Forest Vegetation 

Established

Lifetime goal = 174,057 acres

Where we are

(67,957 acres)

Goal by FY 2015

(40,538 acres)

Road Work

Miles of road decommissioned 

or improved

Lifetime goal = 7,225 miles

Goal by FY 2015

(2,760 miles)

Where we are

(1,499 miles)

Invasive Plant and 

Weed Control

Lifetime goal = 225,787 acres

Goal by FY 2015

(204,914 acres)

Where we are

(73,605 acres)

Biomass

Green tons made available for 

bioenergy production

Lifetime goal = 12.2 tons

Goal by FY 2015

(2.4 tons)

Where we are

(2.1 tons)

Timber Volume Sold

Lifetime goal = 4,616 MMBF

Where we are

(1,256 MMBF)

Goal by FY 2015

(1,025 MMBF)

The bar charts above shows accomplishments for all 23 CFLR projects from the start of project implementation. See “Successes and Challenges” for further 

discussion of accomplishments. More accomplishments are expected in the next 5 years.

Southwest Jemez Mountains, NM

Amador Calaveras Cornerstone, CA: Unemployment in rural 

Amador and Calaveras Counties is high, ranging from 9 to 13 per­cent during the past few years. Schools are in a constant threat 

of closure. The CFLR program has enabled the Forest Service to 

expand work with the Calaveras Healthy Impact Products Solutions 

(CHIPS), a local nonprofit that provides on-the-job training for local 

workers to implement restoration activities. The Eldorado and 

Stanislaus National Forests’ partnership agreement provides 

CHIPS participants with job-training opportunities within 

the CFLR landscape, where crews help with a range of activities 

that include hazardous fuel-reduction treatments. In the past 3 years, 

the program has expanded to two crews and, in FY 2014, CHIPS con­tributed more than $79,000 in in-kind contributions to the project.

Southwest Jemez Mountains, NM: Walatowa Timber Industries 

(WTI), LLC, is a joint venture that started in 2012 between the 

Jemez Community Development Corporation—which supports 

economic development within the traditional community of Jemez 

Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe—and TC Company, a logging 

and milling business with decades of experience in the Jemez 

Mountains. “WTI is an important source of economic development for the Pueblo of Jemez, providing both permanent 

and seasonal jobs,” said John Galvan, Interim Natural Resources 

Director for the Pueblo. “The viability of our enterprise hinges 

on the local and large-scale forest restoration activities like 

those proposed under the CFLR.” The program has expanded to 

two crews.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

7

WILDFIRE RISKS AND COSTS

Risk and Cost Analysis Toolkit (R-CAT) Snapshots

1

CFLR projects

Reducing Small Fire Costs

Northeast Washington Vision 

2020 (WA)

• Projected 119,827 treatment 

acres.

• Modeled annual smallfire savings after fuel 

treatments—$21,226.

Reducing Wildfire Risk

Deschutes Collaborative 

Forest Project (OR)

• Projected 80,000 treatment 

acres.

• Fuel treatments help 

protect—

§ High-value recreation areas.

§ Scenic viewsheds.

§ Old growth forests.

§ Municipal watersheds.

§ Wildland-urban interface 

communities.

Increasing Savings with 

Beneficial Fire

Lakeview Stewardship 

Project (OR)

• Projected 145,391 treatment 

acres.

• Modeled annual large fire savings 

after fuel treatments—$314,763.

• Modeled annual savings from 

decreased emergency response 

costs after fuel treatments—

$169,443.

• Treatments result in potential 

for expanded fire management 

approaches on 5 to 19 percent 

of treated landscape.

Reducing Post-Fire Burned Area 

Emergency Response Costs

Uncompahgre Plateau (CO)

• Projected 69,646 treatment acres.

• Modeled 22 percent decrease in 

annual post-fire costs.

Increasing Revenue:

Missouri Pine Oak (MO)

• Projected 179,594 treatment acres.

• Modeled $4.1 million in total 

net revenue in wood product 

sales from treated acres.

One study attempting to show the full costs of 

fire in the Sierra Nevada’s Mokelumne 

Watershed suggested that expected benefits 

of fuel treatments are two to three times the 

fuel-treatment costs.

S 8

ince 2010, CFLR projects have treated more than 1.45 

million acres of hazardous fuels. Research and field 

experience have shown that hazardous fuel treatments can 

reduce the size, likelihood, and severity of wildfires.

Recent reports suggest that when the long-term benefits 

of avoided wildfire costs to society are fully considered—

including avoided property damage and reconstruction, 

avoided sedimentation in the water supply, and so forth—

the benefits easily exceed the costs of treatment6

. One 

case study on the Deschutes National Forest showed that 

large-scale implementation of fuel treatments planned as 

a CFLR project was expected to result in substantial reductions of wildfire size and suppression cost on both a per-fire 

and landscape basis7. Since the act authorizing the CFLR 

program was passed in 2009, the focus of wildfire management strategies has expanded from wildfire cost containment 

to overall risk reduction. The National Cohesive Wildland 

Fire Management Strategy, collaboratively prepared by 

Federal, State, and local partners, has led the way in this 

more com-prehensive approach. (See the “Successes and 

Challenges” section for further discussion.)

While estimating potential fire suppression savings associated 

with fuel treatments is difficult, the Forest Service recently 

developed the Risk and Cost Analysis Toolkit (R-CAT) to 

improve our understanding of cost savings using fire modeling. 

The initial R-CAT results indicate the potential for CFLR fuel 

treatments to reduce various fire management cost components. 

R-CAT, however, captures only a small part of the return 

on the investments that forestry with a fuel treatments 

objective can provide. Visit http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/

CFLRP/index.shtml for information on R-CAT and results.

6

 Combrink et al. 2013. A full cost 

accounting of the 2013 Schultz Fire. 

ERI–Issues in Forest Restoration. 

Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona 

University—Ecological Restoration 

Institute.

7

 Thompson et al. 2013. Quantifying 

the potential impacts of fuel treatments on wildfire suppression costs. 

Journal of Forestry. 111(1): 49–58.

8

 See http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/

our-work/mokelumne-watershedanalysis for report. Two Bulls Fire in Bend, OR, threatened thousands of homes (Ally Steinmetz)

1

1

2

2

4

4

5

5

3

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COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

8

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION: INCREASING THE 

RESILIENCE OF LANDSCAPES TO FIRE

The map below depicts wildland fire potential (WFP)—areas 

where high-intensity wildfires are more likely to occur. Although 

the map is not a forecast, it does provide context for strategic 

long-term risk reduction. Many CFLR program boundaries

overlap with high WFP, underscoring the importance of the 

treatments the program supports.

CFLR Projects’ Progress Towards Desired Natural Fire Conditions

Twenty-two of the 23 projects with data available to assess progress 

towards desired natural fire conditions reported “Good” or “Fair” progress.

In the past century, changes in land management, including fire suppression, have led to overgrowth and accumulation of hazardous fuels in forests with historically frequent 

fires. Because of these hazardous fuels, some forests now see 

high-severity fires even under moderate weather conditions. 

Reestablishing desired vegetation conditions through 

mechanical thinning or prescribed burning makes 

landscapes more resilient to fire and reduces the risk of 

catastrophic wildfire. These treatments help preserve and 

restore critical wildlife habitat, protect the water supply, 

enable firefighters to manage fires more safely, reduce the 

risk to communities, and may also result in providing wood 

byproducts to benefit local economies.

Reduced Fire Risk

Acres treated within the wildland-urban 

interface where forests and communities meet

Lifetime goal = 2.6M acres

Where we are

(945,097 acres)

Goal by FY 2015

(870,144 acres)

Acres treated outside the wildlandurban interface

Lifetime goal = 1.9M acres

Goal by FY 2015

(561,837 acres)

Where we are

(509,256 acres)

The bar charts above shows accomplishments for all 23 CFLR projects from the 

start of project implementation. More accomplishments are expected in the 

next 5 years.

4FRI aerial photo of burn area with mostly low intensity impacts

Southwestern Crown of the Continent, MT: The goals of 

fuel treatments within the Meadow Smith project area included 

increasing open forest stands, protecting old growth from severe 

wildfire, reducing fire risks to communities, and increasing the 

overall health and resiliency to threats. The project leveraged 

multiple funding sources, including CFLR dollars, to perform these 

treatments. The Flathead National Forest performed a portion of 

the fuel treatment in this project area, particularly in the wildlandurban interface, through a stewardship agreement in partnership 

with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. In the aftermath of the 

2012 Condon Fire, it became apparent that the size and severity 

of the fire and damage to the landscape would have been 

much greater without previous treatments.

Four Forest Restoration Initiative, AZ: In May 2014, a fire was 

reported within the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) project 

area and preevacuations were ordered for nearby neighborhoods. 

However, thanks to fuel treatments implemented in collaboration with Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership—which 

helped form the 4FRI collaborative—only 3,115 acres of 

21,227 acres burned at high intensity. This behavior mimicked 

what was expected of a healthy ponderosa pine forest maintained 

by frequently recurring fires. Since 2010, the entire 4FRI project 

area has seen 299,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction contracts 

awarded and projects completed, including prescribed burning 

and mechanical thinning.

* Based on 2013 fire 

data, Forest Service, 

Fire Modeling 

Institute
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

9

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION: WILDLIFE HABITAT

CFLR Projects’ Progress Towards Desired 

Wildlife Habitat Conditions

All 22 projects with data available to assess progress towards desired 

wildlife conditions reported “Good” or “Fair” progress.

Terrestrial Habitat

Acres of terrestrial habitat restored 

or enhanced 

Lifetime goal = 4.1M acres

Where we are

(1.3M acres)

Goal by FY 2015

(1.0M acres)

Stream Habitat

Acres of stream habitat restored or enhanced 

Lifetime goal = 1,358 miles

Where we are

(703 miles)

Goal by FY 2015

(674 miles)

These bar charts show accomplishments for all 23 CFLR projects from the start 

of project implementation. More accomplishments are expected in the next 

5 years.

The wildlife on a particular landscape tells a story—a story of healthy ecosystems, a history of how the land 

has been managed, and even clues about what the ecosystem 

may need in the future to ensure fish and wildlife can be 

enjoyed for generations. Federal and State agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private citizens across 

the country have partnered through the CFLR program, 

intent on managing fish and wildlife habitat collaboratively with a focus on restoring the structure, composition, 

and function our public lands need to ensure viable and 

sustainable populations of game, nongame, and federally 

listed species.

Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration 

and Hazardous Fuels Reduction, MS, 

red-cockaded woodpecker translocation

Restoring Critical Habitat in the Southeast

The red-cockaded woodpecker is an endangered species that 

lives in longleaf pine habitat in the southeast. Its current range 

is only 1 percent of its historical range. Both the Shortleaf 

Bluestem Community project in Arkansas and Oklahoma and 

the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration and Hazardous 

Fuels Reduction project (hereafter, the Longleaf Pine project) in 

Mississippi are working with partners to bring the red-cockaded 

woodpecker back. As a direct result of CFLR funding, the Longleaf 

Pine project and its partners, including the Mississippi National 

Guard, created a new subpopulation in FY 2014 in an area 

that red-cockaded woodpecker has not occupied in 35 

years. The project also improved the bird’s longleaf pine habitat 

across 117,000 acres. The Shortleaf Bluestem Community project 

leveraged $114,700 from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife 

Conservation for habitat improvement work and $2,500 for monitor­ing efforts to make sure the bird subpopulations thrive. These 

projects work together with the Missouri Pine Oak CFLR

project to share wildlife monitoring techniques.

Selway-Middle Fork Clearwater Rivers, ID: Salmon, steelhead, 

and other fish that migrate up river from the sea are some of the 

most important resources supported by this 1.4-million-acre CFLR 

landscape. Fish play a significant role in the culture of the Nez 

Perce Tribe. Recreational fishing is vital for the local economy, 

and migrating fish are a crucial source of nutrients for bears, birds, 

and other fish. The CFLR program, in close partnership with 

the Nez Perce Tribe, has provided the project with more 

opportunities to accomplish aquatic restoration. Between 

2010 and 2014, the Forest Service and Nez Perce Tribe teamed up 

to implement more than $7 million in aquatic restoration projects. 

In FY 2014, one of the last remaining barriers to fish passage was 

replaced, restoring important habitat connectivity. CFLR-funded 

monitoring efforts helped identify 8 miles of priority road 

removal to eliminate chronic sedimentation into trout and 

salmon habitat.
COLLABORATIVE 

FOREST 

LANDSCAPE 

RESTORATION 

PROGRAM

5-YEAR REPORT

USDA Forest Service

10

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION: INVASIVE SPECIES

CFLR Projects’ Progress Towards Desired 

Invasive Species Conditions

Sixteen of 20 projects with data available to assess progress towards desired 

invasive species conditions reported “Good” or “Fair” progress.

Southwest Crown of the 

Continent (MT) worked 

with the Trust for Public 

Land and the Montana 

Department of Natural 

Resources and Conservation to leverage $26,760 to 

treat 629 acres for noxious 

weeds in FY 2014.

Invasive Plant 

and Weed Control

Lifetime goal = 225,787 acres9

Goal by FY 2015

(204,914 acres)

Where we are

(73,605 acres)

The bar chart above shows accomplish­ments for all 23 CFLR projects from 

the start of project implementation. 

This ecological indicator is seeing 

slower progress for a variety of rea­sons discussed in the “Successes and 

Challenges” section. More accomplishments are expected in the next 

5 years.

Across the country, hundreds of species of invasive insects, plants, fungi, mollusks, mammals, and 

other organisms infest millions of acres of land, causing 

disruptions to forest and watershed health and significant 

economic damage for local communities. From the emerald 

ash borer’s destruction of the American chestnut to the 

zebra mussel’s damage to freshwater ecosystems and related 

industries, it is clear that effective landscape-scale restoration 

must include treatment of existing invasive species infestations and prevention and management of new ones. Invasive 

species management operations provide many job opportunities in local communities. CFLR collaboratives work 

closely with partners to inventory and map infestations, 

implement sound treatment options, and monitor treatment 

effectiveness. Hundreds of in-kind volunteer hours support 

these projects.

9

 Figure does not include treatments for insects or other nonplant pests.

Grandfather Restoration, North Carolina Japanese Knotwood infestation, 

https://grandfatherrestorationproject.wordpress.com

Grandfather Restoration Project, NC: Hemlocks play a vital 

role in forests of the Eastern United States, providing habitat for a 

variety of wildlife and plants and regulating stream temperatures 

for native trout. During the past 10 years, hemlock populations 

have been decimated by the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive 

insect from East Asia. Left unchecked, the insect will likely wipe 

out native hemlock in the Southeast. The Grandfather Restoration 

Project brings together partners—including Forest Service 

managers and researchers, the North Carolina Wildlife 

Resources Commission, MountainTrue, and Wild South—

to address the infestation along with other invasive threats, 

including invasive plant species like princess tree and Japanese 

knotweed. The CFLR program provides the resources and 

partnerships needed to expand treatment efforts to protect 

the forest from invasive species, including using herbicides to 

treat infestations, releasing biocontrol, and employing mechanical 

removal of target species. Since its implementation in 2012, the 

project has treated thousands of hemlocks for hemlock woolly 

adelgid and 2,359 acres for invasive plant species. Monitoring 

from MountainTrue shows that, on average, the effectiveness in 

removing target plant species is 70 percent. Monitoring informa­tion enables the Forest Service and its partners to use an adaptive 

management approach to maximize treatment effectiveness.

HWA treatments

Invasive plant treatments

Forest Service Lands

CFLR boundary
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ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION: WATERSHED

At least 124 million Americans benefit from 

water from National Forest System lands.

Water is one of the most important resources derived from national forests. Watersheds—where 

water collects and flows into a common body of water—are 

vital for clean drinking water, irrigation, recreation, and 

healthy fish and wildlife habitat. The more resilient a watershed’s condition—its ability to regulate crucial soil and water 

processes in the face of disturbance—the better it can provide 

these services. Many CFLR projects include priority watersheds (see map on left). To maintain and improve these 

areas, collaboratives decommission, improve, and maintain roads to decrease sedimentation, upgrade culverts, 

and improve water and soil quality to help regulate the 

flow of water.

CFLR Boundaries Overlaid With Watershed Condition 

Framework High-Priority Watersheds

CFLR

WCF priority watersheds

CFLR Projects’ Progress Towards Desired 

Watershed Conditions

All 19 projects with data available to assess progress towards desired 

watershed reported “Good” or “Fair” progress.

Roads

Miles of roads improved or decommissioned

Lifetime goal = 7,225 miles

Goal by FY 2015

(2,750 miles)

Where we are

(1,499 miles)

Soil and Water

Acres maintained/improved for 

watershed health

Lifetime goal = 1.1M acres

Where we are

(129,646 acres)

Goal by FY 2015

(85,672 acres)

The bar charts above shows accomplishments for all 23 CFLR projects from the 

start of project implementation. For a variety of reasons, projects plan to do the 

majority of road work in the second half of the program timeframe.

Southwest Crown of the Continent, 

MT, before and after road work

Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, OR: The Deschutes 

Collaborative Forest Project landscape contains the headwaters of 

Whychus and Tumalo Creeks, which serve as municipal watersheds for the cities of Sisters and Bend and provide important 

aquatic habitat and recreation opportunities. These watersheds 

have been impacted by stream channelization, road construction, 

flow diversion, development, and fire. Restoring watershed health 

is a vital component of the CFLR project. The project has already 

completed six of its nine planned watershed restoration 

projects and the ongoing Whychus Floodplain Project is partially 

complete. The remaining two projects are scheduled for implementation in FY 2015. Since FY 2010, the project has decreased 

sedimentation delivery into waterways by decommissioning more 

than 5 miles of roads, improved more than 3,270 acres of water or 

soil resources to achieve desired functioning conditions, enhanced 

170 acres of riparian habitat, reconnected more than 2 miles of 

stream to its floodplain, and removed fish barriers (dams) to open 

up 13 miles to fish habitat. Two subwatersheds within the CFLR 

landscape have shifted to a “Properly Functioning” Watershed 

Condition Framework (WCF) score.
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BUILDING COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS

Southwest Crown of the Continent, MT

“Through collaboration, we get better outcomes, be they environmental, 

economic, or social. That’s why collaboration is worth all the time and effort.”

—Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative, ID

“The partnership is very functional in coming together, deciding what needs 

to be done and who will do it, and getting on with the job of implementation 

and making results happen.”

—Shortleaf Bluestem and Ozark Highlands, AR

“The CFLR project has significantly advanced our level of understanding and 

agreement regarding the most effective land management strategies for 

restoration.”

—Colorado Front Range Collaborative, CO

CFLRP Collaboration Indicator Data—FY 2014

The collaboration indicator data provide results from a survey administered by the NFF in FY 2014. All CFLR project collaboratives provided results, totaling 180 

respondents. Complete survey results are available at http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/index.shtml.

Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, OR, field trip discussions 

(Ally Steinmetz)

“All stakeholders in the collaborative share a 

deeper understanding of the challenges faced by 

various interests—timber sales, forest products, 

landscape concerns, habitat and forest ecology, 

water, recreation and, most of all, the risk to all of 

it from catastrophic wildfire.”

—Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, OR

Southern Blues Restoration Coalition, OR

“The Southern Blues Restoration Coalition’s CFLR project was 

developed by public stakeholders working with the Forest Service. 

And, at the time, it was a leap of faith: while we had been working 

together for a few years already, the relationships were tenuous 

and many were still skeptical of collaboration. However, by formal­izing our collective vision for the forest in our CFLR proposal and 

then working together on its implementation, we have rebuilt a 

solid foundation based on trust and mutual respect. As a result of 

our CFLR project, the Southern Blues Restoration Coalition 

has seen demonstrable positive improvements in forest 

health and the health of local communities: we have reduced 

the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire and improved wildlife 

habitat. Local businesses are once again booming. By working together, we are on track to complete all of our watershed 

restoration goals in half the time predicted in our original CFLR 

proposal. We wouldn’t be in this position without the CFLR program.”

—Southern Blues Restoration Coalition member, OR
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PARTNER CONTRIBUTIONS

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, CFLR projects 

attracted more than $76.1 million 

in partner match.

Between FY 2012 and FY 2014, CFLR projects 

leveraged more than $145 million to 

help achieve project goals.

11

Total Project Funding Expended (FY 2010-FY 2014)

Partner match includes in-kind contributions and funds contributed through 

agreements. Goods for services is service work accomplished within a 

stewardship contract. Forest Service investments is funding made available 

from the Forest Service to support these high-priority efforts.

CFLR funds provide new and expanded opportunities 

for critical restoration work and monitoring. What’s more 

this funding also attracts additional partner dollars to go 

toward strategic, landscape-level initiatives.

Partner contributions are trending upward over time as projects establish new partnerships and agreements are put in 

place. In FY 2010, partner contributions comprised 7 percent 

of total funding; by FY 2014, this number doubled to 15 percent of total funding expended.

Zuni Mountain, NM (Forest Guild)

10 Forest Service investments include Forest Service balances that may be available 

in a given year to go to priority projects. 

11 Leverage includes funds or in-kind services that help projects achieve the objectives outlined in their proposal, within the defined landscape, but that do not meet 

match qualifications. Examples include investments on non-NFS lands within the 

defined landscape, restoration equipment, and worker training.

Colorado Front Range, CO: “This focused effort on Federal 

lands has leveraged new and significant funding from nonFederal partners such as water utilities, corporate investors, 

private foundations, and others who see the benefit of building 

on a sustained, strategic effort.... Although the CFLR program 

doesn’t fund non-Federal land treatment, a number of individuals 

and organizations have been very successful in garnering funds to 

support treatment on adjacent non-Federal lands because of the 

potential for a larger scale impact when the Federal and non-Federal 

treatments are combined.”

—Colorado Front Range Collaborative member, CO

In FY 2014, the project attracted $2.8 million in partner match 

and $10.8 million in leverage dollars.

(Partner match and leveraged dollars from: Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Denver Water, Arbor Day Foundation, Colorado 

Springs Utilities, Front Range Roundtable, Rocky Mountain Tree 

Ring Research, Coalition for the Upper South Platte, Colorado State 

Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services, 

and Waldo Fire Recovery Group)

Northeast Washington Vision 2020, WA: CFLR has enabled 

Northeast Washington Vision 2020 to bring in new partnerships to accomplish critical restoration work and to 

engage youth in natural resource management. In FY 2014, 

the project used five different programs involving students ranging 

in age from elementary school through college. Partners included 

Northwest Youth Corps, Curlew Job Corps, Worksource, Student 

Conservation Association, Washington State University, and the 

University of Washington. Students contributed to project goals 

by accomplishing fuel reduction and fencing projects, setting up 

plots and monitoring recently treated areas, monitoring treatment 

impacts on wildlife, and completing trail maintenance to improve 

recreation opportunities. Without CFLR, these trainees would 

not have had these opportunities to work with Forest Service personnel and practice the techniques they had learned 

in school. Partner in-kind contributions for FY 2014 totaled more 

than $305,300.
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SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES: THE NEXT 5 YEARS

Dinkey Landscape Restoration Project, CA (Dorian Fougéres)

Restored, healthy, and resilient ecosystems sustain local communities and cultures through economic well-being and recreation opportunities; provide water, timber, 

and fuel wood; and support vital ecological processes that 

support wildlife and maintain healthy soils and watersheds. 

Across the country, the 23 CFLR projects have made 

significant progress building more resilient forests and 

watersheds, developing community relationships and 

capacity, and generating economic benefits. As highlighted in this report, the accomplishments the projects have 

achieved are already significant and are expected to build in 

the coming years.

As we reflect back on the past 5 years—and look forward to 

next 5—it is important to share some of the key successes, 

challenges, and trends that we expect will continue to affect 

the CFLR projects.

Collaborating at the Landscape Scale

During the past 5 years, we learned that bringing diverse 

community perspectives together through collaborative 

processes helps build resiliency to unexpected events, 

identify creative solutions, and create the social agreements that ensure long-term sustainability and support 

for project goals. For example, in 2012, the Lakeview Stewardship CFLR in Oregon faced an unusually severe wildfire 

that scorched more than 90,000 acres, including planned 

treatment acres within the CFLR. Thanks to the collaborative 

efforts of the Lakeview Stewardship Group and the FremontWinema National Forest, the project was able to quickly 

regroup and develop new strategies for restoration. In 2014, 

the project was awarded a Forest Service Chief’s Honor Award 

for “Meeting America’s Needs.” Furthermore, many projects 

have seen large landscape decisions approved without appeals. 

As a member of the Uncompahgre Partnership in Colorado 

stated, “There is no way a 17,000 acre decision would not 

have been appealed without collaboration.” Collaborating at 

the landscape scale provides new opportunities for getting 

work done. Meaningful collaboration, however, takes a significant amount of time and effort from all involved parties, 

many of whom volunteer their time and expertise. Relationships must continue to be built and sustained over time as 

issues and staff members change. Furthermore, some projects 

have more contentious histories and issues to confront than 

others. We continue to work with community partners to 

facilitate the sharing of best practices and tools as we all 

learn what works best over time.

Utilizing Biomass

All CFLR applicants were required to describe plans to “use 

woody biomass and small-diameter trees produced from 

projects implementing the strategy” in their proposals. By 

utilizing woody byproducts from restoration treatments, 

CFLR projects can help offset treatment costs and generate economic benefits for the community. To date, the 

23 projects have generated more than 2.1 million green 

tons of woody biomass from hazardous fuel reduction and 

restoration treatments on Federal land made available for 

bioenergy production. Because of a number of factors external 

to CFLR, however, including low natural gas prices and the 

unanticipated impacts of the 2008 economic downturn on 

the timber market, many of the cogeneration and milling 

facilities that were planned in project areas are on hold or 

have shut down. The projects continue to find innovative 

ways of addressing this issue; such innovations include the 

Uncompahgre Plateau (Colorado) project’s biomass feasibility 

study, the Tapash (Washington) project’s work with USDA 

Rural Development to develop utilization opportunities, and 

the Burney Hat (California) project’s plans to make use of 

the Biomass Crop Assistance Program authorized under the 

2014 Farm Bill. Even so, without a significant change in demand for biomass and associated development of processing 

infrastructure, it will be challenging for the projects to meet 

the proposed lifetime goals for biomass utilization.

Reducing Wildfire Risk

In the 6 years since the act was passed, the emphasis on 

wildfire management strategies has expanded from cost 

containment to overall risk reduction. The National Cohesive 

Wildland Fire Management Strategy, collaboratively prepared 

by Federal, State, and local partners, has led the way with its 

focus on resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and 

safe and effective wildfire response. The Forest Service has 

been developing ways to quantify risk and measure change 

in risk over time, and the CFLR projects have provided a 

fertile proving ground for testing methodology.
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SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES: THE NEXT 5 YEARS (CONTINUED)

The R-CAT was developed to try to estimate anticipated 

wildfire cost savings from fuel treatments on CFLR landscapes, defining management costs as large- and small-fire 

costs, burned area emergency response, rehabilitation costs, 

fuel treatment costs, and potential revenue from wood product sales. Several teams also used R-CAT to analyze how 

reestablishing natural fire regimes could also reduce fire 

management costs. At this time, R-CAT provides only limited 

results. R-CAT analysis has been challenging for many of the 

projects because they vary greatly in terms of staff capacity, 

the accuracy of the locally available fuels data, and the ability 

to predict when and where treatments will occur. Given these 

limitations, the best use of R-CAT results is to help evaluate 

the potential ways for fuel treatments to reduce wildfire suppression costs on the landscape as one data point that CFLR 

projects can consider when prioritizing fuel treatments. For 

more information about R-CAT and project results, visit 

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/index.shtml. We 

will continue to refine and develop tools to better analyze 

the complete picture of costs and benefits from hazardous 

fuel treatments.

Multi-Party Monitoring

Multi-party monitoring is a fundamental requirement of 

CFLR. Monitoring and assessment involving multiple 

partners helps ensure transparency and accountability, 

expand capacity, and can provide employment and training opportunities for local workers and youth. It is an 

innovative approach that engaged local citizens in landscape restoration over time. These feedback loops are 

especially important with the inherent complexities of 

working at the landscape scale. All projects track progress 

through the annual reporting process, which includes 

quantitative and qualitative data. By continually evaluating 

successes and challenges, projects are able to work together 

to adapt and prioritize work on the ground. In FY 2014, 

projects submitted their “ecological indicators” to assess 

progress toward desired ecological conditions (see page 4 

for more details). Because the projects are at varying stages 

of implementation (with some projects having 5 years of 

implementation under way and others only 3, not including unexpected delays due to events such as wildfire), progress on developing long-term monitoring plans varies. In 

FY 2013, the Southwest Crown of the Continent project in 

Montana received a grant from the Kresge Foundation to 

work with local schools to carry out forest and stream monitoring. The program has been very successful in establishing 

permanent monitoring sites and will add a fourth school in 

FY 2015. The 4FRI project in Arizona brought on a full-time 

monitoring coordinator to work with the 4FRI Stakeholder 

Group to finalize the multiparty monitoring plan for the first 

million-acre Environmental Impact Statement and adaptive 

management plan. Other projects are working through the 

important, but often time-consuming, process of prioritizing 

monitoring efforts with their collaboratives. As required by 

the program, projects will continue assessing impacts for no 

fewer than 15 years after the start of implementation.

Accelerating Restoration

One goal of the program is to accelerate restoration work on 

hundreds of thousands of national forest acres across the 

country. It is clear that the 23 CFLR projects have already 

made significant progress in increasing the scale of treatments and accelerating the pace of projects. Since the first 

10 projects began implementation in 2010, CFLR has 

established more than 67,000 acres of forest vegetation, 

treated more than 1.45 million acres to reduce the risk 

of uncharacteristic wildfire, and improved more than 

1.33 million acres of wildlife habitat.

Accelerating restoration takes time: all projects have a 

ramp-up period while they develop contracts to complete 

the work, build community relationships and support, 

overcome anticipated events such as wildfire on the 

landscape, and plan specific treatment activities in project areas. CFLR represents a new way of doing business 

for many of those involved, and the shift toward large 

landscape-scale planning, implementing, and monitoring 

requires new approaches and techniques. As the program 

moves forward, these new approaches and lessons learned 

are shared among CFLR projects and beyond. It is also 

important to note that, because projects have different 

ecological, social, and economic contexts, the ramp-up 

period may take longer for some projects than others. 

Some landscapes, such as Lakeview Stewardship in 

Oregon, have had to revise their original plans because 

of catastrophic wildfire on the landscape.

While projects saw strong results overall, the invasive 

plants and roadwork indicators are not as far along, for 

a variety of reasons. Most projects anticipate faster rates 

or progress in the next 5 years. For invasive species, part 

of the challenge was that baseline data did not exist for 

many of the treatment areas, making it difficult to assess 

impact while projects build capacity to monitor efficacy. 

Furthermore, the approach of using herbicides for invasive 

species and weed treatments may require substantial 

collaborative deliberation. Projects may also focus on 

work related to prevention and early detection—work 

that is more costly and may result in lower acre outputs 

but that is of a higher priority. In the first few years, some 

projects had to focus on building infrastructure, including 

a market for restoration byproducts to help offset treatment costs, before they could focus on invasive species 

treatments. Roadwork has been slower than anticipated 

for a number of reasons, including the collaboratives’ 
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SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES: THE NEXT 5 YEARS (CONTINUED)

desire to first identify sedimentation “hotspots” for roadwork 

so that funding can be used efficiently and effectively. Deciding 

how and where to conduct roadwork can also require additional collaborative deliberation and education efforts.

The focus on restoring large-scale landscapes has also promoted 

new ways of thinking about the analysis of environmental impacts for proposed activities via the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). Investment in collaboration and use of 

new technologies can support these innovative approaches 

and result in the ability to implement on much larger landscapes after NEPA decisions are final. In FY 2014, the 4FRI, 

a partnership among more than 30 stakeholders and the 

Forest Service, released a draft decision for the Nation’s 

largest forest restoration plan to date.

Conclusion

One of the greatest marks of CFLR’s success is the degree to 

which it informs and improves other landscape restoration 

and management efforts. According to the Selway-Middle 

Fork Clearwater Rivers collaborative, the CFLR project has 

provided the foundation of the relationship between the 

Clearwater Basin Collaborative and the Forest Service, from 

which many other successes have grown. CFLR synergizes 

with other efforts developed in the past few years to 

accelerate restoration through strategic landscape-scale, 

place-based management and an “all lands” approach. 

For instance, several CFLR project landscapes overlap with 

the Forest Service Chief’s Joint Landscape Restoration Partnership to improve the health and resiliency of landscapes 

on both public and privately owned landscapes. As CFLR 

continues, lessons learned through the projects can continue 

to inform and inspire landscape-level, collaborative management efforts to accelerate restoration across the country.

As the program moves forward, CFLR will build on its successes; adapt and evolve as lessons are learned and shared 

and new science becomes available; and improve the ways in 

which we collaborate, implement, and monitor. One of the 

most important aspects of CFLR is its timeframe. Although 

we will likely not see the full range of impacts CFLR will 

have on the landscape and the community in 10 years, it 

is enough time to learn as we go and capture these lessons 

for projects and others interested in collaborative landscape 

management approaches. The additional $20 million proposed 

in the FY 2016 President’s Budget would provide the opportunity for the program to expand the 23 existing projects and 

permit the investment in new CFLR projects. This additional 

support would expand CFLR’s ability to accelerate restoration 

work, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and generate 

jobs in rural communities.

The CFLR program’s successes would not be possible without the support and engagement of the local communities, 

counties, businesses, tribes, associations, nongovernmental 

organizations, and private citizens who bring their time, 

energy, and expertise to the local CFLR collaboratives.

Selway-Middle Fork Clearwater, ID

Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative, ID

Southwest Jemez Mountains, NM (Jeremy Marshall)

Grandfather Restoration Project, NC, https://grandfatherrestorationproject.

wordpress.com

Ozark Highlands Ecosystem Restoration, AR