ABSTRACT
We examined six CFLRP groups to explore how they developed collaborative capacity as they identified shared visions of desired conditions for restoration. Ecosystem change in fire-adapted forests requires restoration of entire landscapes. However, landscape-level restoration decisions are difficult, particularly on U.S. Forest Service lands where declining budgets, complex regulations, and long standing multiple-use conflicts have led to gridlock and litigation. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) promotes collaborative development, implementation, and monitoring of landscape restoration projects on National Forest lands. Collaborative capacity is the ability of organizations to collaboratively solve problems, govern shared resources, create learning opportunities, address shared goals, and is necessary for long-term problem solving. CFLRP groups used a variety of strategies to define shared visions of desired conditions, including facilitation, coordination, decision rules, issue-based recommendations, sub-groups, diverse membership, mutual support, field trips, landscape-level analysis, and science engagement. In using these strategies, the groups built collaborative capacity related to resources, procedural and institutional arrangements, leadership, and knowledge. Given the significant investment of public and private resources in collaborative approaches to natural resource management, understanding how collaborative groups create and sustain collaborative capacity, is critical for improving the effectiveness of and outcomes from initiatives such as the CFLRP.
