Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment

Forest Service 2003 Success Stories

Success Stories: ACT2 and the Maidu Stewardship Project

ACT2 is an Enterprise Team that facilitates the management of culturally important plants on National Forests, collaborating specifically with Native Americans to provide analysis, contract preparation, and technical writing.

The involvement with Maidu Stewardship Project is a wonderful example of ACT2 's contribution to the USDA Forest Service! This project, selected as one of the twenty-two National Stewardship Projects under the 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act , was designed and proposed by the Maidu Cultural and Development Group (MCDG). Projects selected under this act are testing new contracting authorities for Congressional review.

Key project elements are collaborative communication protocols and demonstration of traditional ecological knowledge. MCDG proposes to manage culturally important plants on the Plumas National Forest to enhance their growth, while reducing hazardous fuels near the community of Greenville , California . One of the culturally important plants for this project is willow, which will be treated individually to enhance basketry materials.

The biggest challenge for ACT2 in the Maidu Stewardship Project has been integrating Forest Service processes and procedures with the MCDG proposal. ACT2 was hired to manage all aspects of this project in collaboration with the MCDG: action planning, timeline development, completion of resource surveys, and compliance with National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act .

The Forest Service has chosen to take a less active role in design and implementation of this project to demonstrate the traditional ecological knowledge by the Maidu People. ACT2 will complete the unique contract that will test authorities and will administer the contract until the Plumas National Forest is ready to take over these responsibilities.

Photos

Maidu Monitoring Committee Members at the Maidu Stewardship Conference held on site in May 2002

MCDG Project Coordinator, Farrell Cunningham, standing beside a willow plant. They will treat these culturally important plants individually to enhance basketry materials

USDA Forest Service - Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment
Last Modified: Tuesday, 18 May 2004 at 11:33:00 EDT