San Bernardino National Forest  

Bridging the Funding Gap - National Forest Partners

Using all the "Tools"

For many years, National Forests have searched for ways to leverage the appropriated recreation dollar to meet the needs and expectations of forest visitors. The Forest Service does the same with revenues that come from the Recreation Fee Program. To that end, the Forest Service has re-evaluated how to provide Recreation opportunities and Resource protection and Interpretation. The Forest Service has created and implemented a management concept called "The Recreation Toolbox for the Great Outdoors ". This "toolbox" contains a wide variety of solutions for Recreation Managers. Now they can identify and use a number of new human and financial assets, combining them with contributions from various sources to tackle larger projects as well as solve problems. This is called "leveraging" — the Forest Service is changing the way it does business.

• Combining human and financial resources
• Investing in Partnerships and Volunteerism
• Recognizing Volunteer Service Contributions - Volunteer Passes
• Visit some of our Partnership and Volunteer Organizations
• Will Recreation Fees solve all the problems?

Combining human and financial resources

We have recruited volunteers and partnered with numerous groups, agencies and corporations. For example, concessionaires assist us in operating some developed recreation areas. Corporations and other public agencies provide grant funding and energy towards efforts such as environmental education, outreach to inner-city neighborhoods, joint research on natural resource issues, and access for disabled persons. We developed Challenge Cost-Share agreements with the California State University system to conduct important research on recreation visitor use and opinions (visit the Recreation Research section). Several types of agreements are drafted between public agencies and private entities to achieve mutual goals. When these opportunities are in the public interest, we take advantage of them.

The Forest Service is Investing in Partnerships and Volunteerism

Several national forests have embraced new management concepts and solutions in this era of insufficient appropriated funding. To that end, the southern California forests have developed some of the most progressive partner relationships in the entire agency.

The Forest Service actually uses some of the recreation fee revenues to provide funding support for partnership activities. A case in point is the support to the San Bernardino National Forest Association (SBNFA) and the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association (SGWA). These two non-profit organizations host 6 varied recreation and resource programs, with an annual return on the investment that is 5-10 times the value of the funds provided by the Forest Service. SBNFA and SGWA annually coordinate the efforts of nearly 800 volunteers who provide the following support to forest programs:

• Staff, operate & maintain Big Bear Discovery Center, 7days/week, year-round
• Staff, operate & maintain the Children’s Forest Center, year-round
• Staff, operate & maintain the Barton Flats Visitor Center, May – September
• Host the Off-highway Vehicle Volunteer program, year-round
• Host the Fire Lookouts Program
• Staff & Coordinate the San Gorgonio Wilderness Patrol program

Recognizing Volunteer Service Contributions with Volunteer Passes

The Forest Service also encourages partners, and the volunteers they coordinate, by providing Free Adventure Passes and the new America the Beautiful Volunteer Pass. Any volunteer who contributes 100 or more hours of public service to national forest recreation and resource programs will receive an annual Adventure Pass. Any volunteer who contributes 500 or more hours is eligible for the America the Beautiful Volunteer Pass. A system for allowing volunteers to carry their contributed hours between agencies is being developed. In past years as many as 600 volunteers received free Adventure Passes in recognition of their service to the forests.

Adventure Pass 100 Hours

Interagency Volunteer Pass 500 Hours

Visit some of our Partnership and Volunteer Organizations

• Brazil Ranch Environmental Center
• Forest Service Volunteer Association - San Jacinto Ranger District
• Laguna Mountain Volunteer Association
• San Bernardino National Forest Association
• San Gorgonio Wilderness Association
• San Diego Fire Recovery Network
  • Volunteer Page
  • Current Projects

The Forest Service is working on a southern California strategy to coordinate volunteer and partnership resources throughout the coastal-southern California "travel zone". This effort involves 4 National Forests (Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, San Bernardino) spread over 11 counties. The program was originally established to support Take Pride in America's efforts to get volunteers involved in restoration and stewardship on these forests.

For now we will be posting the Southern California Volunteer Newsletters here for reference. Those with an interest in contributing to their local National Forest may use the information posted on this site to make connections with various groups with similar goals.

Please read the about programs offered at the "National Children's Forest" in the newsletter below:

• June 2006 Children's Forest Newsletter (PDF, 8 pages, 2.7 MB)

Past Issues of the Expanding the Circle newsletter:

• May 2005 (PDF, 5 pages)
• April 2005 (PDF, 4 pages)
• March 2005 (PDF, 5 pages)
• November 2004 (PDF, 4 pages)

Will Recreation Fees solve the problems?

Recreation fees very often provide that critical piece of the solution, the liquid funding that literally bonds a proposal between various groups or agencies together. Sometimes it takes a relatively small amount of funding to make a large project feasible (like paying for trucks and landfill fees that make it possible for volunteers to clean up the forest). While Adventure Pass funds have truly made a difference, they are only a piece of the answer. The four Forests continue to focus on building strong volunteer programs, developing partnerships, and seeking additional funding sources. All of these strategic resources, along with appropriated funding and fee revenues, are needed to meet the tremendous recreation needs in Southern California.