Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program - Implementing CLFR Projects

After the Secretary has notified the Regional Forester that a CFLR project has been selected, Title IV requires additional implementation actions. This section describes the process for developing a work plan, multi-party monitoring, and reporting requirements associated with the CFLR Program.

Developing a Work Plan

Within 180 days of being notified the project has been selected, a work plan must be developed and approved. The requesting unit shall create, in collaboration with the other parties involved in the proposal, an implementation work plan and budget to implement the proposal.

To meet Title IV requirements, the work plan must include the following elements:

1. Implementation Description – Describe how the proposal will be implemented to achieve ecological and community economic benefit, including capacity building to accomplish restoration.
2. Business Plan – Develop a business plan that addresses the following elements:
   • anticipated unit treatment cost reductions over 10 years;
   • anticipated costs for infrastructure needed for the proposal;
   • projected sustainability of the supply of woody biomass and small-diameter trees removed in ecological restoration treatments; and,
   • the projected local economic benefits of the proposal.
3. Document non-Federal investment in the proposal, including the sources and uses of the investments.
4. Temporary Road Decommissioning Plan – Include a plan to decommission any temporary roads established to carry out the proposal.

The work plan will be submitted to the Regional Forester for approval. Project implementation may begin once the requesting unit has been notified that the work plan has been approved.

Multi-Party Monitoring of CFLR Projects

Multiparty monitoring brings people with different views and expertise together to deal with broad landscape level issues and reduce potential conflict over actions by providing a way for interested groups to discuss, reach agreement, and collaboratively appropriate beneficial management activities.

Title IV mandates the use of multiparty monitoring to:

• monitor,
• evaluate,
• provide accountability, and
• assess the positive or negative ecological, social, and economic effects not less than 15 years after project implementation commences

The diagram below illustrates the key steps in multiparty development and monitoring process. (Adapted from Multiparty Monitoring and Assessment of Collaborative Forest Restoration Projects - Short Guide for Grant Recipients, 2008).

(PDF, 119 KB)

Title IV recognizes the experimental nature of landscape-scale ecological restoration and importance of collecting, analyzing, and sharing that information to advance the underlying goals of proposed ecosystem restoration.

Additional general information concerning multi-party monitoring requirements can be found in the “Multiparty Monitoring and Assessment of Collaborative Forest Restoration Projects - Short Guide for Grant Recipients” (PDF, 0.5 MB)

CFLR Program Reporting Requirements

Annual Reporting Requirements

For all CFLR Funded projects, the Regional Forester will prepare an annual report on the accomplishments of each selected proposal beginning in the fiscal year that CFLR funding is first received and annually thereafter for the life of the project. The annual report shall include:

1. a description of all acres (or other appropriate unit) treated and restored through projects implementing the strategy;
2. an evaluation of progress, including performance measures and how prior year evaluations have contributed to improved project performance;
3. a description of community benefits achieved, including any local economic benefits;
4. the results of the multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process; and,
5. a summary of the costs of treatments; and relevant fire management activities.

The annual report shall be kept on file by the Regional Forester and made available to the Secretary upon request.

Five-Year Reporting Requirements

The Secretary will prepare a 5-year report in accordance with Title IV not later than 5 years after the first fiscal year in which CFLR funds are made available, and every 5 years thereafter. The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit a report on the program, including an assessment of whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling the purposes of this title to the Congressional Committees specified in the Act.

Additional Guidance for CFLR Program Reporting Requirements

Every effort should be made to utilize existing reporting systems for purposes of tracking accomplishments using CFLR funds. The Forest Activity Tracking System (FACTS) provides a coding structure enabling ecological restoration treatments to be planned and tracked. This will likely require an interim step to identify the specific activities that constitute ecological restoration treatments using locally (region/forest) developed descriptors until such time as a national set of eligible codes is identified.