Social and economic contributions of the white mountain stewardship project: Final 10-Year assessment—Lessons learned and implications for future forest management initiatives

The White Mountain Stewardship Project (WMSP) was the first forest stewardship project of its size and duration, lasting 10 years (2004-2014). Based on in-depth interviews of local businesses, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service staff, and stakeholders, we present an assessment of the WMSP and lessons learned in large-scale contracting. The assessment includes factors that promoted project initiation, the contractual process, the overall impact to the local forest products industry and economy, and the formation of key partnerships. Experiences from the WMSP offer unique social and economic perspectives that can inform other communities at risk of wildfire. The recommendations were derived from final WMSP performance metrics and respondents’ reflections on the outcomes of the WMSP. The lessons learned from the WMSP offer improvements for future restoration initiatives in USDA Forest Service contracting mechanisms, industry capacity, and coordination of stakeholder interests, including agency-to-industry, business-to-business, and agency-to-stakeholder partnerships.