Texas, USDA, Sign Stewardship Agreement

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a Shared Stewardship agreement with Texas Governor Greg Abbot Thursday. The agreement will establish a framework for federal and state agencies to improve collaboration in responding to natural resource concerns and ecological challenges in Texas. Governor Abbot says the agreement “is an important step toward strengthening our partnership with the federal government and renewing our commitment to responsible forest management.” The agreement is between the Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as the Texas A&M Forest Service. Texas is the 15th state to agree to a Shared Stewardship framework. The framework uses a modern and collaborative approach to focus on landscape-scale forest restoration activities to protect at-risk communities and watersheds. The agreement with Texas will focus on encouraging strong, long-term forest management programs, promoting sound and scientific silvicultural practices, and aligning various agency land management activities to meet common goals.