Phoenix, AZ - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Dr. Homer Wilkes and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a Shared Stewardship Agreement to strengthen collaboration between state and federal land management agencies in the State of Arizona.

The State of Arizona and the USDA Forest Service have a long and successful record of collaborating on efforts to improve forest health and resilience. Today’s agreement focuses on federal and state agencies working together to respond to land management challenges and concerns across Arizona forests. Today’s agreement builds on a 2020 Shared Stewardship Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at accelerating the pace and scale of projects like the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), and will assist the state and the Forest Service in their continued efforts to address the wildfire crisis in Arizona's high priority “firesheds” using funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

"I am thankful for Governor Hobbs’ commitment to the long-standing partnership between the USDA Forest Service and the State of Arizona," said Under Secretary Wilkes. "Through Shared Stewardship, we continue to work on landscape-scale priorities and build capacity to improve forest conditions."

“Partnership is essential to protecting our people, infrastructure, and ecosystems from wildfires,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “This Stewardship Agreement renews our commitment to working with the US Forest Service to mitigate wildfire threats to Arizona communities and ensure healthy forests and ample water supply. I thank Under Secretary Wilkes for his continued collaboration with Arizona and dedication to responsible forest management.”

This collaboration between state and federal agencies uses a proven and collaborative approach to focus on landscape-scale forest restoration activities that increase resilience of at-risk communities and watersheds across national forests in Arizona.

This agreement focuses on restoring fire-adapted ecosystems and reducing the risk of wildfire to communities; identifying, managing and reducing threats to forest and ecosystem health; and fostering economic development strategies that keep working forests productive.