Issue Papers

Rural Green Jobs
Community-based Organizations
Economic Stimulus Proposal
Collaboration
Community Capacity Building
Workforce and Labor

Rural Green Jobs

Growth in green jobs is an integral part of the strategy to
reinvest and rebuild the American economy. In addition
to renewable energy development, energy conservation, and
green product development, our green economy must support rural jobs that restore and steward our forests, rangelands, and watersheds. Rural America is a critical part of the green jobs discussion because 80% of our country’s land base, and almost 64% of its counties are rural. Rural communities reside on public lands, and rural families own productive forests and farms. Rural communities, and the landscapes in which they are situated, are fundamental to America’s energy, water, food, and natural resource security. These communities’ responsible land management practices help protect and restore environmental quality, while sustainably realizing the economic potential of natural resources.

Key Recommendations:

Federal policies investing in green jobs should include:

1. Workforce training that provides durable and transferable skills to rural people.
2. Small business assistance to encourage local growth of rural restoration and stewardship oriented businesses,including biomass utilization and ecosystem services.
3. Federal contracting reforms to ensure quality, long-term employment opportunities in rural communities.

Also read the 2009 Rural Green Jobs Issue Paper.

Community-based Organizations

Local rural communities and landowners, when endowed
with the appropriate resources and incentives, can serve as a powerful force and cost-effective source for conservation of the Western landscape. Conservation, in turn, is an important tool and strategy to achieve local economic resilience. Our shared vision is for working landscapes to provide multiple value streams to society, including robust ecological functionality and biodiversity, production of food, fiber and other raw materials, aesthetic value, recreation, and a cultural and economic underpinning for local communities.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are a strategic asset capable of aligning the goals, objectives and resources of non-locally based entities (federal and state programs, foundations, etc.) with the activities of local conservation-oriented landowners and businesses.

Key Recommendations

1. All federal agencies that interface with natural resource-based communities (e.g. NRCS, FWS, FS, BLM and RD)should design their programs to: 

a. Enhance and expand partnerships with community  based organizations (CBOs).

b. Provide financial assistance through grant and loan programs as appropriate to local landowners as well as CBOs.

c. Provide technical assistance and access to government research, data, and other relevant information to landowners as well as CBOs.

2. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior should direct their agencies to work with CBOs to increase inter-agency, inter-departmental protocols, staffing, and performance measures to ensure effective, non-duplicative, and integrated approaches to building and supporting CBOs as catalysts for effective conservation and sustainable economic development.

To learn more read the 2010 Community-based Organizations Issue Paper

Economic Stimulus Proposal

Many of our nation’s current economic systems are built on unsustainable practices. As we look toward implementing an economic stimulus package that will lead us out of our current economic crisis, we should create enduring, sustainable economic systems throughout our nation. Restoring and maintaining the “green infrastructure” of our nation – its watersheds, airsheds, forests and grasslands – will be a key component of these new economic opportunities.  America’s rural communities should be at the core of any effort to rebuild and maintain our “green infrastructure.” Rural communities are the stewards who live in close proximity to our natural landscapes and are best positioned to provide restoration and stewardship services. Building sustainable resource-based economies in our rural communities offers a chance to strengthen struggling rural economies and build lasting sustainable economic systems that support rural families and provide benefits to urban communities in the form of clean water, clean air, domestic sources of building materials, and renewable energy

To learn more read the Economic Stimulus Proposal.

Collaboration

Over the last few decades, federal lands management has been characterized by gridlock and public controversy, adversely impacting the health and vitality of our national forests and communities. The RVCC sees great value in using collaborative approaches to resolve natural resource management issues. We believe that collaboration is essential to accomplishing effective and widely supported on-the-ground efforts in assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring of natural resource management projects on public lands.

To learn more about how we're strengthening federal policies for collaboration, read our Collaboration Issue Paper.

Community Capacity Building

Restoration, management and long-term stewardship of our national forests depend on the ability of agency representatives, concerned stakeholders, and natural resource based-businesses to implement management activities. Regardless of the goals, investment in the people, programs and institutions carrying out this work is a fundamental part of accomplishing the on-the-ground work. Rural communities adjacent to public lands are uniquely positioned to perform restoration, management and long-term stewardship. Investing in building their capacity to address current national forest health problems is critically needed.

For more information on how we support community capacity building, read our Building Community Capacity Issue Paper.

Workforce and Labor

Restoring our public lands and revitalizing adjacent rural communities depend on quality work implemented on-the-ground and quality jobs for those that perform the work. To have a well-trained workforce with the capacity to perform the high-value work needed to restore and maintain our public lands requires that fair wages, durable employment, a diversity of jobs, training opportunities, and safe work environments be offered.

Current economic opportunities for rural community-based and mobile forest workers do not reflect this condition, indicating that the contracting system needs improvement. RVCC has developed a number of solutions addressing this issue which are described in our Workforce and Labor Issue Paper.  For more information read our 2008 recommendations and talking points.

Working Groups

At the 2009 Annual Policy Meeting, the Workforce and Labor and Stewardship Contracting working groups were discontinued and realigned as the new Rural Conservation-based Economic Development and Public Lands Stewardship working groups. 

The Rural Conservation-based Economic Development working group promotes effective stewardship contracting practices that foster high-quality restoration, local jobs, and economic benefit in forest and range communities.  It seeks to create green jobs and businesses in these communities through increased accessibility to rural development programs, economic recovery funds, and the development of alternative markets such as ecosystem services.

Chairs: Cassandra Moseley, Ecosystem Workforce Program; Marnie Criley, Restore Montana

To learn more read the 2010 draft Rural Conservation-based Economic Development plank.

Learn more about past efforts of the working group.

The Public Lands Stewardship working group strives to improve relevant agencies’ planning processes and budget structures to achieve objectives of landscape scale restoration, hazardous fuels reduction, and wildfire management.  It also seeks to encourage collaboration and establish the roles of ecosystem services, carbon sequestration, and thinning as they relate to the creation of green jobs and effective landscape scale stewardship on public lands.

Chairs: Lynn Jungwirth, Watershed Research & Training Center; Wendy Gerlitz and Maia Enzer, Sustainable Northwest

To learn more see the 2010 draft Public Lands Stewardship plank.

Learn more about past efforts of the working group.