The U.S. Forest Service will be hosting a workshop on reducing fuels in the El Dorado National Forest using Stewardship Contracting. The target audience for the workshop is prospective contractors in Amador and El Dorado counties who wish to learn more about how stewardship contracts work and how to bid.  Stewardship contracts were authorized by Congress in the 2003 Appropriations Bill and allow the Forest Service to exchange goods for services. For the past four years, the Forest Service has been using the value of commercial timber from forest thinning projects in the El Dorado National Forest to offset the cost of reducing fuels on the ground and removing small trees growing under taller trees that create “fire ladders.” “Stewardship contracts reduce the Forest Service’s reliance on tax dollars to accomplish vital fuels reduction in the National Forests,” said El dorado National Forest Contracting Officer Patricia Ferrell.

Ferrell says fuels reduction isn’t the only work that can be accomplished in the National Forest using stewardship contracts.  Many kinds of projects can be undertaken with this contracting authority including watershed restoration, wildlife habitat and forest health improvement, and noxious weed control. “Like anything new, there is apprehension in potential contractors.  We plan to help educate our prospective contractors so they can effectively bid on these projects,” said Ferrell. For more information about the workshop, contact El Dorado National Forest Contracting Officer Patricia Ferrell at (530) 642-5146.