Partnerships and volunteers in the U.S. Forest Service

Abstract

The U.S. Forest Service often relies on volunteers and partnerships to help accomplish agency goals, particularly in its recreation and heritage programs. Data from agency records and a staff survey suggest that volunteer involvement is a developing area. Ongoing efforts to improve the agency's volunteer management capacity (VMC) would benefit from more attention to the administrative tasks, advantages, and challenges that make partnership-based volunteer programs successful. Partnerships are a significant, but not dominant, part of the agency's volunteer program and involve VMC issues that are similar to those reported for other types of volunteer management, both in this agency and in the nonprofit sector.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium

Citation

Absher, James D. 2009. Partnerships and volunteers in the U.S. Forest Service. In: Klenosky, David B.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 2008 March 30 - April 1; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-42. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. p 110-114.