Master Stewardship Agreement

Partnerships

Various approaches or types of agreements are available to facilitate removal of biomass from forestland. In the past, the removal of waste means of disposal of this biomass material. Placer County will partner with agencies and landowners to implement agreements that will allow the economical removal and also provide substantial environmental benefits.

Stewardship Contracts

One approach for partnering that can result in increased efficiency and synergy for the partners is the stewardship contract. Initiated in the 2003 Appropriations Act, Public Law 108-7 grants the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service authority to enter into stewardship contracts or agreements to achieve agency land management objectives and meet community needs. One of the primary functions of a stewardship contract is to conduct projects that improve, maintain, or restore forest health. Standard stewardship contracts are undertaken through a bid process.

Master Stewardship Agreements

A variation of stewardship contracting is the Master Stewardship Agreement that can be undertaken, without a bid process, through multilateral agreement. Placer County and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) have undertaken a Master Stewardship Agreement to facilitate removal of excess woody biomass from LTBMU projects and transport of that biomass to the Cabin Creek Biomass Energy Facility. Supplements to the Master Stewardship Agreement have been developed for specific projects to study ways to improve the processing and transporting of biomass to energy facilities.