Can governance networks restore forest landscapes? An examination of nonfederal partners in implementation of the wildfire crisis strategy

National forest policy in the USA was traditionally implemented by the US Forest Service, a professional forestry agency traditionally characterized by high levels of autonomy. Over the last two decades, this approach has gradually given way to a more networked model dependent upon partnerships and contracting arrangements and, implicitly, less bound to conventional bureaucratic conventions. Such changes raise the possibility for more efficient, responsive, and adaptive national forest governance, yet these outcomes are far from guaranteed. Here we examine both the motivations for, and challenges to the successful implementation of, a networked approach to national forest administration using the Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) as the basis for an empirical investigation. The WCS promised to reduce the risk of uncontrollable wildfire to communities, watersheds, and ecosystems through infusions of funding in priority landscapes coupled with access to a suite of policy tools meant to expedite management actions and facilitate coproduction with non-US Forest Service partners. Our qualitative research in four distinct geographies shows that the engagement of partners in forest policy administration was motivated by partners’ greater perceived efficiency, legitimacy, and innovativeness. Despite these advantages, policy implementation was often challenged by both local- and national-level factors. The findings of this study highlight the importance not only of the broad structure of governance networks but also of the particular ways in which resources, expectations, and authorities are shared and of the macro-political context in which governance occurs.