CASE STUDIES: Strategy Development
New Mexico State Forestry
New Mexico’s Governor called for a statewide plan to articulate a comprehensive forest health strategy and placed the responsibility for convening the planning process with the State Forester.
The State Forester hired RRC to aid in fully scoping the planning process and then to manage and implement the 18-month effort. RRC also conceived and managed a pre-planning assessment to aid in framing the issues, authored the planning document and incorporated the numerous iterations of comments and revisions, and oversaw all outreach efforts including a two-day workshop of 275 participants and four public meetings held in locations throughout the state.
New Mexico’s Plan has been recognized both regionally and nationally as being on the vanguard of work being done in ecological restoration, particularly for its landscape scale approach, and provides a model for Western States.
The planning effort involved more than 400 stakeholders from federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as well as private landowners, academics, environmentalists, and representatives from industry and public interest groups. One key outcome of RRC’s involvement was the expansion of the plan to include watersheds for a more holistic approach to landscape restoration and management. The planning process brought together all of New Mexico’s departments responsible for environmental issues including Public Health and Environment, Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources, and Minerals. The Plan was signed by all of the principals involved and was formally accepted as the State Plan with the Governor’s signature in March 2005, and it still guides the State's collaborative forest and watershed health efforts.
Visit the website for the Forest and Watershed Health Plan or download the Plan directly here.
New Mexico’s Governor called for a statewide plan to articulate a comprehensive forest health strategy and placed the responsibility for convening the planning process with the State Forester.
The State Forester hired RRC to aid in fully scoping the planning process and then to manage and implement the 18-month effort. RRC also conceived and managed a pre-planning assessment to aid in framing the issues, authored the planning document and incorporated the numerous iterations of comments and revisions, and oversaw all outreach efforts including a two-day workshop of 275 participants and four public meetings held in locations throughout the state.
New Mexico’s Plan has been recognized both regionally and nationally as being on the vanguard of work being done in ecological restoration, particularly for its landscape scale approach, and provides a model for Western States.
The planning effort involved more than 400 stakeholders from federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as well as private landowners, academics, environmentalists, and representatives from industry and public interest groups. One key outcome of RRC’s involvement was the expansion of the plan to include watersheds for a more holistic approach to landscape restoration and management. The planning process brought together all of New Mexico’s departments responsible for environmental issues including Public Health and Environment, Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources, and Minerals. The Plan was signed by all of the principals involved and was formally accepted as the State Plan with the Governor’s signature in March 2005, and it still guides the State's collaborative forest and watershed health efforts.
Visit the website for the Forest and Watershed Health Plan or download the Plan directly here.
USDA Forest Service, Region 8
The Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service (Region 8) manages 13 million acres of federal land in 13 states and Puerto Rico. The region's leadership body is comprised of 45 Regional Directors and Forest Supervisors, headed by the Regional Forester. The Regional Forester wanted to advance his team, and hired RRC to identify development objectives, and design and implement the process to achieve them.
RRC conducted an assessment that highlighted opportunity to improve the team's ability to collaboratively lead the region and to strategically manage their business. RRC then designed and facilitated four team meetings over an 18-month period to transform the way the team thought about their leadership role and how they implemented it for the benefit of the region.
The results were a first-ever Leadership Team Charter, an enhanced Leadership Structure to support collaborative and strategic decision-making among all 45 members, and a Strategic Framework of regional priorities and direction to guide field activities and resource allocation. The Regional Leadership Team described their strategic framework this way:
The framework is intended to “guide, not decide;” each unit will use the framework to guide their work to support the region’s shared vision. The framework is a living document that will evolve over time to respond to a changing world and serve as an anchor during those times of change.
A decade later, the Region's core areas of focus developed with RRC are still being used. Visit the USDA Forest Service, Region 8 website or download the Strategic Framework document directly here.
The Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service (Region 8) manages 13 million acres of federal land in 13 states and Puerto Rico. The region's leadership body is comprised of 45 Regional Directors and Forest Supervisors, headed by the Regional Forester. The Regional Forester wanted to advance his team, and hired RRC to identify development objectives, and design and implement the process to achieve them.
RRC conducted an assessment that highlighted opportunity to improve the team's ability to collaboratively lead the region and to strategically manage their business. RRC then designed and facilitated four team meetings over an 18-month period to transform the way the team thought about their leadership role and how they implemented it for the benefit of the region.
The results were a first-ever Leadership Team Charter, an enhanced Leadership Structure to support collaborative and strategic decision-making among all 45 members, and a Strategic Framework of regional priorities and direction to guide field activities and resource allocation. The Regional Leadership Team described their strategic framework this way:
The framework is intended to “guide, not decide;” each unit will use the framework to guide their work to support the region’s shared vision. The framework is a living document that will evolve over time to respond to a changing world and serve as an anchor during those times of change.
A decade later, the Region's core areas of focus developed with RRC are still being used. Visit the USDA Forest Service, Region 8 website or download the Strategic Framework document directly here.
