Within the Forest Service, partnerships are often broadly defined as relationships between people, organizations, agencies, and communities that work together and share interests. The Forest Service regularly works in partnership with other entities, including tribes, states, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and communities. However, it is important to understand that the word partnership also has a more precise meaning according to federal policy. Federal policy defines partnerships as “arrangements that are voluntary, mutually beneficial and entered into for the purpose of mutually agreed upon objectives.” In this definition, mutual benefit specifically means that each partner shares in the benefits the project provides.

• A Fire-Adapted Community (FAC) is a human community consisting of informed and prepared citizens collaboratively planning and taking action to safely co-exist with wildland fire.
• The Firewise Community program teaches people how to adapt to living with wildfire and encourage neighbors to work together and take action now to prevent losses. They are key components of FACs.

In natural resource management, collaboration increasingly refers to a process where groups with different interests come together to address management issues across a specified geographic region (e.g., forest, watershed, or landscape). In other words, the goal of collaboration is to build and promote a collective vision for how to manage the land. Through collaboration, groups that may disagree are able to explore their differences, identify common interests, and seek common-ground solutions. A collaborative relationship may be documented through a formal arrangement, but often it is not. It is important to note that well-defined collaborative processes do not transfer government authority—government agencies remain responsible for their actions and retain their decision-making authority.