LA River STEW-MAP

In recent years environmental stewardship has been emphasized as one solution to social-ecological sustainability concerns, especially at the local scale. The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) is a national research program developed by the USDA Forest Service that has been implemented at numerous locations in the United States and internationally, including the Los Angeles River watershed. Through an online survey of stewardship groups, the LA River STEW-MAP aims to provide better and more detailed information on the organizational characteristics, geographical footprint, and collaborative relationships of groups working on environmental stewardship in the Los Angeles River watershed. <br>Specifically, this study compared the mission statements of the responding groups to previously proposed definitions and frameworks of organizational environmental stewardship to see how well they were reflected. A thematic analysis of the mission statements was also carried out to identify locally important themes and priorities. Results show that, although often consistent, the mission statements do not always reflect existing concepts around environmental stewardship. Additionally, stewardship is not always explicit in the mission statements of organizations that are known to conduct these activities. We suggest that non-traditional groups that engage in stewardship work (e.g., research institutions) are an overlooked actor in sustainable city goals.<b></b>