Public land management agencies face mounting challenges that include rapid ecological shifts, increases in the number and types of users, declining budgets, and demands for restoration to ensure the continued delivery of ecosystem services. The added management pressure faced by federal land agencies highlights the need for social and institutional changes.  One positive institutional change driven by the need for increasing capacity has been the emergence of a variety of collaborative partnerships between federal agencies and national, state and local level organizations. In the case of the Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation is developing a variety of partnership models across the country that connect with businesses, municipalities, state agencies and other nonprofits. From running collaborative workshops to managing thinning contracts, this presentation will highlight examples of the different approaches and discuss the conditions that help make these working relationships successful. Sharing land management and stewardship responsibilities represents an opportunity to deepen the interdependent relationships between public land management agencies and the communities they operate in and serve.