Restoring Watersheds: Coca-Cola, National Forest Foundation, and U.S. Forest Service Partnership
Building Strategic Alliances through Innovative
Public-Private Partnership Management
BlueTerra Partners’ founder provided leadership for and helped coordinate a groundbreaking public-private water-restoration effort in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, National Forest Foundation, and The Coca-Cola Company, with regional participation from Swire Coca-Cola, USA. This initiative mobilized $5 million and delivered 2.4 billion liters of replenished water across nine states. The governance and adaptive systems developed through this partnership now inform BlueTerra Partners’ approach to designing durable, equitable alliances.
The Challenge
The drinking water supply of over 60 million Americans depends on healthy national forests. Yet drought, wildfire, invasive species, and budget constraints were degrading watersheds faster than they could be restored. The scale of restoration required far outstripped what any single agency or funding source could deliver alone.
The Approach
BlueTerra Partners’ founder helped manage a first-of-its-kind, three-way partnership among The Coca-Cola Company, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Forest Foundation. Key design features included:
Co-creating a governance framework that enabled federal, corporate, and nonprofit partners to stay aligned across leadership changes and shifting priorities.
Collaboratively developing a performance tracking system that measured every liter replenished and every dollar invested, ensuring transparency and accountability for all partners.
Working in partnership to embed adaptive strategy so the initiative could respond to evolving sustainability goals and real-world challenges over time.
Cooperatively cultivating stakeholder trust through regular reporting, milestone celebrations, and open engagement to keep communities and partners invested in shared outcomes.
Results
The program exceeded its initial 1 billion liter goal two years ahead of schedule, ultimately delivering 2.4 billion liters of restored watershed inflows.
More than $5 million in matching public and private resources were mobilized through a collaborative approach to support long-term impact.
Nearly 900 acres of watershed habitat were restored, enhancing water quality, stream connectivity, and ecological resilience.
The partnership was renewed through 2028, with expanded emphasis on equity and underserved communities.
Why It Matters
This collaboration offers a blueprint for how clear objectives, rigorous metrics, and resilient governance can transform ambitious vision into enduring impact. By working together to align partner incentives, the effort became more than a project—it became a system that enables communities to steward their watershed futures. The same principles that shaped this partnership now guide BlueTerra Partners’ work, helping clients strengthen relationships and design new strategic alliances that deliver measurable outcomes and lasting results.
Let’s work together to build your success story.
BlueTerra Partners leverages deep expertise in partnership-building, impact measurement, and adaptive strategy—drawing on the proven model that helped deliver 2.4 billion liters of water replenishment—to help agencies, nonprofits, and companies achieve measurable sustainability results.