Resilient Aviation Infrastructure WorkshopApril 17-18, 2019, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Headquarters, Washington, DC

The Resilient Aviation Infrastructure Workshop reflects an initial effort to determine if, and to what extent, changes in the climate may impact the national civilian and military aviation infrastructure by the middle of the current century. Workshop participants were experts drawn from the atmospheric and environmental sciences, civilian aviation, and military aviation communities, and represented the academic, government, and private sectors. 

The workshop was held over two days. The first day was dedicated to lectures from subject matter experts representing each of the three communities. The goal of these first-day lectures was to establish a shared knowledge base among all participants. The second day was dedicated to holding breakout groups made up of participants from the first day. Those groups independently considered a series of questions and provided a consensus statement to the larger group. The workshop consensus statement is based on the consensus statements provided by each group. The workshop consensus statement is as follows: 

It is the consensus of the Resilience Aviation Infrastructure Workshop participants that climate change will impact both civilian and military aviation infrastructure by mid-century and may currently be impacting the nation’s aviation infrastructure. The severity of climate change impacts at specific infrastructure nodes (e.g., airports) depends on the vulnerabilities inherent at a location. Whether the sum of collective climate change impacts risks long term, chronic impairment of the entire aviation infrastructure system remains an open question; however, it is the consensus of the group that acute impacts at specific locations will occur. 

This workshop report is organized into four sections: introduction; workshop activities to include the plenary, brainstorming session, and breakout sessions summaries; group consensus statements; and workshop conclusions. Workshop Report

Nonstationary Weather Patterns and Extreme Events WorkshopJune 29, 2017, Joint Global Change Research Institute, College Park, MD

This SERDP and ESTCP sponsored workshop explored planning resilient infrastructure and installations.  The workshop brought together practitioners from planning, engineering, and architectural communities; members of the science community conducting research on Earth systems, environmental change, and risk assessment and communication; and operations and real property managers. Practitioners at the workshop highlighted the need for information that (1) focuses on a wide range of hazards and thresholds; (2) provides most likely conditions and maximum credible extremes for a number of periods and mean recurrence intervals; (3) analyzes historical and projected conditions at high temporal and spatial resolution for specific sites; and (4) considers information requirements by discipline and location. Ideas spanned the spectrum from applications to basic research and sought to address the research needs that result when historical climate records indicate statistical patterns of extreme or average conditions are changing (i.e., when they are “nonstationary”) and no longer provide a reliable guide to planning for the future. Workshop Report

DoD Workshop on Coordinating Climate Change Research and Policy ImplicationsJuly 19-21, 2011, Aurora, Colorado

DoD policy calls for a strategic approach to the challenges posed by global climate change and climate variability. The February 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review recognized that climate change will affect the Department in two broad ways. First, climate change will shape the operating environment, roles, and missions that DoD undertakes. Second, DoD will need to adjust to the impacts of climate change on its facilities and military capabilities. To assist the Department in responding to these challenges, start a dialogue, and help frame a path forward, several organizational elements of DoD’s research and development (R&D) community convened a workshop in July 2011 involving both DoD researchers and policy makers, as well as other key elements of the federal climate change research and climate services community. The focus of this workshop was to establish a DoD network of funding entities and research centers and laboratories involved in climate change-related research and demonstration and to identify the role that DoD’s R&D community could serve to (1) assist DoD policy makers by providing the technical foundation for advancing new policies related to climate change and (2) provide DoD resource, infrastructure, and operational managers the science information, models, and tools needed to implement the effects of policy “on the ground.”  The workshop emphasized that climate change, including changes in climate variability, should be viewed in the broader context of global change phenomena that affect the ability of DoD to accomplish and sustain its missions into the future. Workshop Report  Ecosystem Services and Environmental Management and Conservation on Military Lands WorkshopApril 15-17, 2008, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

Sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and SERDP, this workshop sought to develop an ecosystem-services framework to enhance environmental management and conservation planning. Specific objectives of the workshop were to: (1) review what is currently being done and what approaches and tools are available; (2) produce a conceptual framework to help identify issues and information gaps; (3) identify priorities for research; (4) determine how ecosystem services can be applied in environmental management and conservation planning; and (5) consider how emerging markets for ecosystem services may affect our activities. The main outcome of the workshop was the identification of seven research priorities for using ecosystem services approaches to improve environmental management and conservation planning on military lands, including inventorying ecosystem services; incorporating ecosystem services into military decision-making processes; operationalizing environmental management; forecasting ecosystem services; the importance of an ecosystem service valuation process to military planning; an ecosystem services-based decision support system; and an accounting framework for ecosystem services. An overview of this workshop and its outcomes can be found in the Workshop Report. 

Workshop on Research Needs for Assessment and Management of Non-Point Air Emissions from Department of Defense ActivitiesFebruary 19-21, 2008, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

SERDP and ESTCP sponsored a workshop to (1) assess DoD air quality management needs, focusing on non-point source air emissions, (2) assess the current state of practice relative to these needs, (3) assess the current state of the science and technology related to these needs and practices, (4) identify the gaps in knowledge, technology, and management that, if addressed, could improve DoD's and EPA's ability to address emissions from non-point sources, and (5) set priorities for future SERDP and ESTCP investments to address these gaps.  During the course of the workshop, discussions resulted in the prioritization of investment opportunities to address such gaps and management challenges. These investment opportunities are described in detail in the Workshop Report. 

DoD Southwest Region Threatened, Endangered, and At-Risk Species WorkshopOctober 22-25, 2007, Tucson, Arizona

Many installations critical for military training and testing are located throughout the southwestern United States and provide essential habitat for numerous threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S). SERDP, ESTCP, and the Legacy Resource Management Program sponsored a workshop to (1) assess TER-S management needs within a regional context, with an emphasis on system-level and cross-boundary approaches; (2) assess these approaches for their potential to keep common species common while recovering or enhancing TER-S populations; (3) assess current understanding of the ecology of arid and semiarid ecosystems and how that does or should affect management approaches; (4) examine the current state of the practice within DoD for such holistic approaches; and (5) identify gaps in knowledge, technology, management, and partnerships that, if addressed, could improve implementation of such approaches. Discussions resulted in the prioritization of investment opportunities to address such gaps and management challenges. These opportunities are described in the Workshop Proceedings. 

ESA Forest Health WorkshopJune 5-6, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia

The Science Programs Office of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), which has access to a wide range of expertise on ecosystem services and forest ecology through the 10,000 members of ESA, was tasked by SERDP with preparing an assessment of the state of knowledge regarding forest decline in the Southeast, summarizing the current science, identifying and prioritizing gaps in knowledge, and providing guidance to resource managers to address the issue. A workshop comprised of 44 researchers and managers was held for the exchange of information and to determine the degree of consensus on the nature and extent of the problem. Participants discussed several issues regarding the forest health/decline problem, including the underlying causes of the decline; whether they differ across the region and how; and the short- and long-term management action plans that could help minimize the impact of a potential forest health problem. An overview of the needs and recommendations resulting from the workshop can be found in the Workshop Report. 

DoD Workshop on Southeast Regional Planning & SustainabilityApril 25-27, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia

Given the tremendous economic and population growth taking place in the southeastern United States—along with the fact that many DoD installations are located in this region—the Southeast represents a major challenge and opportunity for sustainability planning. Jointly sponsored by OSD’s Sustainable Ranges Initiative and SERDP, this workshop brought together academics along with the military and other key stakeholders to advance collaborative land use and sustainability approaches in the southeastern United States. The objectives were to (1)identify high-priority issues of shared concern among these stakeholders related to sustaining military training land, regional planning, and compatible land use and (2) explore collaborative approaches that engage the academic and research community and build on existing efforts to help address these high-priority issues. Social, environmental, and economic issues associated with land uses—built environment, military, agricultural, forest, and land corridors—were explored. Workshop presentations, synopses of breakout group discussions, background papers prepared for the workshop, and a Final Report summarizing recommendations for future research, policy, local and regional coordination, and information sharing are available online. 

DoD Southeast Region Threatened, Endangered and At-Risk Species WorkshopFebruary 27-March 1, 2007, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Many installations critical for military training and testing are located throughout the southeastern United States and provide essential habitat for numerous threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S). SERDP, ESTCP and the Legacy Resource Management Program sponsored a workshop to (1) assess TER-S management needs within a regional context, with an emphasis on system-level and cross-boundary approaches and to (2) identify potential partners and existing partnership structures, as well as gaps in knowledge, technology, management, and partnerships that, if addressed, could improve implementation of such approaches. During the course of the workshop, discussions resulted in the prioritization of investment opportunities to address such gaps and management challenges. These investment opportunities are described in the Workshop Proceedings. 

DoD Cultural Resources WorkshopJuly 11-13, 2006, Seattle, Washington

DoD manages nearly 30 million acres of land as well as substantial air and sea space to conduct missions vital to the national security of the United States. These same lands also contain significant amounts and types of cultural resources, from archaeological sites to historic buildings and structures. With the number of cultural resources continually growing, it is imperative that DoD understand the relative importance of its cultural resource properties, be able to evaluate them in an efficient and cost-effective manner, and make the best management choices possible based on available information. SERDP, ESTCP, and Legacy sponsored a workshop to (1) identify and prioritize the needs for cultural resource management across DoD; (2) examine the current state of practice across DoD for cultural resource management; (3) identify the current state of the art for cultural resource management relevant to DoD’s requirements; and (4) identify the gaps in knowledge, technology, and management for cultural resources that limit both the transition of emerging technologies and the implementation or development of new management approaches. Workshop discussions, priority information gaps, and research and management needs are described in the Workshop Proceedings. 

DoD Pacific Region Threatened, Endangered and At-Risk Species WorkshopJune 6-8, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii

Many installations critical for military training and testing are located throughout the Pacific Region and provide essential habitat for numerous threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S). SERDP, ESTCP, and the Legacy Resource Management Program sponsored a workshop to (1) assess TER-S management needs among the Pacific Islands Region; (2) examine the current state of practice within DoD for TER-S management; (3) identify gaps in knowledge, technology, and management; and (4) prioritize investment opportunities to address these gaps. Discussions resulted in the prioritization of investment opportunities to address such gaps and management challenges. These opportunities are described in the Workshop Proceedings. 

Threatened, Endangered, and At-Risk Species on DoD and Adjacent Lands Symposium and WorkshopJune 7-9, 2005, Baltimore, Maryland

This Symposium held in Baltimore, Maryland, brought together the nation's top researchers for endangered species. The event was sponsored by SERDP and the Army's Environmental Research and Development Center, as well as the DoD Legacy Program, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition to members from these organizations, participants included researchers and managers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and various non-profit organizations, state agencies, universities, and private consulting firms.

Developing effective methods for sustaining the DoD training and testing missions, while simultaneously protecting threatened and endangered species (TES), is a challenge requiring strong partnerships that support ongoing cutting-edge scientific research. The focus of the workshop was to help in establishing and fostering such partnerships. The workshop brought together nearly 200 stakeholders to discuss TES conservation and research needs on DoD and adjacent lands.  For more information, please visit https://web.archive.org/web/20130509120810/http://ters.serdp-estcp.org/tes/.