The DoD’s mission is to provide national defense; however, as a federal agency, the DoD is also required by the Endangered Species Act to conserve the federally listed TES that occur on the lands where it conducts training, testing, and all other functions essential for national defense. DoD installations are located in ecologically significant areas and provide refuge for a large number of the nation’s TES plants and animals. Balancing TES management with training requirements is an increasingly difficult responsibility as the number of listed species increases. Proactive management of these species, including coordinated leveraged partnering opportunities, has the potential to mitigate negative impacts of TES listing on military operations and improve the overall management and survival of these species.
Coordinated partnering opportunities are important for the DoD given the rapid increase in encroachment around military lands. While conservation management is not necessarily incompatible with training, it is limited to lands under the jurisdiction of the installation. In addition, benefits of land management may already be realized with little opportunity for improvement in habitat quality or size. Strategic partnering can proactively address management of species at risk, both within and outside the fence line, thereby decreasing the probability of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing and improve the overall survival of the species. Several regional initiatives have recently been implemented for TES species that involve DoD installations including the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability, Sentinel Landscapes, Regional Conservation Partner Program and the Sage Grouse Initiative. DoD partnering programs including the DoD Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration and Army Compatible Use Buffer programs are instrumental in implementing partnering opportunities on areas not currently designated as protected.
Accelerating climate change is significantly impacting the conservation of species, habitat, and ecosystem functions. Climatic changes are directly and indirectly impacting species abundance and distribution, and exacerbates the effects of other stressors, such as habitat fragmentation and military activities. The conservation of habitats within ecologically functioning landscapes is essential to sustaining TES and improving their resilience in the face of climate change impacts 3 and habitat loss. These threats to resource conservation often occur at large spatial scales. To address these challenges, it is necessary to understand the underlying science of these landscapes and for stakeholders to work together across federal, state, local, and private jurisdictions. The DoD must manage its lands across the spectrum of individual species to landscapes in order to address multiple regulatory and land stewardship requirements. DoD requires knowledge and tools to evaluate specific management strategies and alternatives within this spectrum of species and landscape scale management requirements.