Managing for Biodiversity as an Added Multiple Use
By the early 1990s, military training and testing lands were being used not only
for direct mission support but, when appropriate, were also supporting forestry
(primarily timber production), agriculture and grazing on outleased lands, and
recreational hunting and fishing. These three land use programs continue to provide
a range of benefits to the military and are self-financing and, in some cases,
are significantly profitable. Funds raised by these programs have benefited natural
resources management on installations throughout the nation and have significantly
benefited the quality of military training lands by supplementing the
limited funding designated for natural resources management.
Military training and testing activities have intensified considerably due to the
Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) of 1988, and subsequent brac actions,
which have resulted in the closure and realignment of military bases throughout
the country. Remaining installations now accommodate more troops, many rotations,
and a diversity of training activities, and are under continual pressure to
sustain their ranges and maintain military readiness while remaining stewards of
the land. They achieve this by following a comprehensive and integrated ecosystem
management approach, implemented through the Integrated Natural Resources
Management Plan (INRMP) process which aims to balance an installation's
various activities and land uses with its military mission requirements.3
Conserving and improving native biodiversity is the first principle of DoD's
ecosystem management approach (DoDI 1996). Just as military lands are managed
for use as training lands, and for forestry, agricultural outleasing, hunting
and fishing, and recreation, so too they can be managed for biodiversity. When
regarded as a management initiative, biodiversity can readily be incorporated into
all facets of land management through the installation's INRMP. Goals and objectives
for biodiversity management should be identified in the INRMP, and then
integrated with the installation's training requirements, and with other natural
and cultural resources management goals and objectives. Its explicit inclusion
within the INRMP means that actions that benefit biodiversity, as well as actions
that may negatively impact biodiversity, will be clearly identified and monitored
through the INRMP review and update process.
Proceed to Next Section: Strategic Planning for Biodiversity Management
