The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership and three federal departments announce three new areas for sentinel landscapes.
These landscapes play a key role in strengthening the nation’s military readiness while addressing climate change, according to a Feb. 15 U.S. Department of Agriculture news release. Partnering to make this happen are USDA, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“These new sentinel landscapes are a testament to the power of collaboration and partnership,” USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Terry Cosby said. “By using USDA's conservation programs to protect and enhance farmland, rangeland, forestland and grasslands around military installations, we can invest in critical water resources and wildlife habitat on working lands and support climate-smart agriculture, while also advancing military training and testing opportunities.”
The three new sentinel landscapes are the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape in Texas, Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape and Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, according to the release.
“The USDA Forest Service is proud to partner with the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership,” Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said. “We are committed to investing in this collaborative conservation effort with our fellow federal partners in the spirit of shared stewardship. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership provides a great opportunity to support military readiness while securing conservation benefits for communities.”'
The Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape provides training to 266 mission partners for Department of Defense-enlisted and officer medical training, military intelligence, special forces, pre-deployment and national and international training requirements, according to the release. The Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape is made up of rural and agricultural land vital to US Air Force Training, weapons testing and special operations. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape provide testing for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and federal and state partners.
“DoD is proud to support the growth of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership and add Camp Bullis, Northwest Florida and Southern Indiana to the list of designated sentinel landscapes,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Real Property Ron Tickle said. “These new landscape designations will leverage DoD funding and programs to protect the missions at 14 key DoD installations and ranges, protecting essential testing and training operations, enhancing resilience to climate change, and preserving our nation’s natural resources and working lands.”
