The implications for DoD of long-term biodiversity declines and loss of habitat are vividly illustrated by Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which is situated along the rugged coast of southern California. Home to the I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton is the only west coast amphibious assault training center and stretches along 17 miles of undeveloped coastline. The installation has become something of an island of natural habitat in a sea of urbanization, and now harbors the largest contiguous stands of coastal sage scrub in the San Diego region.
Coastal sage scrub is an aromatic habitat that once covered many of the seaside hills stretching south from Los Angeles to San Diego. As one housing development dafter another has been built in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean, much of this unique habitat has been lost one piece at a time. Over the years, the cumulative effect of these piecemeal land use decisions resulted in the loss of much of the original coastal sage scrub, with the result that several species dependent on this habitat type have declined significantly. Among these is the coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica), a diminutive bird whose population declines led to its federal listing as threatened in 1993.
Camp Pendleton is situated within one of the nation’s most intense biodiversity hot spots (Figure 1.5). Not surprisingly, a considerable number of rare and endangered species are found on the base, including at least 18 federally listed species. And as natural lands disappear elsewhere in coastal California, the importance of the base’s habitats for sustaining the region’s rich and threatened biodiversity increases. But Camp Pendleton is just one of many DoD installations that play an important role in maintaining biodiversity across the United States.
Lands managed by DoD cover about twenty-five million acres across the nation, and span a wide array of different ecosystems, representing many of the major land and climate types in which soldiers may be expected to fight (Doe et al. 1999). This includes harsh desert terrains like the Yuma Proving Ground, mountainous regions like Colorado’s Fort Carson, and balmy barrier islands as at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base. Many of these lands were designated for military use long ago and situated in some of the premier wildlands across the country. And because a primary mission for most of these bases is training troops in realistic outdoor settings, they often contain excellent examples of their region’s wildlife habitat. The military has made a serious commitment to understanding and documenting the wildlife, including rare and endangered species, that are found on its lands, as a means both to comply with environmental regulations and to work proactively to sustain its resource base.
Next Page: Federally Listed Species on DoD Lands
Author
Bruce Stein, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Associate Vice President
National Wildlife Federation
Biodiversity on Military Lands Sections
Biodiversity on Military Lands