Ever-increasing demands on limited land resources, especially for the Army and Marine Corps, have resulted in new concerns about the sustainability of the military land base. This is attributable to the increasing demands on the land base by larger and more complex military equipment, along with the employment of new training strategies. Also, the loss of some large training areas, such as the Navyโs Vieques Training Range in Puerto Rico, have further emphasized the need for ensuring the sustainability of remaining military lands. And the many new operational constraints imposed by encroachment further threaten the sustainability of military testing and training lands.
The DoD has developed a comprehensive plan as part of its evolving Sustainable Range Initiative (SRI) to ensure the sustainability of military ranges and installations while simultaneously protecting the environment and ensuring that realistic training lands will be available in perpetuity. The DoDโs annual Sustainable Ranges Report to Congress describes the importance of range sustainability to the DoD and the specific steps it is taking to address this critical issue (https://www.denix.osd.mil/sri/policy/reports/index.html).
The overarching policy for this Sustainable Range Initiative is presented in DoD Directive 3200.15, Sustainment of Ranges and Operating Areas, signed in January 2003. The Army has taken the most structured and significant strides to address the practical aspects of long-term sustainability of its lands through the establishment in 1984 of its Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) program. This effort established long-term monitoring and assessment protocols for Army training lands with a view to ensuring their sustainability. Only in very limited cases has the ITAM program been employed in the other military services.
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Author
J. Douglas Ripley, Environmental Consultant U.S. Air Force (Retired)
With updates and Additional contributions by: James van Ness, Senior Level Attorney Advisor Office of the Secretary of Defense
Other issues of conservation significance and the policies which govern them
Other issues of conservation significance and the policies which govern them
Cooperation conservation efforts