Day-to-day partnering (i.e., collaboration) at the installation level
Installation natural resource managers engage regularly with professional peers, civilians and military personnel on installations. These relationships and engagements build trust through effective communication, inclusion of the right people in the process, effective collaboration and sharing of common installation support goals. The primary partners within the installation are other offices, divisions, branches, departments, and sections, etc. within the directorate or program that governs natural resources management and environmental compliance; installation master planning; offices/departments responsible for safety; installation fire department; range and training departments and range planning offices, including Range Control or Range Operations and the Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) Program; law enforcement; the installation commander/command group; public affairs office and others.
Attention to these entities and the civilians and military personnel supporting them in a regular and inclusive way pays dividends when it comes to achieving conservation objectives, especially those involving win-win scenarios with training sustainability and support. As the military staff often turn over every few years (with the exception of the National Guard Bureau, where military personnel may remain for decades), it is especially important to reach out regularly to sustain relationships, build trust, and meet new personnel.
Partnerships supporting discrete planning, management and compliance
Successful development and implementation of comprehensive planning and compliance documents often hinges on successful participation and partnering with other agencies, offices and individuals outside of the installation natural resources staff group. Effective public engagement may also be involved. Such activities include ongoing informal communication and consultation with federal and state agencies and other partners and stakeholders, or collaboration and consultation that is more formal and focused on discrete plans, compliance documents, and other documents.
Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs), Biological Assessments, and Integrated Wildland Fire Management Plans and many other documents require elements of effective partnering to ensure they are scientifically sound, balance competing interests and can be implemented effectively. For example, in accordance with Sikes Act requirements, collaboration with federal and state agencies is required as part of periodic INRMP updates as well as internal annual reviews by the installation (see Chapter 5 for more details). The agency partners typically involved in said reviews include, at a minimum, regional FWS staff and one or more state agencies responsible for natural resources, fish and wildlife. The development of conservation partnering teams is most commonly associated with threatened and endangered species planning, management and compliance (see sidebar by Powledge (2008).
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Author
David S. Jones, RA IV, Ecologist/Project Manager
Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands
Warner College of Natural Resources
Colorado State University