DEFENSE BIODIVERSITY

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

DEFENSE BIODIVERSITY
In January the Keystone Center published a Pentagon-sponsored report on 
Department of Defense Biodiversity Management Strategy. The document 
suggests that today the military, at least at the policy level, 
considers the preservation of biologic diversity on its 25 million 
acres a serious mission.
Many readers know the Keystone Center as the facilitator for the U.S. 
EPA-sponsored Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Dialogue 
Committee (FFERDC). The Biodiversity dialogue differed from FFERDC, 
because it never sought full consensus among its participants. Though 
participants included representatives of major environmental 
organizations, and the Nature Conservancy provided scientific support, 
most dialogue participants were from the armed services.
The Dialogue builds from a May 3, 1994 Memorandum issued by Sherri 
Wasserman Goodman, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental 
Security), as well as her August 8, 1994 "Ecosystem Management Policy 
Directive."
The report notes that Defense-managed lands, while less extensive than 
the holdings of the Interior and Agriculture Departments - are more 
spread out throughout the country and contain disproportionately more 
biologic resources, since Navy facilities in particular are 
concentrated along America's coastlines.
The report argues that biodiversity conservation is important to the 
Pentagon for five reasons:
1) It helps sustain natural landscapes for training - that is, to 
support the Pentagon's number one mission: readiness.
2) It's the "right thing to do."
3) It eases environmental compliance and reduces conflict with 
regulatory agencies.
4) It engenders public support.
5) It can improve the quality of life for military personnel and families.
Unsaid, but implied by arguments #1 and #4, the armed services need to 
improve their environmental reputation if they are going to expand 
training ranges to serve faster, longer distance aircraft and tactical 
missiles.
The August, 1994 Directive laid out a strategy more advanced than the 
approach of many other government agencies. The highlights include the 
following:
* In pursuit of conservation, the Defense Department is supposed to 
emphasize the management of entire ecosystems, not just selected 
species. 
* Public participation is an essential part of that strategy.
The dialogue argues that conservation must be proactive - that, it 
involves more than repairing damage. It also puts forward numerous 
detailed considerations for creating teams among line military officers 
and Defense natural resource managers. It also recommends that the 
military reduce forestry, agriculture, hunting, fishing and other 
revenue-raising activities on its territory when those activities 
conflict with ecosystem management.
It is not surprising, however, that the dialogue did not "bite the 
bullet" on the issue of training area expansion. It did NOT recommend 
that the military "pull in its wings" if environmental surveys suggest 
that such an expansion were to threaten ecosystems.
(Copies of the report are available for $10 from the Keystone Center, 
and may be ordered by phone (970/468-5822), fax (970/262-0152), or 
E-mail (tkcsppp@keystone.org).
Nationally, the implementation of military environmental conversation 
programs is uneven. One of the bright lights in the program is 
McClellan Air Force Base, in Sacramento, California. McClellan, just 
approved for closure, is one of the Defense Department's most 
contaminated bases, but because of strong public concern it has 
developed a model environmental program, including EPIC (Environmental 
Process Improvement Center), a partnership with U.S. EPA and Cal-EPA.
The Fall, 1995 "EPIC Greensheet" describes McClellan's award-winning 
Natural Resource Conservation Program. The following is excerpted from 
that newsletter:
"McClellan manages 250 acres for wildlife and wetlands. The base's 
program for natural resources encompasses vernal pools [defined below], 
two local creeks (Magpie Creek and Don Julio Creek), and fish and 
wildlife areas. The program also includes community involvement and 
partnership development for conservation and protection.
"McClellan takes a holistic approach to ecosystem management. The 
nature areas are carefully safeguarded by following an integrated 
management plan created to protect and monitor the vernal pool 
ecosystem. The plan calls for less destructive fire control procedures, 
improved controls on grazing, and alternative pest management and weed 
control practices. Through a strong partnership with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game and local 
wildlife management groups, the management of the vernal pool ecosystem 
is accomplished.
"The wetlands occur within the grasslands as vernal pools and along 
base creeks as riparian habitat. Vernal pools are depressions within 
the grasslands that collect seasonal rains. The result is a habitat 
created for specialized groups of plant and animal species. In spring, 
the water evaporates and a burst of small flowering plants encircles 
the temporary pools. The vernal pools serve as feeding grounds as well 
as a refuge for migratory waterfowl and species native to California 
grasslands."
For more information, contact Diane Arreola at McClellan AFB (phone: 
916/643-0836) or "Greensheet" Editor Linda Geissinger (916/643-0950).
Lenny Siegel