Serving National Defense, Homeland Security, and Ecosystem Health through Implementing Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) on US Military Lands

Dr. Diane Drigot, Senior Natural Res. Mgt. Specialist, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Research Affiliate, The Environmental Center, University of Hawaii
Alumni Affiliate, Ecosystem Management Initiative

By November 18, 2001, the Federal Sikes Act mandated US military installations to complete Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) on installations with significant natural resources following an ecosystem approach. US Department of Defense (DoD) committed millions of dollars to ensure over 400 affected military installations spanning 25 million acres of US lands met this Congressional deadline. This represents a major federal commitment to operationalizing ecosystem health into everyday national security activities. Monitoring plan implementation progress at these installations provides a key opportunity to track how one major government agency integrates ecosystem health, biodiversity, and human health concerns with its core mission of sustaining combat readiness, morale, health, and welfare for its volunteer military population. Ten key ecosystem management principles encoded in a DOD instruction guide this process.

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, links between sustaining homeland security, ecosystem health, bioterrorism, and combat readiness have taken on an added and more urgent meaning at US military bases. Examples will be given of how INRMP's are being implemented in the context of these emergent challenges. Present and likely future impacts of this INRMP initiative on regulators, other federal land management agencies, "watch" groups, environmental and human health security will be described.

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