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.
A PDF
version of this page is available here.
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