Wildfires resulting from military training pose a significant threat to training realism and land use capabilities, natural and cultural resources, infrastructure, and human/Soldier safety. Assessing incendiary munitions wildfire risk and determining best management practices requires accurate information about where fires are likely to start as ignition location can make a dramatic difference in fire outcomes. The RIP Tool fills the information gap caused by the lack of actual ignition location data.
This report summarizes preliminary findings from year one of field studies on the ecology of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene c. carolina) on the Fort Custer Training Center (FCTC) in south central Michigan. This study was initiated to investigate the impacts of prescribed burning on resident herpetofaunal populations by examining patterns of movement and habitat use of the Eastern Box Turtle using radiotelemetry. This report provides a discussion of data collected to date, as well as management recommendations intended to promote the conservation of the Eastern Box Turtle, as well as other herpetofaunal species found on the FCTC, including those that are listed as threatened and endangered such as the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus c. catenatus), Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata), and Blandings Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii).
Protect significant biological systems (tallgrass prairie) and species (emphasis on grassland birds), and establish programs for the restoration and rehabilitation of altered or degraded habitats near Fort Riley
The Great Basin Conservation Initiative is a collaborative effort between DoD and The Nature Conservancy to address conservation planning, strategy development, and implementation on priority areas within the 72 million acre Great Basin ecoregion. In 2003, Hawthorne Army Depot, a 147,236 acres military installation located in the western Great Basin, developed conservation strategies for an identified conservation area in the southern Wassuk Range. In late 2003, Hawthorne Army Depot agreed to move forward with a demonstration project, funded by the DoD Legacy Program, which would map fire regime condition classes of Mount Grant's landscape to prioritize areas for hazardous fuels reduction.