Partnerships for Protection

1. Partnerships for Protection Col. Tony R. FrancisCommander US Army Environmental Center

2. Army Strategy for the Environment • The Army Strategy for the Environment is the new long-range vision for stewardship & sustainability • It applies a “triple bottom line” to developing a sustainable approach for environmental management • Mission, environmental and community, each play critical roles in achieving our strategy • Success depends on Partnerships

3. Army Strategy for the Environment “The public has a collaborative stake in our decisions,and we value their involvement as partners in sustainability and environmental stewardship. The Army will foster open relationships to increase understanding by all.” Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker Chief of Staff

4. The Need for Partnership • Underlying values and common interests are the basis for overcoming the complex challenges of incompatible land use, cleanup actions and the impacts of military training • Partnerships have proven that we can preserve the environment while protecting our freedoms through sound stewardship and sustainable practices

5. A Pragmatic Approach • ACUB Graphic

6. The Need for Partnership

7. Proven Partnerships in Region 4 • Fort Bragg, NC, led the way for the Department of Defense in the establishment of partnerships for compatible use buffers around military installations • Protected longleaf pine ecosystem & secured habitat for red-cockaded woodpecker • Provided buffer to Soldier training & reduced training limitations S.A.L.T.

8. Proven Partnerships in Region 4 • At Camp Blanding, FL., the ACUBS program has already protected 12,666 acres of land • Program partners are the Florida National Guard and Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Forever Initiative who are working to mitigate encroachments challenges posed by Camp Blanding’s location – its surrounding communities have 18% growth rate • Long term goal is to protect 80,000 areas of land within three miles of the installation to ensure sustainability of the Camp Blanding Training Site and the home of more than 40 federal and state threatened endangered or otherwise protected plant and animal species

9. Proven Partnerships in Region 4 • Fort Stewart’s fisheries management program has worked in tandem with regulators and the community to save the endangered shortnose sturgeon • Established the Ogeechee River Shortnose Sturgeon Working Group, the first river-basin specific, multi-agency team for recovering the local population of the sturgeon • Partners include NMFS, USFWS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Georgia DNR, University of Georgia, Georgia Aquarium, Canoochee Riverkeeper Association and local citizens • Works to monitor sturgeon population trends to ensure sustainment and expansion of population; protect and enhance spawning sites; improve water quality

10. Proven Partnerships in Region 4 • Anniston Army Depot’s environmental cleanup program established a formal Partnering Team for its Installation Restoration Program • Made up of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Science Applications International, Gannet Fleming, Inc., EPA, Alabama Department of Environmental Management and community groups • Its mission statement is “to work together in an innovative and efficient manner to protect human health and the environment of Aft/AD and the impacted surrounding communities…”

11. The Bottom Line The sustainable future of our installations and our communities are inextricably connected. We all have a role to play. Together we can use our resources wisely in a manner that reflects our devotion to freedom and respect for the needs of tomorrow.