DoD Natural Resources Program Overview and Updates

1. DoD Natural Resources Program Overview and Updates Ryan Orndorff, Program Director Alison Dalsimer, Program Manager National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Denver, CO - March 5, 2019

2. Presentation Outline • Organization • Policies • Oversight • Initiatives • Partnerships • Tools & Resources • What’s Next Least Tern (Atlantic), Huguenot Memorial Park, Batten Island, Florida. Photo by Tim Burr.

3. Natural Resources Program Organization

4. OSD Structure Update • USD(Acquisition and Sustainment) (USD(A&S)) • Ms. Ellen M. Lord • ASD(Sustainment) (ASD(S)) • Mr. Robert H. McMahon • PDASD(Sustainment) • Mr. Pete Potochney • DASD(Environment) (DASD(Env)) • Ms. Maureen Sullivan • DoD Natural Resources Program • Ryan Orndorff, Director • Alison Dalsimer, Manager

5. Leadership Priorities • National Defense Strategy Priorities • Restore readiness • Deter threats • Enhance lethality • Reform business practices • ASD(S) • Enhance materiel availability • Resilient installations • "Safe" place for members • Highly effective staff supporting DoD

6. NR Program Staffing • Ryan Orndorff, Program Director • ryan.b.orndorff.civ@mail.mil • 571-372-6833 • Alison Dalsimer, Program Manager • allyn.a.dalsimer.civ@mail.mil • 571-372-6893 • Support Team • NR Program: dodnatres@bah.com • Megan Scanlin, Derrick Golla

7. NR Program Vision - Enable the Defense Mission by Sustaining the Natural Resources Required for Readiness Activities Mission - Maximize and Enhance Mission Flexibility through Natural Resources Stewardship OSD Role: • Assess, develop, and implement Natural Resources related legislation, policy, guidance, procedures, and metrics • Oversee Military Component NR programs, including budgets, expenditures and compliance with legislative, regulatory, and policy requirements • Ensure compliance with laws, Executive Orders (EOs), and DoD policies • Provide tools for DoD natural resources managers (NRMs) such as training courses and outreach materials • Develop and maintain partnerships with external stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, state governments, and other federal agencies • Promote awareness of the NR Program to the DoD community, Congress, and other interested parties

8. NR Program Priorities • Prevent new species listings • Reduce regulatory mission impacts • Improve consultation process and outcomes • Develop conservation strategies and approaches to enhance mission flexibility • Facilitate species recovery • Improve internal and external collaboration and coordination • Align NR program activities and investments to support mission

9. Why these Priorities?Service Challenges • Mission Support • Issues with ESA Section 7 Consultations - delays, challenges with technical expertise and best available science, understaffed Regulator offices • Encroachment/limitations on installations from listed species and their mitigation • ESA compliance drives funding, lessens availability for other conservation needs • Species recovery not well defined • Program Support • Inability to implement proactive NR management • Potential for longer term compliance impacts • NR Staffing shortages • Need for ongoing training for NR personnel

10. Natural Resources Program Policies

11. DoDI 4715.03 Update • Adds laws, policies, and Executive Orders (E.O.) passed after February 2011 • New requirement to shift on-base conservation off-base when doing so enhances on-base mission flexibility and aligns with stewardship/recovery goals • Adds language about feral animals • Adds priority for funding prevention efforts • Updated NR Metrics • New requirement to give federally recognized Native American tribes, Alaska Native entities, NHOs the chance to consult on INRMP development

12. DoD Issuance Process DRAFT Precoordination Revision Coordination Review DD Form 106 Signature 1A 2A 2C 3A Coordinate Internally 1B 2B 2D 3B Draft the Issuance Coordinate Via Portal Legal Objection Review Precoordination Review STAGE 1: Development STAGE 2: Precoordination STAGE 3: Formal Coordination Timeframe: 8 weeks Timeframe: 8 weeks Timeframe: 10 weeks PUBL I SH Presignature Revision 4A 4C 5A Security Review Publication 4B 4D 5B Presignature Review Legal Sufficiency Review Approval STAGE 4: Presignature STAGE 5: Approval & Publication Timeframe: 3 weeks Timeframe: 12 weeks

13. Climate Adaptation for DoD Natural Resource Managers • Climate Adaptation for DoD NRMs (NWF)Describes climate-related vulnerabilities and risks • Offers a six-step process to implementation strategy • Will be signed out by ASD(S) McMahon and posted on DENIX • Project Status: • Pilot training held August 2018 at SMR • Updated training Monday at NMFWA • Outreach and additional training in 2019 • This is the DoD approved approach

14. Wildland Fire Policy • DoD is a member of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council (signed MOU 2016) • ASD(Sustainment) and DASD(Homeland Defense Integration and Defense Support of Civil Authorities) are DoD representatives • EO 13855 (Dec 2018) - Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Lands To Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk • Identified need to clarify wildland fire policy and roles • Clearly define program responsibilities • Clarify requirements for specific equipment, training, etc. • Clarify authorities and funding lines • DoDI 6055.06 DoD Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) Program undergoing revision • Coordinating with Military Components, Fire and Emergency Services, Range Operations, P&R, DOT&E

15. Policy/Guidance: USFWS & NOAA • ESA regulations • Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Revision of Regulations for Interagency Cooperation • Regulations for Prohibitions to Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Blanket Section 4(d) Rule • OSD Counsel reviewed the draft rule and did not identify any issues • Revision of the Regulations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat • Destruction and Relocation of Migratory Bird Nest Contents • USFWS – https://www.fws.gov/ • NOAA - https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/welcome

16. Natural Resources Program Oversight

17. 2018 Environmental Budget FY2019 Request $3,437 Million Pollution Prevention $75 2% Technology $172 5% $3,620 $3,568 $3,370 Congressional Adds * Includes prior year funding and land sale revenue in FY2016 and FY2017 only 17 17 17 Subtotals may not add due to rounding

18. Oversight: Overview • Budget drives expenditures! • Ensure that expenditures address both legal and mission-relevant priorities • Identify and correct potential funding and resource shortfalls • Annual Environmental Management Review • What we get for our money and effort • Partner Programs

19. Management/Oversight • Environmental Management Review (Feb 2019) • Updated NR Data Call • Revised Metrics • Results from EMR • Overall NR program health is good and improving • Ongoing challenges especially listed species and increasing requirements with constrained resources Prairie Warbler, Fort Drum, NY. Photo by Jeff Bolsinger

20. EMR Slide: NR Focus Areas

21. Army Mission Support Successes • Fort Hood TX, Black-capped Vireo (BCV) delisted in 2018, Golden–cheeked Warbler (GCW) population stable / increasing • Benefit of Species Recovery to Fort Hood Readiness Mission: • BCV and GCW recovery resulted in removal of of training restrictions on 70,000 acres • BCV and GCW population recovery resulted in a decrease in TES expenditures • Fort Hood ESA Progress • Endangered Species Training Restrictions • No Endangered Species Training Restrictions • re

22. Navy Future Challenges and Mitigations • National Marine Fisheries Service continues to incorporate “sound” in critical habitat designations either as a component of an essential feature or as an example of an adverse effect on an essential feature. • Navy requested NMFS stand up an interagency working group to address best available science and validity of sound as a component of critical habitat, but it is not a priority for NMFS. • NMFS consulting biologists are not engaged in how such features are described in CH rules, thereby resulting in inconsistencies in applying such language in consultations. • Essential Fish Habitat consultations are becoming more onerous than ESA consultations. • EFH are large swaths of ocean usually with broad definitions applied – NMFS using this to their advantage to develop conservation recommendations for compensatory mitigation beyond the scope of impacts. • NMFS seems to be over-regulating programmatic consultations, e.g., requiring Programmatic Agreements that are not mandated by law or regulation. • More than a decade of progress made in minimizing constraints on training at San Clemente Island, CA, due to the endangered loggerhead shrike could be lost. Constraints could be re-imposed in upcoming consultations. • The population has declined to levels near those at the time of its federal listing in 1977, reversing near recovery levels achieved in recent years from an average annual expenditure of $2M since 1990s. • Decline due to climate effects Navy cannot manage or compensate for. • Navy will be working with USFWS pursuant to the DoD/DOI MOU for Recovery and Sustainment Partnership to come up with an innovative solution to regulatory impacts on training.

23. USAF Mission Support Successes • Programmatic Biological Assessment supports flight operations • Statistical analysis provides probability of bird/bat strike by aircraft type • Enables Bird/wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) mitigation actions • Significant wildland fire program accomplishments • 135K acres of flammable fuels treated to reduce wildfire hazard • 282 DoD personnel received wildland fire training • Improvements to Natural Resources Environmental Geospatial Data Set • 1,721 natural resources data layers added to enterprise-wide GIS • Improved flood risk maps from LiDAR derived digital elevation models

24. Marine Corps Mission Support Successes • MCAGCC Twentynine Palms Land Expansion • Related desert tortoise translocation continues to be an extremely successful program. • Expanded Combat Center training lands by 160,000 acres to enable sustained, combined-arms, live-fire, and maneuver training for MEB-sized MAGTFs and unscripted force-on-force maneuver training. • A total of 1,232 desert tortoises have been translocated to date - 978 large & 254 small; 617 animals brought to holding pens, with 75 released and more to be released in 2019. • 95% survivorship for translocated tortoises (compared to 50% for other translocations). • 5 scientific papers have been published. • Head Start Program - 475 hatchlings (from about 600 eggs) and a total of 134 juveniles have been released.

25. DLA NR Mission Support Successes

26. Natural Resource Program Initiatives

27. What We Are Doing to Address Endangered Species • Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) – recovering species to sustain the mission • Provide installations greater regulatory predictability and mission flexibility under ESA • RASP MOU signed with DOI – June 2018 • Prioritize and accelerate actions to delist/downlist species, where appropriate and through established process and regulations • Develop collaborative partnerships to recover additional listed species or prevent additional species from being listed • Develop innovative ESA policy and regulatory approaches to provide greater mission flexibility and capabilities. • Ongoing Efforts: • Identified 20 DoD mission priority species with down/de-listing/regulatory relief potential • Developing Species Action Plans (SAPs) for 20 priority species • 6 SAPs finalized; Focusing on remaining over next year • Determine pilot areas/installations/species to implement policy initiatives

28. Species Action Plans • SAPs developed collaboratively with Military Department/Military Services (HQ, Commands, Installations) and USFWS (HQ, Regional Offices, Field Offices) • Identify near term (2-3 year) actions and milestones to accomplish defined outcomes • Red-cockaded woodpecker • Desert tortoise • San Clemente Island (5 endemic species) • Okaloosa darter • Golden Cheeked Warbler • Guam orchid • Will require engagement from both DoD and USFWS personnel (and other partners) to accomplish

29. Building Partnerships

30. Policy Innovations • Working with Military Departments/Military Services to define desired goals and approaches • Three primary goals • Habitat/ecosystem-based approaches • Defined-level of conservation via the INRMP • Programmatic approach to providing regulatory predictability and mission flexibility • Working with USFWS to explore development of these concepts and approaches through pilots

31. Next Steps • Implement 6 SAPs • Develop SAPs for additional priority species • Develop additional collaborative partnership or empower existing ones • Convene a “practitioners forum” to further explore policy concepts • Identify pilot opportunities for developing policy innovations

32. Natural Resource Sister Programs

33. Legacy • DoD Legacy Program Updates • New Legacy Program support coordinator is Liz Galli-Noble (elizabeth.j.galli-noble.ctr@mail.mil or 571-372-8299) • Tracker (www.legacytracker.denix.osd.mil) • Back online and fully functional in April • FY 2019 Schedule • Feb 25 – Mar 1: FP review mtgs w/ Military Services • Mar 21-22: Front Office review mtg • Mar 25-29: Send FP turn down notices/notify authors they received funding • FY 2020 Schedule - Upcoming

34. REPI • Improve NR Program integration with REPI • Build strategies and pilots to leverage investments made through the REPI Challenge (or other REPI projects) • 2019 REPI Challenge focus is supporting key capabilities outlined in the National Defense Strategy • $15M set-aside for one or more projects • Intent is to continue this focus for upcoming years • REPI funds can be executed under “REPI Agreements” (10 U.S.C. 2684a) or “Sikes Agreements” (16 U.S.C. 670c-1)

35. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and the Interior announced the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership in 2013, a nationwide federal, local and private collaboration dedicated to promoting natural resource sustainability • The Partnership identifies shared interests within a landscape and coordinates mutually beneficial programs and strategies to preserve, enhance or protect habitat and working lands near military installations http://sentinellandscapes.org/

36. Building Collaboration Regional Partnerships

37. Authority to Partner • Economy Act (31 USC 1535 and 1536) • Sikes Act (16 USC 670c-1) • Legacy Program (10 USC 2694) • REPI (10 USC 2684a)

38. Sister Programs • Armed Forces Pest Management Board (www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/) • POC = Doug Burkett • DoDI 4150.07, DoD Pest Management Program – Status under review • National Invasive Species Council COP • Visit their Technical Session: Innovations for Invasive Species and Pest Management and the Invasive WG session on Wednesday afternoon • Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) (www.serdp.org)/Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) (www.estcp.org) • POC = Kurt Preston (Resource Conservation and Resilience) • 2019 Symposium will be Nov 27-29 in WDC; Registration opens in May • Visit their Technical Session: DoD SERDP and ESTCPPrograms on Thursday afternoon to hear more

39. Natural Resource Program Technical Support, Resources and Opportunities

40. DoD PIF • Sustains and enhances the military mission through proactive, habitat-based conservation and management strategies that maintain healthy landscapes and training lands • Business Plans – Revised DoD PIF Structure, completion soon • DoD PIF 2018 Annual Report: under development • Refining the Mission-sensitive Species List to focus on a narrower set of highest-priority species (significant impacts to mission) • Developing draft recommendations for incorporating MB into NEPA environmental reviews • Webinars • DoD Legacy Program Support • NABCI • Visit their DoDPIF session on Thursday afternoon to hear more • http://www.denix.osd.mil/dodpif National Program Rep = Dr. Rich Fischer

41. DoD PARC • Ensures that DoD has the operational and logistical flexibility necessary for testing and training exercises • Manuscript (https://www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc/parc-resources/materials-for-installation-personnel/amphibians-and-reptiles-of-united-states-department-of-defense-installations-herpetological-conservation-and-biology-2018/) • Celebrating 10 years of PARC (https://www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc/parc-resources/articles-of-interest/dod-parc-10-year-review-2019/) • DoD PARC 2018 Annual Report (https://www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc/parc-resources/dod-parc-reports/dod-parc-2018-annual-report/) • Herpetofauna Training Modules (https://environmentaltraining.ecatts.com/) • Educational Outreach - 45 factsheets (https://www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc/parc-resources/) • Webinars and other publications • DoD Legacy Program Support • https://www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc • Visit their DoD PARC session on Thursday afternoon to hear more National Program Rep = Chris Petersen National Technical Rep = Rob Lovich

42. Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU)

43. Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units • NEW: • Military Services voted to formalize CESU Regional Representatives network • NEED: CESU Regional Representatives • Examining possible OSD funding for USACE staff to process DoD CESU agreements • FY2002-FY2018 • 1,400 projects funded via CESU • Cumulative value = $362M • DoD estimated cost avoidance = $69M • 17 CESUs; fixed overhead rate of 17.5%; www.cesu.psu.edu

44. Outreach Opportunities • Earth Day (April 22 - always) • Installations across the country participate • www.earthday.org • World Migratory Bird Day* (May 11; Oct 12) • Directed by Environment for the Americas • www.migratorybirdday.org • Endangered Species Day (May 17) • DoD NRP participates in DC based annual event • www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day • National Public Lands Day (September 28) • #NPLD, www.neefusa.org/npld *formerly IMBD

45. National Public Lands Day • Nation’s largest, single day volunteer effort for public lands • Since 1999: >300 projects, ~$2.4M (1.5:1 estimated ROI) • 2018: 150 projects across 50 states • 2019: Applications due May 14 • DoD awards funds (up to $9,500 per site) • www.neefusa.org NOTE: Keep an eye our for Park RX, April 2020

46. SecDef Environmental Award: NR Conservation • 2018 Individual Team: Naval Base Ventura County • 2018 Small Installation: Hawaii Army National Guard • Previous Winners • 2017: Camp Ripley (Large Installation) • 2016: Camp Dawson Army Training Site (Small Installation) • 2016: Fort McCoy Natural Resources Branch (Individual/Team) • 2015: Camp Blanding Joint Training Center (Large Installation) • 2014: Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Small Installation) • 2014: Eglin Air Force Base, Natural Resources Team (Individual/Team) HIARNG works with state and federal agencies to increase the use of biological controls to reduce herbicide use and costs at training sites. 2019 Award Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 22

47. Military Conservation Partner Award • Congratulations to Fort McCoy! • Previous Winners • 2018: Camp Blanding • 2017: Fort Hood • 2016: BMGR East and West • 2015: Vandenberg Air Force Base • 2014: Orchard Training Area • 2013: Naval Base Coronado • 2012: U.S. Air Force Academy • https://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/Award_Form.pdf

48. Tools and Resources • Natural Selections • Sign up at NaturalSelections@bah.com • DoD PARC (Spring 2019) • CESUs (Summer/fall 2019) • Webinar Series (*DENIX in 2019) • www.dodnaturalresources.net/Webinar-Series.html • ECATTS – DoD personnel access • PARC training videos e.g., Venomous Snake Safety and Removal Techniques • ESA Implementation Course (http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/csfe/cecos/CourseDetail2.htm#tab69) • Twitter – @DoDNatRes (2,200+ followers)

49. Website Migration to DENIX • Per DoDI 8410.01 and DASD(Env) direction, all NR Program content has been or is being moved to DENIX • www.denix.osd.mil/nr • www.denix.osd.mil/dodpif • www.denix.osd.mil/dodparc • www.denix.osd.mil/legacy

50. Natural Resources - What’s Next