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Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast
![SERPASS (Billy Pope) 46](/media/irkfuegt/serpass-billy-pope-46.jpg?height=200&v=1d89d0979088e60)
![Sentinel Landscapes U.S. Air Force; Staff Sgt. Eric Harris](/media/f4gdyk3y/sentinel_landscapes_us-air-force-staff-sgt-eric-harris.png?height=200&v=1d89d09805c51b0)
About
Population growth, poorly planned development, incompatible land uses, extreme weather events, and climate change impacts, threaten the ability of military installations to carry out their missions and to deliver their economic and other benefits to places where they are located. In response to these growing challenges, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DoD), and the Interior (DOI) established the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership to strengthen military readiness, conserve natural resources, bolster agricultural and forestry economies, and increase climate change resilience.
The SERPPAS Sentinel Landscapes Work Group connects designated Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast to address shared challenges, share lessons learned, and advance the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission in the Southeast. The Work Group disseminates information to emerging partnerships in the Southeast pursuing designation and serves as a regional coordinating body among currently designated and future Sentinel Landscapes.
Sentinel Landscapes benefit the military mission and the other partner missions by connecting with private landowners and promoting compatible land use near military installations; strengthening the economies of forests and farms surrounding military bases; protecting large, connected natural areas; improving coordination between the military services, local governments, and state and federal agencies; and encouraging state interests and prioritization of resources supporting military installations, participating landowners, and surrounding communities.
Strategic Objectives
- Coordinate with the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) on status of ongoing and future Compatible Land Use Planning efforts in the Southeast and share relevant information with SERPPAS work groups and Steering Committee.
- Focus on exploring and promoting innovative ways to increase the number and type of compatible land use tools to encourage increased landowner participation to conserve working lands and promote resilience where appropriate.
- Leverage the ‘Power of SERPPAS’ to attract both financial and non-financial support to increase awareness and capacity for the implementation of Sentinel Landscapes designated in the region.
- Expand coordination and collaboration between all SERPPAS work groups to better integrate actions that complement and support the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership goal of addressing shared encroachment challenges and climate impacts affecting conservation, working lands, and military mission.
- Assist Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast to assess their climate exposures and vulnerabilities and integrate resilience planning and adaptation into their landscape implementation plans.
- Use the SERPPAS network to share information, resources, and lessons learned of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership to demonstrate the value and purpose of these partnerships and communicate the benefits to military installation leadership and other key SERPPAS partners.
Work Group Lead
![Bruce Beard photo](/media/3jabovwa/beardb.jpg?rxy=0.475,0.4225&width=400&height=550&v=1d897c5c42b8e90)
Bruce Beard
Associate Director of PolicyTexas A&M Natural Resources Institute
bruce.beard@ag.tamu.edu
Bruce Beard is the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute’s Associate Director for Policy and leads NRI’s Military Land Sustainability Program. Bruce brings more than 30 years of federal land management and natural resource policy experience to NRI and is a nationally recognized advocate for Sentinel Landscapes.
Bruce served within the Executive Office of the President at the Office of Management and Budget in three Administrations, where he was a principal advisor on federal land management and natural resource policy issues. He was the OMB Branch Chief for the Interior Branch responsible for coordination of budget, legislation and regulatory issues affecting the Department of the Interior. At the Department of Defense, he was instrumental in establishing the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, which he directed, and helped to initiate the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership between the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and the Interior.
Bruce earned his Bachelor of Science in wildlife and fisheries from Texas A&M University, and a Master of Public Affairs in environmental policy from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He received the 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M and the 2012 Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service at the Department of Defense.
Request to Join Work Group
Resources
Documents
![...](/media/qhke4p4e/rcw-longleaf-hero-1446x705.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd644b8a4ef0)
NFWF Announces Record $33.5 Million in Conservation Grants to Restore Longleaf Pine Habitat and Help At-Risk Wildlife
7/18/24
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $33.5 million in conservation grants from the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund to restore, enhance, and protect longleaf pine forests in eight southern states. This year’s grant slate is the largest in the program’s history, building on a recent trend of increased funding for longleaf pine restoration. These grants will leverage $21.2 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $54.7 million. These funded projects each help to advance the restoration goals of America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative laid out in the Range-wide Conservation Plan (2025-2040).
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![...](/media/wjqhgvdn/2023-alri-accomplishment-report_cover-page.png?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd64566d2c70)
ALRI Looks to the Future and Celebrates the Past with 2023 Achievements
7/11/24
The 2023 America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative Range-wide Accomplishment Report is now available. The 2023 report celebrates over 2.17 million acres of accomplishments on longleaf lands as well as ALRI’s initial 15 years of partnership.
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![...](/media/ehhbtlfb/michelle-covi.webp?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd683e3c19f0)
For the love of salt marshes: Michelle Covi fights for coastal resiliency
6/11/24
SERPPAS Coastal Resilience and Regional Adaptation work group lead Dr. Michelle Covi was featured in an article from UGA Research about her work as the Department of Defense’s coastal resiliency liaison through UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![...](/media/2pgbxg3d/strengthen_military_readiness.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1daa7a7ea433120)
Announcing 2024 Sentinel Landscapes to Address Climate Change Impacts and Strengthen Military Readiness
5/15/24
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, comprised of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of the Interior (DOI), announced the designation of five new sentinel landscapes. In these landscapes, natural and working lands thrive alongside military installations and ranges. The partnership is excited to welcome these new landscapes and support their partners' work to mitigate climate change impacts and improve sustainable land and water management practices around military installations.
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![...](/media/htoizoje/dod.png?width=600&height=300&v=1d8c785bd663700)
DOD and Department of the Interior Renew Partnership for Conserving Wildlife and Supporting Military Readiness
5/15/24
Leaders from the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior met at the Pentagon in May to celebrate the renewal of the Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year designed to advance the recovery of threatened and endangered species while also supporting national security.
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![...](/media/nibmcjnb/2024-repi-challenge.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1daa7a5d7001440)
REPI Program Releases the REPI Challenge FY 2025 Request for Proposals
5/6/24
DOD's REPI Program is pleased to announce the release of the REPI Challenge Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP). The REPI Program designed the REPI Challenge to help meet its ambitious conservation goals while aiming to cultivate new projects, harness creativity, and protect critical testing and training capabilities.
Visit the SERPPAS News Archive![](/media/qhke4p4e/rcw-longleaf-hero-1446x705.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd644b8a4ef0)
![](/media/wjqhgvdn/2023-alri-accomplishment-report_cover-page.png?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd64566d2c70)
![](/media/ehhbtlfb/michelle-covi.webp?width=600&height=300&v=1dacd683e3c19f0)
![](/media/2pgbxg3d/strengthen_military_readiness.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1daa7a7ea433120)
![](/media/htoizoje/dod.png?width=600&height=300&v=1d8c785bd663700)
![](/media/nibmcjnb/2024-repi-challenge.jpg?width=600&height=300&v=1daa7a5d7001440)
Events & Webinars
- Acoustic Surveys for Bats: Detector Placement, Call Analysis, and Interpretation
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July 30, 2024
Webinar (hosted by DoD) - 7th Annual National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop
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September 16 - 19, 2024
Atlantic City, NJ - Fire Weather Portal for the Southeast
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September 24, 2024
Webinar (hosted by NOAA) - RAE 2024 Coastal & Estuarine Summit
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October 6 - 10, 2024
- 15th Biennial Longleaf Conference
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October 8 - 11, 2024
Sandestin, FL - AICUZ and REPI Partnerships for Enhanced Land Protection
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October 9, 2024
Webinar (hosted by REPI) - 78th Annual SEAFWA Conference
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October 12 - 16, 2024
Augusta, GA - Navigating Military Readiness Through Responsible Project Execution
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December 11, 2024
Webinar (hosted by REPI)
SERPPAS Meetings
September 2024
- Fall 2024 Steering Committee Meeting
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September 10 - 11, 2024
Atlanta, GA