Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast
About
Increased population growth and development, inadequate planning, climate change impacts, and other incompatible land uses threaten the ability of military installations to carry out their mission. 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 in the Southeast Work Group connects currently designated landscapes to address shared challenges, share lessons learned, and promote the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission in the Southeast. The Work Group disseminates information to developing partnerships and serves as a regional coordinating body between currently designated and future Sentinel Landscapes partnerships.
Sentinel Landscapes benefit the military mission and the other partner missions by promoting compatible land use near military installations; strengthening the economies of forests and farms surrounding military bases; improving coordination between the military services, local governments, and state and federal agencies; and encouraging state interest and prioritization of resources supporting military installations and surrounding communities.
Strategic Objectives
- Continue to refine a shareable composite mission footprint map of the Southeast to better understand the DoD priority areas across the region, utilizing existing and promoting continued local planning efforts to identify where new Sentinel Landscapes Partnerships would be most valuable.
- Focus on promoting private landowner interests and explore innovative ways to increase the number and type of compatible land use tools to offer landowners 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.
- Assess and integrate other SERPPAS focus area objectives into implementation strategies for Sentinel Landscapes in the region, to create more conservation opportunities that support working lands, natural resources and military missions.
- Assist Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast 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, as well as demonstrate the value and purpose of these partnerships.
Work Group Lead
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.
Resources
Documents
Sentinel Landscapes Partnership Designates South Carolina Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape in the Longleaf Pine Range and Celebrates Recent Accomplishments
3/22/23
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership designates a new sentinel landscape in the longleaf pine range - the South Carolina Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape, releases the 2022 Sentinel Landscapes Accomplishments Report, and celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the partnership.
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Interior and Defense Departments Launch Readiness and Recreation Initiative to Preserve Green Spaces, Enhance Recreation Opportunities around Military Installations
3/21/23
USDA Invests More than $48.6 Million to Manage Risks, Combat Climate Change
3/13/23
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest more than $48.6 million this year through the Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, restore forest ecosystems, and ultimately contribute to USDA’s efforts to combat climate change. This year, the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest in projects, including 14 new projects, bringing together agricultural producers, forest landowners, and National Forest System lands to improve forest health using available Farm Bill conservation programs and other authorities.
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America the Beautiful Challenge 2023 Request for Proposals
3/3/23
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), through anticipated cooperative agreements from the Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is pleased to announce the America the Beautiful Challenge (ATBC) 2023 Request for Proposals (RFP). The ATBC vision is to streamline grant funding opportunities for new voluntary conservation and restoration projects around the United States. This RFP consolidates funding from multiple federal agencies and the private sector to enable applicants to conceive and develop large-scale, locally led projects that address shared funder priorities spanning public and private lands. In year two of the ATBC approximately $116 million will be awarded in nationwide funding to conserve, connect and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife upon which we all depend.
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2022 National Coastal Resilience Fund Recipients Announced
12/15/22
NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced a record investment in projects that will help communities prepare for increasing coastal flooding and more intense storms, while improving thousands of acres of coastal habitats. The funding, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and private sector partners, provides more than $136 million to support 88 natural infrastructure projects in 29 states and U.S. territories.
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Insights from the building of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape Partnership
12/15/22
This is the first of two articles that seek to capture insights and lessons learned from the emergence of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape. This first piece highlights the key factors and successes that allowed agencies and non-governmental organizations to come together to build a broad coalition of partners—and sustain that coalition through the onset of the pandemic—to successfully realize the designation of this new Sentinel Landscape. A future article will explore insights from how this partnership is collaborating to achieve its landscape conservation goals.
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Events
March 2023
- 2023 Catalyst Fund: Informational Webinar
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March 28, 2023
May 2023
- 2023 SERPPAS Principals Meeting
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May 18 - 19, 2023
Jacksonville, FL