Southeast Sentinel Landscapes
About
Sentinel landscapes are areas where conservation, working lands, and national defense interests converge. As part of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, designated sentinel landscapes are supported by the DOW's Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, and complementary natural resource and conservation programs administered by the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Forest Service (USFS) and the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Coordination among these programs provides military installations and other sentinel landscape partners with essential tools to protect irreplaceable training areas supporting our warfighters. The SERPPAS Sentinel Landscape work group, more specifically, includes designated landscapes where local partners are working collaboratively to strengthen military readiness, conserve natural resources, bolster agricultural and forestry economies, increase public access to outdoor recreation, and enhance landscape resilience across the Southeast. The SERPPAS Sentinel Landscapes work group connects current and future designated sentinel landscapes to address shared challenges, share learned lessons, and promote landscape-scale efforts across sentinel landscapes in the Southeast.
Strategic Objectives
- Coordinate with the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) on promoting Compatible Land Use Planning efforts in the Southeast.
- Accelerate conservation of working lands through advocacy and support of greater funding for existing programs that acquire conservation easements over working landscapes.
- Encourage implementation of landowner engagement and outreach efforts across the sentinel landscapes to promote greater awareness of state and federal programs for landowners that advance sustainable land use practices and promote greater land conservation around military installations and ranges.
- Expand coordination and collaboration between all SERPPAS work groups to better integrate actions that complement and support regional efforts across the sentinel landscapes on Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN), State Wildlife Action Plans, and wildlife corridors.
- Assist Sentinel Landscapes in the Southeast to assess their encroachment and hazard exposures and vulnerabilities and integrate resilience planning and adaptation into their landscape implementation.
- Use the SERPPAS network to share information, resources, and lessons learned from the designated Sentinel Landscapes to demonstrate the value and purpose of these partnerships supporting national defense.
Work Group Lead
Bruce Beard
Associate Director of PolicyTexas A&M Natural Resources Institute
bruce.beard@ag.tamu.edu
Bruce Beard was the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute’s Associate Director for Policy and led 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
News
Land in Collier, Hendry and Okeechobee counties part of more than 21,500 acres of strategic areas approved by the state
12/17/25
The State of Florida approved an investment of $27.4 million to protect over 21,500 acres of conservation and agricultural lands across the state. The land will be placed under a conservation easement and will provide a critical buffer for key military installations while protecting water quality and aquifer recharge in the Perdido and Escambia river watersheds. The property lies within the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape and Florida Wildlife Corridor The acquisitions will strengthen Florida’s conservation network, support military readiness through Sentinel Landscapes, and preserve family-owned agricultural lands, ensuring the state’s natural and rural landscapes remain intact for future generations.
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Conserving South Atlantic salt marsh through collective action
11/29/25
The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI) is a voluntary, non-regulatory partnership of individuals working together to protect and restore salt marshes across a four-state region from North Carolina to Florida. This regional initiative is coordinated by NRI’s Amanda Gobeli, who oversees federal, state, and local partner organizations and engagement for the implementation of their conservation plan. Medium recently sat down with Gobeli to discuss how her role within SASMI is shaping the defense against specific threats to our coastal salt marshes.
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Bobwhite management in Central Florida creating ideal butterfly prairie habitat
11/25/25
Tall Timbers’ Central Florida Rangeland Quail Program is known for its intensive bobwhite management, but its prescribed fire practices also benefit rare species. During an October survey at Escape Ranch, Tall Timbers staff and volunteers discovered 41 Berry’s skipper butterflies, a rare Florida species, while observing 45 butterfly species and 819 individuals overall. The fire regime, which creates a mosaic of burned and unburned units, promotes healthy, diverse populations in Central Florida prairies. Escape Ranch’s commitment to maintaining large, contiguous areas of native ground cover with minimal invasive plants has resulted in the largest known population of Berry’s skipper in Florida.
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A conservation milestone: 62,000 acres of South Carolina forestland protected through Walmart’s Acres for America
11/22/25
The Pee Dee Basin Initiative, a multi-agency partnership, will permanently conserve more than 62,000 acres of forestland, the largest conservation easement in South Carolina’s history. The conservation easement protects vital habitat for at least 115 plant and animal species, including migratory birds, rare mussels, and Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon. It also preserves 30,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods that absorb floodwater and buffer communities from severe weather events.
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2026 Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund RFP Released
11/19/25
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation released its 2026 Request for Proposals for the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund. This funding supports projects that advance longleaf pine restoration to benefit wildlife, improve water quality, sequester carbon, and enhance forest resilience. Limited funding is also available for the restoration of bottomland hardwoods.
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Conservation Florida Permanently Protects 2,317 Acres at Eagle Haven Ranch
9/3/25
Conservation Florida has permanently protected 2,317 acres of Eagle Haven Ranch, a critical ecological area along Lake Kissimmee's shoreline in the Northern Everglades. Once threatened by luxury resort development, the land is now safeguarded through a conservation easement supported by partners including philanthropists Arnie and Lauren Bellini, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, and the USDA’s Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) Program.
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Events & Webinars
- DoD Applied Innovation Workshop
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March 2 - 6, 2026
Washington, DC - Spring 2026 SERPPAS Steering Committee Meeting
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March 3 - 4, 2026
Atlanta, GA - National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration
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April 13 - 16, 2026
Omaha, NE - 2026 SERPPAS Principals Meeting
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April 27 - 28, 2026
Southern Pines/Pinehurst, NC - Gulf Conference 2026: The Annual Meeting of the Gulf of America Alliance
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May 4 - 7, 2026
Mobile, AL - Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals 15th Biennial Conference
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May 12 - 15, 2026
Wilmington, NC - 80th Annual SEAFWA Conference
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October 26 - 30, 2026
Nashville, TN
SERPPAS Meetings
March 2026
- Spring 2026 SERPPAS Steering Committee Meeting
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March 3 - 4, 2026
Atlanta, GA
April 2026
- 2026 SERPPAS Principals Meeting
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April 27 - 29, 2026
Pinehurst/Southern Pines, NC