Department of Defense Grants Protect Groundwater, Forests, Farmlands, and Wetlands

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SCFor IMMEDIATE RELEASE (August 6, 2014)

Two new grant awards will help protect compatible land uses around military installations and conserve at-risk species and natural resources in support of military readiness. The grants were awarded through the 2014 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Initiative Challenge (REPI) Program. The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) helped administer the 2014 REPI Challenge Program as a service to the Department of Defense.

The two REPI awards totaling $5 million will leverage an additional $14.17 million to help protect more than 8,100 acres. A $4 million award will permanently restrict development on 5,900 acres of ranchland near Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. This buffer will help protect more than 160,000 annual air operations, slow the proliferation of electromagnetic interference on an 800 square mile area, and prevent development of 1,400 new water wells, conserving scarce groundwater resources that benefit people and the environment.

The second grant, of $1 million, will help protect 2,259 acres of forests, wetlands, and farmlands near Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. This land is part of an 8,500 acre wildlife corridor along the Nanticoke River. Undeveloped areas at this site reduce noise and safety concerns, which can preventcostly restrictions and delays to training and testing at one of the Navy’s premiere testing and trainingfacilities.

“The REPI team galvanizes an impressive array of contributors and partners and supports projects that provide great benefits to natural resources, the military, and tax-payers” noted Peter Stangel, Senior VicePresident at the Endowment. “The 2014 REPI Challenge projects also reflect the spirit of the SentinelLandscapes Partnership, which brings together the Departments of Interior and Agriculture to work withthe Department of Defense on projects of mutual interest.”

The REPI Challenge, part of the larger REPI program, awards up to $5 million annually in one or two grants. It seeks to incentivize new business practices that preserve compatible land uses and conserve natural landscapes in support of military readiness. It puts a premium on harnessing the creativity of the private sector to access and leverage unconventional sources of funding, attract philanthropic support, and take advantage of market-based approaches to land and resource conservation. Since 2003, the REPI program has protected 315,000 acres of buffer land at 72 locations in 27 states.

The REPI program is an excellent example of collaborative partnerships that work to protect forests and other lands that serve nearby communities. The program’s ideals align with those of the Endowment and showcase the ecological, social, and economic benefit of the collaborative, cost-sharing partnership investment model.

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For more information contact:
Peter Stangel, 404-915-2763; peter@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic,transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests andforest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org

For more information about REPI and the REPI Challenge, please visit www.REPI.mil.