The Army captured three of the nine award categories in the Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards Program this year.
The West Virginia Army National Guard's Camp Dawson Army Training Site won the award for Natural Resources Conservation at a small installation. Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, won the Natural Resources Conservation Team Award. White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico won the Cultural Resources Management Award for a large installation.
The Natural Resources Conservation awards recognize efforts by small installations, teams and individuals to promote the conservation of natural resources, including the identification, protection, and restoration of biological resources and habitats; the sound long-term management and use of the land and its resources; support of the military readiness mission; and the promotion of a conservation ethic. Protecting endangered plant and animal species on our installations and other Department of Defense lands ensures the preservation of these valuable environmental assets for current and future generations and assures the availability of these resources to sustain military readiness.
The Cultural Resources Management, Large Installation award recognizes efforts to promote cultural resources stewardship in DoD through effective examples of cultural resources management. The award is designed to showcase DoD's stewardship of its extensive cultural resources, including archaeological sites, the historic built environment, and cultural landscapes. Desired initiatives include partnering with external stakeholders such as Native Americans, State Historic Preservation Officers, local communities, and those working with internal, installation stakeholders such as master planning, public works, and range management. Through cultural resources management programs, DoD identifies areas likely to contain cultural resources and works to protect these assets for future generations.
Each year since 1962, DoD has honored individuals, teams, and installations for their outstanding achievements and innovative work protecting the environment while sustaining mission readiness.
The 2016 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards recognize accomplishments from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2015.
A diverse panel of judges with relevant expertise representing federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector evaluated all nominees to select one winner for each of the nine categories that cover six subject areas: natural resources conservation; environmental quality; sustainability; environmental restoration; cultural resources management; and environmental excellence in weapon system acquisition.
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