Managing the plant and animal species on more than 105,000 acres of land is a full-time concern for the natural resources team at Fort Campbell, which straddles the state line between Tennessee and Kentucky. Natural resources are managed by agronomists, biologists, and foresters whose collective efforts provide the landscape required to support the mission as well as sustain wildlife populations and their habitat.
The NR team collaborates with the installation Integrated Training Area Management program staff to develop Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan actions to bridge the gap between mission requirements and species requirements. INRMP implementation has been successful utilizing the collective approach in meeting multi-use demands within the maneuver space. Aside from its successes the program has had some challenges too like a destructive, late-season December tornado, managing land with limited funds, and supporting rare species.
At Fort Campbell, 86% of the installation is undeveloped maneuver space for military training. In the maneuver space, forests, streams, fields, and other natural settings are maintained to provide a realistic context for training activities. Within maneuver areas are a variety of land cover types managed to meet training mission needs, including 49,812 acres of forest consisting of more than 37,000 acres of hardwood timber and more than 11,000 acres of pine. Approximately 19,253 acres are open lands, with approximately 32% of that land held in agricultural leases and the remaining 68% managed as native grassland barrens or old fields.
“Overall management of natural resources on Fort Campbell involves balancing present training needs and long-term training site sustainability within the requirements of environmental laws and regulations,” said Gene Zirkle, installation INRMP coordinator.
On Dec. 10, 2022, Fort Campbell was hit by a tornado that was part of a family of tornadoes impacting five mid-South states, becoming the deadliest December outbreak on record in U.S. history. The tornado tracked approximately 6.5 miles across the installation and damaged 95 acres of timber.
“The tornado directly impacted a timber sale that was set for just six days later,” said supervisory forester JP Hart, adding that the storm not only caused damage on the 63-acre site that was included in the sale, but also damaged an additional 32 acres.
Hart said the forestry section quickly evaluated the damage, and adjusted plans to offer a timber salvage sale – resulting in a net revenue gain for the Army’s forestry reimbursable account of $84,500 -- from what could have been a significant loss -- as well as funding scheduled timber stand improvements, invasive species management and tree planting.
One of the most successful efforts at Fort Campbell is its operation of the Army’s largest agricultural out-lease program. Fort Campbell staff manage 4,400 acres of hay and row crops by leasing these to private farmers, which allows for training use of the land as needed and eliminates any maintenance costs to the installation.
Rehanon Pampell, natural resources specialist at Fort Campbell, said the hay and row crops, as well as native warm season grass hay crops, provide improved habitat for pollinators and other species and are better for training uses. The program recently added 513 acres of land into the agriculture leasing program, reducing annual mowing costs to the installation by $286,609 and generated $3,984 in revenue to accomplish land improvements. Revenue from leases is used to help fund five natural resources projects that support sustainable wildlife habitat, reduced erosion, and potential future leases.
Another success the team points to is the removal of small trees and invasive species through timber harvests, timber stand improvements, prescribed fires, herbicide treatments, and grinding residual brush. These efforts have dual benefits: the removal enhances training uses of the land and provides enhanced habitat for at-risk species.
One year after the removal efforts, two Henslow’s Sparrows, an Army Species At Risk and DoD Mission Sensitive Species, were detected using the newly restored grassland habitat, after a four-year absence at the site. The land management strategy provided the imperiled species suitable nesting habitat that had been lost through invasive species and woody encroachment.
“We focus on natural resource stewardship efforts that protect, enhance, and maintain natural systems to provide suitable habitat, while at the same time providing a realistic training environment for the critical training at Fort Campbell,” Zirkle said.
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