VIEW ORIGINAL
The interconnectedness of the natural environment and ecosystems involves constant interactions, both small and large, that can have lasting impacts across a broad range.
Cognizant of this ecological reality, the Natural Resources Conservation staff at the Minnesota National Guard’s Camp Ripley has put in place innovative conservation plans, technological advances and collaborative organizational structures that identify where teams and efforts overlap and where resources can multiply land management priorities. By considering the natural environment’s interconnectedness, the NRC team has effectively helped conserve and protect the eco-system at the installation, while maintaining optimal conditions for training.
“The NRC program has accomplished a level of integration that is virtually unmatched, collaborating onprojects that simultaneously improve quality of habitat through training enhancement, and vice-versa,” said Army Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse, Minnesota National Guard's Assistant Adjutant General and Camp Ripley's senior commander. “There are numerous examples of this approach in action at Camp Ripley, and it is a hallmark of our NRC efforts.”
Camp Ripley’s 53,000-acre site supports more than 600 plant species, 233 migratory and resident bird species, 51 mammal species, and 23 reptile and amphibian species, incredible habitat diversity, and 18 miles of untouched Mississippi River frontage.
One notable example of this integrated approach in action is the NRC staff’s conservation and management of grassland communities for training, which also provides an avenue for protecting the biological integrity of native plants. As the team has repaired more than 500 acres of land from training maneuver damage and 1,000 acres of grasslands used for training, they have used seeds they collected from native species on the site. Several hundred pounds of these seeds are harvested in-house, including important native species like bluestem and gramma grass support the native habitat by replanting with native species.
This, in turn, is critically important to species preservation efforts, including efforts to conserve Blanding’s turtle, an endangered species found on the installation bolstered by the habitat restoration efforts. Further, the native grasses that benefit the turtles and meet training needs also provide ideal habitat for pollinators found in the region and can help address the habitat loss that threatens these critical insects, butterflies, moths, and bats that play a critical role in a healthy ecosystem.
The NRC staff is also participating in a regional environmental DNA study of the Blanding’s turtles to enhance understanding and support conservation of the turtles to make habitat decisions based on that.
“The result of this approach, and the hard work that goes into implementing it, is an ecologically pristine training site,” said Josh Pennington Camp Ripley's environmental supervisor. “Camp Ripley remains at the forefront of conservation practices while sustaining and supporting more than 365,000 annual man-days of training.”
Technology plays an important role in the NRC team’s forest management plans. A newly implemented Geographic Information System viewer is an incredibly powerful tool.
“The new GIS viewer multiplies the impact of this plan, by operationalizing years of data to empower projects. The forestry viewer includes military training layers, wildlife, threatened and endangered species habitat, sensitive habitats, and past and proposed forest management activities,” said Craig Erickson, Department of Military Affairs GIS manager.
Erickson said the tool enables the NRC program to view projects and visualize the full spectrum of operational and environmental impacts to proposed actions. The GIS tool provides data that better allows for the NRC staff to balance their desire to promote mature forest growth in some areas to preserve critical habitat, while simultaneously supporting plans for forest thinning in some areas using a selective matrix of small patch cuts and group tree selection.
This careful forest management also allows for timber sales that can provide additional funds to support the program. Between 200 and 300 acres are selected each year for timber harvests. Taken together, these management decisions combine to provide a healthier forest, better native habitat, and optimal training areas.
The success of this integrated approach has garnered acclaim for the team and the installation. Camp Ripley was awarded $250,000 in the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Challenge to establish resiliency corridors in the area. The work is also intended to identify areas that could aid in regional response to climate change.
In addition, the team went on to represent the Army and has been selected as the winner of the Natural Resources Conservation award for a large installation in the Department of Defense environmental competition.
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