JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – The Department of Defense manages its natural resources to facilitate testing and training, mission readiness and range sustainability, while simultaneously demonstrating stewardship of those resources and complying with conservation laws, including the Endangered Species Act.
Managing threatened and endangered species on DOD installations takes special planning and consideration. DOD installations provide crucial habitats for many different threatened and endangered species populations. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it is necessary to properly manage these species while also maximizing readiness and mission flexibility.
The Mazama pocket gopher is an example of a federally and state threatened species that finds a home on JBLM. Two sub-species of the Mazama pocket gopher found on JBLM are called the Yelm and Roy Prairie pocket gopher.
As part of the process to develop more efficient strategies to harmonize JBLM’s mission and its commitment to species conservation, JBLM recently embarked on a multiday workshop with their close conservation partners. On July 10, officials with JBLM’s environmental division collaborated with members of the United States Geological Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in a structured decision-making workshop, which serves as a planning tool for adaptive management.
JBLM strives to use the tools developed through that workshop to be an inspiration to other military bases and provide an example of how to best manage threatened and endangered species on and around military installations.
“I think it’s important one way or another to be taking care of the environment, to be good stewards of our natural resources,” said Col. Kent Park, JBLM commander. “Those are all important things, but quite frankly, as somebody that is in a (military) uniform, it helps us. It helps our readiness, our ability to train because that’s what we want to do, and we want to do it in a responsible and effective way. The more and more that we can work with you and have that collaboration, it just makes it so much easier.”
The structured decision-making process encompasses five specific steps that create a structured yet flexible management plan:
- Identifying the overarching problem or decision context.
- Focuses on identifying and structuring objectives.
- Decision alternatives are identified, with an emphasis on creative solutions.
- Model-building connects decisions to objectives.
- Key uncertainties are identified through sensitivity analysis.
By following these steps, decision makers can develop robust plans that remain effective and adaptive over the long term.
In the initial meeting, the team of dedicated individuals from the various agencies focused on creating a problem statement and identifying key objectives. Their efforts centered on managing the distinct genetic groups of the Mazama pocket gopher while maximizing readiness and mission flexibility.
The team's objectives included ensuring a self-sustaining Mazama pocket gopher population with genetic integrity, abundance, and distribution. Additionally, they aimed to maintain readiness and mission flexibility by monitoring crucial metrics and securing support from command and the public. This collaborative approach highlights the importance of teamwork and diverse perspectives in addressing complex environmental and operational challenges.
Looking ahead, the team will hold a two-week check-in, followed by regular meetings every six weeks to continue their collaborative efforts. This ongoing partnership underscores the importance of working together to develop adaptive management strategies. Updates on the progress of the program will be available on the Sustainable JBLM Facebook page.
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