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Sprawl threatens MCAS Miramar
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"Van K. Collinsworth
Executive Director/Resource Analyst
Preserve Wild Santee
While many citizens now understand that building a housing development on Fanita Ranch or an airport on East Miramar would degrade our quality-of-life, few have considered how encroaching urbanization could impact Marine Core Air Station Miramar's military mission.
Military officials are concerned about how encroaching sprawl impacts their ability to conduct training and readiness exercises on military bases.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Asst. Navy Secretary Hansford T. Johnson stated, “Population growth, economic development, increased land use,...urban and suburban sprawl, along with state and federal environmental laws and regulations, have significantly restricted the military's access to and use of military lands, training ranges, ... and limited its ability to engage in live-fire training. This phenomenon – sometimes referred to as "encroachment" – has markedly restricted the military's ability to train realistically and, unless checked, promises to produce further restrictions in the future.”
Public lands are under increasing pressure to act as the remaining reservoir of natural resources that sustain urban areas. For instance, to sustain declining wildlife, National Forests are forced to reduce traditional uses such as grazing while military bases find their activities must be designed to limit damage to sensitive and declining habitats.
Secretary Johnson stated, “Among the elements of our national heritage protected by the shield of military readiness is our Nation's environment – our land, air, and water, as well as the fish, wildlife, and plant species that inhabit them. In addition to defending against foreign threats, the military acts as trustee, helping to protect the environment by its prudent and conscientious management of natural resources. Largely as a result of this stewardship, military lands present favorable habitats for plants and wildlife, including protected species.”
MCAS-Miramar acts as both an instrument of national security and a cornerstone of critical habitat essential to a healthy environment. Fanita Ranch and East Elliot are directly adjacent to MCAS-Miramar and sustain numerous threatened and endangered species, thus relieving pressures that negatively impact base activities. Fanita and Elliot’s natural lands provide increased public safety and noise buffers while increasing the probability of species recovery when base training activities impact endangered species.
That is why Secretary Johnson stated before Congress, “Both military and conservation interests have a major stake in preserving and enhancing the remaining open space surrounding military installations.”
We would be wise to avoid urban sprawl adjacent to MCAS Miramar. Doing so would recognize the importance of base training activities and the economic value of the bases themselves while we avoid damage to our own quality-of life.
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"Defense Bill Authorizes Land Acquisitions Adjacent to Military Bases"
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President Signs Defense Bill
On December 2, President George W. Bush signed into law the 2003 Department of Defense authorization bill (Public Law 107-314). The new law will enable organizations like the Trust for Public Land to enter into partnerships with the Department of Defense in order to acquire land or easements in the vicinity of a military base to serve as a buffer area around the installation. Concerns about the encroachment of development around bases has led the military to consider the need for such buffer areas so that training, testing, and operations are not impeded. Of special interest is the acquisition of habitat adjacent to bases to prevent the federal property from becoming endangered species "islands."
Source:Trust for Public Land LandLink newsletters.
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| "Urban Development...Impacts Operational Effectiveness, Training, and Readiness Missions" |
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JOINT LAND USE STUDY
PROGRAM
Office of Economic Adjustment
Department of Defense
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"MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM G. BOWDON III"
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Buffer Acquisition
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM G. BOWDON III
"Through last year’s Defense Authorization Bill, Congress granted the authority to military departments to partner with non-governmental organizations, and State and local governments to acquire land adjacent or proximate to military installations to prevent incompatible development, and to preserve habitat that may eliminate or relieve current or anticipated environmental restrictions that could interfere with military training, testing or operations."
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| Competitors Preventing Encroachment |
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Northwest Florida Greenway: 100 square miles of open space stretching from the Apalachicola National Forest and waters of the Gulf of Mexico to Eglin Air Force Base, was purchased in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and The Nature Conservancy. This historic collaboration represents the most ambitious use to date of the Congressional authority provided to the U.S. Department of Defense approving partnerships with states and nonprofit conservation organizations to preserve habitat and reduce encroachment on military operations. "This groundbreaking partnership affirms Florida's resolute commitment to the environment and our nation's military,” said Governor Bush.
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