Other People's Energy, Too
Rambo uses OPE (other people's energy) as well as their funds on a lot of his conservation
work. Invasive species are a problem at Pax River, as elsewhere, but the
base doesn't have a huge budget for controlling them. So the base invited Eagle
Scouts to come to the base and pull up invasive foliage. The base and its native
species obviously benefit, but so do the Scouts: they win points for their service
projects. And the installation wins some friends. (Pax River also enjoys a steady
stream of environmental help from sailors who are convicted of misdemeanors in
the on-site federal magistrate's court and who prefer community service to, as
Rambo puts it, "cleaning toilets.")
At Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, David Beckmann is the natural resources manager
for an artillery and maneuvering range that spans some 60,000 acres. The base
mobilized troops during Operation Desert Shield and Storm, Desert Fix, and most recently for the war in Iraq. The base's mission changed dramatically after 9/11;
before, it was most active as a summertime training station for Army National
Guard and Reserve troops, leaving the winter months for conservation efforts.
"Now," says Beckmann, "it's pretty much constant."
Where does Beckmann look for funds? "We try to rely a lot on the DoD," he
says. "Even before 9/11, we never were guaranteed any type of funds. And then,
especially after 9/11, it got even tighter." But the fort's conservationists kept
searching for money. "The DoD's Legacy Resource Management Program1 is an
important one that we had worked with," says Beckmann, "and also the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation2. We got grants from them. . . to really get our invasive
species program off the ground. So that was a big source there." There are
other sources: Beckmann does habitat restoration with funds obtained from the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' turkey stamp program; funds have
come from Whitetail Unlimited and the Rough Grouse Society and are used to
support the fort's hunting and fishing programs.3
DoD Legacy Resource
Management Program
Congress established the Legacy
Resource Management Program in
1990 "to provide financial assistance
to DoD efforts to preserve
our national and cultural heritage."
A guide to the program states:
"The program assists DoD in protecting
and enhancing resources
while supporting military readiness.
A Legacy project may involve
regional ecosystem management
initiatives, habitat conservation
management efforts, development
of historic contexts, archaeological
investigations, invasive species
control, Native American consultations,
archaeological collections
management protocols, and/or
monitoring and predicting migratory
patterns of birds and animals."
When originally established in Fiscal
Year 1991, the Legacy Program
provided funding for specific projects
on individual installations.
Now, however, the guidelines prohibit
such "installation-specific"
projects unless they are part of a
larger demonstration project that
can be applied to many installations.
Three principles guide the Legacy
Program: "stewardship, leadership,
and partnership..." For
details on the program, including
information on how to submit
proposals for project funding, see
http://www.DoDlegacy.org/Legacy/intro/guidelines.aspx.
Proceed to Next Section: Friendly Organizations
