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Stay Connected with the REPI Program!
We're excited to announce that we have implemented a new email subscription service through GovDelivery to make it easier for you to stay connected with program updates, news, and announcements relevant to the REPI Community! You will continue receiving emails for topics you are already subscribed to, including newsletters, funding announcements, and webinar reminders. We have set up your GovDelivery account, so you don't need to subscribe again. To update your preferences, log in to your GovDelivery account where you can explore and select from various email topics, including program updates, news, and announcements, aligning with your interests.
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Message from the Program Director
Dear REPI Partners,
As the REPI team prepares for another busy and exciting fall reviewing the Military Services project proposals, I'd like to take a moment to thank our partners and stakeholders for their continued support in advancing the military mission and provide a couple of highlights since our last newsletter. Last month, leaders from across the country gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the inaugural DOD Climate Resilience Workshop. Hosted by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD(EI&E), the workshop welcomed over 800 attendees from the defense, conservation, and natural resource communities.
The DOD Climate Resilience Workshop provided a critical opportunity for DOD and its partners to discuss ways to strengthen installation resilience amid a changing climate and advance the goals and objectives of the National Defense Strategy. The four-day workshop offered attendees various informative plenary sessions and over 30 interactive issue sessions around multiple lines of effort in the 2021 DOD Climate Adaptation Plan. The workshop focused on the Department's partnership engagement, strategic plans, and installation resilience case studies. Attendees participated in sessions on nature-based solutions and climate adaptation best practices, all while setting the course for new and improved partnerships to connect missions, resources, and defense communities in support of military installation resilience.
Throughout the event, the REPI Program hosted seven sessions covering a range of topics related to installation and community resilience, along with compatible land use around military installations and sentinel landscapes. Over the course of the week, the REPI team held four office hours where attendees stopped by to ask questions on developing REPI projects. Tackling the climate crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. The discussions, action items, and outcomes of the workshop reaffirmed the Department's commitment to installation and community resilience and demonstrated the power of leveraging partnerships to strengthen military readiness. I look forward to continuing these critical discussions, building on the momentum generated during the DOD Climate Resilience Workshop, and leveraging the creative ideas introduced during our sessions!
Best,
Kristin Thomasgard
REPI Program Director
Upcoming Partner Funding Opportunities
We're pleased to release the newly updated REPI Resilience Project Funding Guide, which features a comprehensive program calendar. The guide includes updated dates for application openings and deadlines across all programs. Each program includes a summary of funding opportunities, eligibility requirements, and application information. Mark your calendars for the below upcoming partner funding opportunities.
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Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program
The Forest Service is now accepting applications for the second round of funding under the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program. The Community Wildfire Defense Program is intended to help at-risk local communities and tribes and plan for and reduce the risk of wildfire. This program, authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $250 million in funding for developing or revising a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) or for implementing projects described in a CWPP. The Forest Service prioritizes at-risk communities in an area with high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, or have been impacted by a severe disaster that affects the risk of wildfire.
Eligible applicants are encouraged to follow the NOFOS instructions at www.grants.gov. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on October 31. The Wildfire Risk to Communities project team will host office hours for applicants to ask questions about the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. These office hours will be available every other Wednesday, starting on August 30 through October 25.
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WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program
The Department of the Interior announced up to $195 million in funding opportunities to develop a more resilient water supply, support cooperative watershed management, and safeguard aquatic ecosystems. The Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) contributes to the WaterSMART strategy by funding watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to form local solutions to address their water management needs. Under this program, applicants may receive up to $300,000 in funding to perform stakeholder outreach; develop bylaws, a mission statement, watershed management project concepts, and a watershed restoration plan; and complete watershed management project design work.
Eligible applicants include states, tribes, local and special districts, local governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in the Western U.S. and capable of supporting the sustainable use of water resources within the watershed. The first round of applications are due by December 5 and the second round due by September 3, 2024.
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Partnership Spotlight
Sentinel Landscapes Partnership
Last month, the REPI Office was thrilled to join the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership in designating the Virginia Security Corridor Sentinel Landscapes. The newly designated landscapes span nearly 3 million acres and include the Potomac Sentinel Landscape, anchored by Marine Corps Base Quantico, as well as the Tidewater Sentinel Landscape, anchored by Joint Base Langley-Eustis. The Virginia Security Corridor is a region characterized by high military concentration, population growth, urban sprawl, and a thriving technology industry. It is also home to some of Virginia’s most abundant natural resources, including intact forests, open and agricultural lands, as well as intricate marsh and riverine systems that connect to the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary.
“The designation seeks to prevent encroachment on military missions, increase working lands, build resilience against climate-induced hazards, conserve key habitats, benefit water quality, and protect threatened species,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
For more information about the Virginia Security Corridor Sentinel Landscapes, visit https://sentinellandscapes.org.
Sentinel Landscapes Upcoming Webinar: Partnerships to Advance Climate Resilience in Sentinel Landscapes
Join the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership on Wednesday, October 11, from 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET to hear from speakers highlighting partnerships and opportunities to advance climate resilience in sentinel landscapes. The partnership recognizes that climate resilience and adaptation challenges have a significant impact on the partnership’s shared objectives of conservation, working lands preservation, and national defense. This webinar will address how the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is finding ways to tackle these challenges in a holistic and outcomes-based manner.
To join the Partnerships to Advance Climate Resilience in Sentinel Landscapes webinar, visit https://sentinellandscapes.org/get-involved/.
Join the REPI Program at the 2023 Land Trust Rally
The REPI Program is excited to participate in the upcoming Land Trust Alliance (LTA) Rally 2023 from September 6-9 in Portland, Oregon. LTA Rally is the exciting annual gathering of land conservation practitioners dedicated to conserving our communities. As the premier training and networking conference, LTA Rally offers educational sessions focused on land conservation topics, networking events, exhibits, plenary sessions, and an awards presentation celebrating conservation leadership. The REPI Office will host an informational breakfast for new and existing REPI partners on Friday, September 8 from 7:00-8:15 AM and a session, Tapping into New Federal Climate Resilience Funding for Land Trusts and Defense Communities from 3:30 - 5:00 PM. For more information and a schedule of events, visit the LTA Rally 2023 website.
The National Association of Counties 2023 Annual Conference
Last month, the REPI Office participated in the 2023 Annual Conference with the National Association of Counties (NACo) held in Travis County, Texas. During the conference, the REPI Program hosted a session, Partnering with DOD and Landowners for National Security and Resilience, to discuss current partnerships and climate resiliency measures. During this session, county leaders from across the country had the opportunity to learn how the REPI Program can play a critical role in strengthening local capacity to build resiliency and discover opportunities to leverage REPI funding to match other federal funds. Following the REPI session, the REPI Program Director, Kristin Thomasgard, hosted a listening session with Hawai’i County leaders to discuss the REPI Program in Hawai’i and identify potential project opportunities and new partnerships to enhance community engagement. The REPI Program looks forward to continuing to partner with NACo to strengthen military and county partnerships that will encourage knowledge-sharing across counties interested in pursuing REPI funding and engaging with the Department to promote mission sustainability and resilience.
To learn more information about partnering with the REPI Program, download the REPI Partnership Projects Fact Sheet.
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America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative 2022 Accomplishments Report
America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative (ALRI) has released its 2022 Range-wide Accomplishment Report. In fiscal year 2022, partners across the range recorded 2.2 million acres of longleaf management activities. Since 2010, more than 21.5 million acres of longleaf management activities have been reported, translating to positive outcomes for local economies, national defense, rare species, recreation, forest resiliency, wildfire risk, clean air and water, carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation. The Department participates in ALRI as a significant land manager of longleaf pine ecosystems, which are vital to the national defense and operation of our military installations in the Southeast. The Report recognizes the collective partners' 2.29 million acres of accomplishments, resulting in positive outcomes for national defense, species protection, recreation, forest resiliency, wildfire risk reduction, and climate change mitigation. Out of total longleaf accomplishments, the DOD contributed over 21,000 acres of planting, over 269,000 acres of prescribed fire, and over 20,000 acres of land protected. The Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape also joined the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape, Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape, and Georgia Sentinel Landscape. Longleaf conservation and restoration in this newly designated landscape will help buffer military facilities from incompatible uses and potential conflicts while providing wildlife habitat. Read the full 2022 Range-wide Accomplishment Report,
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REPI News Roundup
Below is media coverage featuring REPI Program partnerships that serve as an innovative way to address land use and resource challenges that threaten military readiness while enhancing relationships with communities and preserving the environment.
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The Beaufort Gazette (Beaufort, South Carolina) reports that as a result of DOD's REPI Program, high-density housing development will be off-limits on 500 acres of land on South Wimbee Creek in the Dale area north of Beaufort. The $2.2 million conservation easement covers the 488-acre Bowers Farm, located north of a runway at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (MCAS). “Protecting Bowers Farm protects the air station’s military mission by ensuring unobstructed training for our pilots and aircrew,” said Col. Mark Bortnem, commanding officer at MCAS Beaufort.
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Air and Space Force (Panama City, Florida) reports that Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) is working to protect itself from future hurricanes with nature-based coastal resilience projects. Through the REPI Program, Tyndall AFB is utilizing REPI funds to experiment with oyster breakwaters in Florida state waters beyond the base’s shoreline. REPI funding can help attract state and local government or conservation agencies to work with the Air Force on such projects.
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