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REPI Program Newsletter | May 2024 Edition
Please see below for exciting news and announcements relevant to the REPI community! If you have questions or would like an announcement featured in the next newsletter, please contact us at osd.repi@mail.mil.
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Sentinel Landscapes to Address Climate Change Impacts and Strengthen Military Readiness
This month, the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, in collaboration with the Department of Defense's (DOD) REPI Program, welcomed five new areas designated as sentinel landscapes, where natural and working lands thrive alongside military installations and ranges. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, comprised of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, DOD, and the Department of Interior, is excited to welcome these new landscapes and support its partners in mitigating climate change impacts and improving sustainable land and water management practices around military installations.
The newly designated sentinel landscapes include:
Eastern New Mexico Sentinel Landscape, New Mexico
Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape, Utah
Hawaiʻi Sentinel Landscape, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island
Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape, Pennsylvania
Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape, California
"The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership provides DOD with the unique opportunity to expand and diversify our partnerships with non-governmental organizations, state and local governments, Tribes, and land managers to enhance the resilience of military installations and the local communities that support them," said Brendan Owens, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment. "This year, the Department is excited to support the five newly designated landscapes in achieving their dual priorities of safeguarding national defense and enhancing installation and community resilience, particularly in the Pacific and Western regions.”
To learn more about the new landscapes, join the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership on July 24, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). During this webinar, partners from selected landscapes will explore their history, priorities, and alignment with the mission of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership.
Read more about the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission and accomplishments at www.sentinellandscapes.org.
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ICYMI: Fiscal Year 2025 REPI Challenge Request for Proposals Announced
On May 6, the DOD's REPI Program announced the release of the REPI Challenge FY 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP). For the FY 2025 REPI Challenge, the DOD's REPI Program may provide up to $30 million in funding for land conservation, improvement, or management activities that limit incompatible development in the vicinity of DOD installations and ranges; enhance military installation resilience to climate change or extreme weather events; or relieve current or anticipated environmental restrictions in support of key mission capabilities of strategic importance. Additional consideration will be given to those projects that leverage multiple authorities to accomplish project goals. Selected projects will demonstrate their ability to preserve and/or enhance key mission capabilities of strategic importance to DOD. The FY 2025 REPI Challenge is designed to encourage conservation at a greater scale and to promote the use of new and diverse sources of funding. Innovative partnerships that bring new ideas to the REPI process are strongly encouraged. State and local governments, corporations, private investors, and conservation groups are welcome to participate in the FY 2025 REPI Challenge.
Pre-proposals for the FY 2025 REPI Challenge are due in the REPI Challenge Online Portal on June 10, 2024, by 8:00 PM ET. Existing users are not required to request a new account in the Online Portal. A user guide is available in the REPI Challenge Online Portal to help you navigate the proposal process.
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Deadlines Approaching: Upcoming Partner Funding Opportunities
DOD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation Announces Defense Community Infrastructure Program Notice of Funding Opportunity
The DOD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation is accepting proposals for the FY 2024 Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP). DCIP is designed to assist state and local governments, and not-for-profit, member-owned utilities in addressing deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation.
Complete proposals must be submitted by 8:00 PM ET on June 17, 2024.
Click here to learn about the DCIP NOFO.
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Readiness and Recreation Initiative
On January 30, the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) State and Local Assistance Program, in partnership with DOD's REPI Program, announced the release of the FY 2024 Readiness and Recreation Initiative Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Through the FY 2024 Readiness and Recreation Initiative, the National Park Service will provide $40 million in funding from unobligated LWCF balances as a potential match for REPI Program funding to support projects that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to military families and the public while also promoting military readiness and resilience.
The national-level NOFO deadline is July 12, 2024. However, State Lead Agencies will set their own deadlines for accepting proposals in advance of this national deadline.
Click here for more information on the 2024 Readiness and Recreation Initiative NOFO.
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Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans Now Available
The DOD's Natural Resources Program recently released the newIntegrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) webpage. The new INRMPs webpage is designed to enhance user experience. You can easily navigate through the tabs and utilize the search functions on the left tab of this page. These functions allow you to find INRMPs by installation name, Military Department, state, INRMP effective date, or the responsible USFWS region, making your search for specific plans more efficient.
The INRMPs are the blueprint for managing the DOD's lands, waters, and airspace. INRMPs address all the habitats and species found on an installation while providing management strategies and guidance to DOD Natural Resource Managers on conserving those habitats and species while supporting the installation's mission. INRMPs are collaborative as they are developed and coordinated with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State Fish and Wildlife agencies. Of DOD's 550 installations, 345 require INRMPs (145 Army, 81 Navy, 96 Air Force, 17 Marine Corps, 4 Space Force, and 2 Defense Logistics Agency), which serve as the roadmap for conservation actions taken on the installation. These plans are the foundation of an installation's natural resources management.
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Hawaii Business Magazine reports that seven new Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Challenge projects in Hawai‘i will bring $10 million in funding for projects that focus on habitat preservation, reforestation, watershed protection, flood and wildfire mitigation, and food and water security. New projects include a partnership with Hawai‘i Land Trust that will create a conservation easement adjacent to the Waikalua fishponds complex and the Parker Ranch Maunakea Reforestation Project on Hawai‘i Island that aims to restore 3,300 acres of remnant native forest and pasturelands that will allow Army units at the Pōhakuloa Training Area to conduct realistic training. Since 2021, there have been 15 REPI Challenge projects in Hawai‘i using $40.3 million in Department of Defense funding and $55.5 million in partner contributions, aiming to protect and conserve environmental resources, promote resiliency, and promote compatible land use around military installations.
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The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service reports that four Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Challenge projects were funded in partnership with Marine Corps installations: Marine Corps Base (MCB) Hawai‘i, MCB Camp Blaz, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Paris Island, all totaling over 8,000 acres, $9 million in REPI funds, and $6.3 million in partner contributions. The projects will work to build installation resilience to climate change and natural disasters, improve watersheds, safeguard fragile ecosystems and habitats, promote compatible land use, conserve coral reefs, reduce invasive species, implement sustainable wildfire management practices, and support mission readiness.
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