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REPI Program Newsletter | July 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.

Join us for the 2024 Designation Cycle Sentinel Landscapes Spotlight Webinar

The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership recently announced five new landscapes from the 2024 Sentinel Landscape Designation Cycle. Join the REPI Program and Sentinel Landscapes Partnerships on Wednesday, July 24, from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern Time to learn about the newly designated landscapes. During this webinar, representatives from each landscape will explore their history, priorities, and alignment with the mission of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership. Presenters will also share best practices and insights on why they believe their applications were successful.

To learn more about this year's designation cycle or the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership's mission and accomplishments, visit www.sentinellandscapes.org.

NFWF Announces Another Record Year in Conservation Grants to Restore Imperiled Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and 10 partners announced $33.5 million in conservation grants from the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund (LLSF) to restore, enhance, and protect longleaf pine forests in eight southern states. This year’s grant slate is the largest in the program’s history, building on a recent trend of increased funding for longleaf pine restoration. These grants will leverage $21.2 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $54.7 million.  These funded projects each help to advance the restoration goals of America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative laid out in the Range-wide Conservation Plan (2025-2040). Together, the projects supported by these grants are expected to establish more than 70,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat through plantings and complete prescribed burnings on an additional 430,000 acres.

“DOD is proud of its longstanding partnership with the NFWF Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund and the continued increase in annual conservation impacts to the longleaf pine ecosystem alongside the support of the military’s combat readiness mission.” says Mr. Ron Tickle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environmental Management and Restoration. “It is an honor to collaborate with other partners in restoring the ecologically diverse longleaf forests of the Southeast and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our nation’s priceless natural heritage both on military lands and surrounding properties. Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem helps the military conduct its test and training missions by promoting compatible land uses near military installations, sustaining habitat for vulnerable species, and enhancing the resilience of our forests and communities.”

The longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse in the world, providing habitat for 40 species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, as well as dozens of “species of greatest conservation need” as designated by state wildlife agencies. Longleaf pine forests provide clean water, places to recreate, forest sector jobs, and contribute to our national defense by buffering military installations from encroaching development.  The awarded projects will advance longleaf pine habitat restoration across eight states within its historic range. For every dollar DOD invests, approximately $18 in matching partner funds will help establish more than 9,000 acres of new longleaf pine, implement prescribed fire on more than 200,000 acres, and enhance an additional 20,000 acres of existing longleaf pine through management treatments.  Altogether, five military installations in the Southeast will directly benefit from LLSF projects.

Department of Defense Receives Presidential Sustainability Award

 Partner Funding Opportunities

In the next few weeks, the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will release the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Community Noise Mitigation Program. This $75 million grant program is designed to assist communities impacted by military aviation noise for the purpose of installing noise mitigating insulation at covered facilities. To stay informed and learn more about the tice of Funding Opportunity for the Community Noise Mitigation Program, visit OLDCC's website.

On June 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared the updated Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidelines for States and Territories with the REPI Office. As a result of continued coordination with the EPA, the REPI Program is now featured as one of the few Federal programs in the “Additional Federal Collaboration Opportunities” section of the guidelines. This new description provides a short overview of the REPI Program and highlights the opportunity to use REPI funding as a non-federal match for the EPA Section 319 Grants. Moving forward, the REPI Program will continue to expand the partnership with the EPA to support installations and communities by establishing off-base projects that protect water quality and leverage funding from both DOD and the EPA.

To stay informed on upcoming partner funding opportunities, download the 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.

REPI News Corner

Below is media coverage featuring REPI Program partnerships that address land use and resource challenges that threaten military readiness while enhancing relationships with communities and preserving the environment.

Partnerships in Cultural, Natural Resource Protection Drive Environmental Team’s Work in Hawaii

The Army Public Affairs Office features the mission of the Oahu Army Natural Resources Program of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi to protect and conserve more than 120 threatened and endangered species across 22 military installations on Oahu and Hawaiʻi Islands. The Department of Defense invests more than $10 million annually in Natural Resources programming to mitigate potential military impacts on natural and cultural resources in Hawaiʻi. To date, $27 million has also been invested through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program towards habitat conservation and creating land buffers between local communities and installations. Working with local partners, 3,800 acres of additional land was identified in 2023 for protection through the REPI Program for projects to increase land and wildlife resilience, mitigate rare plant impacts, and monitor threats from invasive species.

Award-winning Fort Walker Team Cites Planning, Partnerships as Cornerstones of Success

The Army’s Public Affairs Office highlights the Fort Walker Natural Resources Conservation team and its partnership with the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program to manage natural resources on and off the installation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The team oversees approximately 65,000 forested acres, 6,300 wetland acres, 5,550 open area acres, and 13,500 acres of undeveloped land surrounding the local installations. In partnership with the REPI Program, the Natural Resources team manages animals under the Endangered Species Act, provides habitat protection for threatened wildlife, preserves open space and scenic views in three historic districts, and helps limit incompatible land use that impedes military training.