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REPI Program Newsletter | January 2025 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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 Happy New Year from the DOD REPI Program! The REPI Office would like to thank its partners, stakeholders, and the Military Services for contributing to the many milestones the REPI Program accomplished last year. The program made great strides in working with partners to continue strengthening military readiness at installations and ranges across the country. Join the REPI Office in celebrating all that the program accomplished in 2024 to provide innovative solutions to strengthening military readiness at installations and ranges across the country.
Snapshot of Key 2024 Updates:
Protecting Military Installation Resilience Through Interagency Partnerships:
In 2024, the REPI Program saw significant success in growing partnerships with Federal partners to promote landscape-level collaboration and advance REPI project priorities. REPI projects continue to leverage collective resources and complementary Federal funding streams that help reduce duplicative efforts, efficiently allocate resources, and result in a more effective overall approach to protecting critical missions. The REPI Program's longstanding partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) allows DOD to combine Federal funding through a single application process, leading to efficiencies for government agencies and applicants. The REPI Program contributes to multiple NFWF programs, including the National Coastal Resilience Fund and the America the Beautiful Challenge. Through NFWF's 2024 National Coastal Resilience Fund and 2024 America the Beautiful Challenge, the REPI Program allocated $15 million to advance landscape restoration, nature-based solutions, and species recovery to safeguard military missions. Furthermore, in 2024, the REPI Program continued to work with the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service to invest $15 Million to enhance recreation opportunities around military installations through the Readiness and Recreation Initiative.
To learn more about how the REPI Program works with Federal partners to fund projects that protect military missions, enhance habitats, increase installation resilience, and ensure military readiness at installations and ranges, visit www.repi.mil.
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Designating New Sentinel Landscapes and Expanding the Partnership to Include FEMA:
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership had another successful year after completing the biennial designation cycle. Landscapes designated in 2024 include the Eastern New Mexico Sentinel Landscape, the Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape located in Utah, the Hawai'i Sentinel Landscape, the Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape located in Pennsylvania, and the Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape located in California. Partners in these designated landscapes will concentrate on advancing land management activities that benefit all stakeholders, including managing wildfires, protecting or establishing wildlife corridors, and enhancing resilience to extreme weather. Also, in 2024, the partnership expanded to include the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Office of Resilience to its Federal Coordinating Committee (FCC). By adding FEMA, the partnership can better support landscape resilience and help their conservation partners pursue additional Federal funding opportunities, such as the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program or FEMA’s Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program.
To read more about the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, visit www.sentinellandscapes.org.
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Enhancing Military Readiness and Military-Community Partnerships:
The REPI Program made great strides in working with partners to continue strengthening military readiness at installations and ranges across the country. In 2024 the program worked closely with local and state governments and organizations—such as the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Conservation Districts, and the National Conference of State Legislatures—to build stronger local partnerships with defense communities to advance installation resilience, quality of life, and community engagement objectives that directly support military readiness. In 2025, the program looks forward to continuing these efforts and collaborating with partners, stakeholders, and the Military Services to reaffirm the Department’s commitment to enhancing military readiness and strengthening military-community relations.
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Strengthening Partnerships and Projects in the Pacific:
In 2024, the REPI Program continued to expand partnerships in the Pacific, committing nearly $33 million in funding to support REPI Program projects and REPI Challenge projects across Hawai‘i, the Mariana Islands, and Alaska. These projects also leverage significant partner contributions and investments from other Federal agency conservation and resilience programs. The Pacific region continues to experience catastrophic extreme weather events, flooding, and increased wildland fires. In response, DOD installations are working closely with state partners to enhance installation resilience and limit physical threats to training areas and their surrounding communities.
To learn more about REPI investments in the Pacific Region, explore the newly released 2024 REPI Pacific Fact Sheet!
Stay tuned throughout the year for program updates, news, and resources as the REPI Office is looking forward to meeting new goals and reaching new milestones in 2025!
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 2025 REPI Webinar Series Announced
The REPI Program and Sentinel Landscapes Partnership recently announced the 2025 REPI Webinar Series! The REPI Program webinars will bring together installations and partners throughout the year to discuss efforts that support military missions, advance landscape conservation, and enhance military installation resilience. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership webinars are designed to educate stakeholders and the general public on projects or initiatives occurring within the sentinel landscapes community. The webinars will include topics that are useful for prospective or current REPI projects whether the installation is involved in a sentinel landscape or not.
All webinars will be from 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), unless otherwise noted, and recordings will be posted to the REPI website afterward. To view the series or for detailed webinar descriptions and connection instructions, please visit www.repi.mil.
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This month, the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership announced the 2026 Sentinel Landscape Designation Cycle Expressions of Interest is now accepting applications.
All parties interested in being considered for designation must submit a completed expression of interest to FCC@sentinellandscapes.org by 11:59 PM in your local time zone on April 9, 2025. In Summer of 2025, the Sentinel Landscapes FCC will notify applicants whether they have been invited to submit a full proposal. Selected applicants will then have at least 60 business days to submit their full proposals. The FCC anticipates announcing designations in February 2026.
Join the FCC for the Developing a Compelling Sentinel Landscape Designation Proposal Webinar on January 29, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM ET. This live help session offers applicants a comprehensive overview of the 2026 Sentinel Landscape Designation Cycle, focusing on best practices for preparing an expression of interest. The session covers key elements such as eligibility, expression of interest requirements, and evaluation criteria. Participants will learn how to align their proposals with the priorities of the FCC member agencies. The session also includes Q&A, allowing applicants to engage with FCC members for guidance on proposal strategies and support throughout the process.
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 Upcoming Partner Funding Opportunity: FEMA Announces $1.35 Billion Available for Two Grant Programs
This month, FEMA announced two major Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs aimed at helping communities nationwide adapt to the growing challenges of extreme weather and natural hazards. For FY 2024, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program will distribute $750 million for projects protecting people and infrastructure from natural hazards and extreme weather events. The Flood Mitigation Assistance program will provide $600 million to projects that mitigate flood risks facing homes and communities nationwide. Communities can use the funding offered through these programs to understand disaster risk and vulnerability better, conduct community-driven resilience and hazard mitigation planning, and design and implement transformational projects to make communities safer and more resilient.
The REPI Program is pleased to serve as one of the Federal programs that can satisfy the BRIC program’s non-federal cost-sharing requirement. For applicants interested in working with a defense community to submit a BRIC project proposal, the application will close on April 18, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET. If your community is not prepared to apply for funding this year, non-financial Direct Technical Assistance is also available. This assistance can provide holistic planning support to counties, townships, and cities to develop future BRIC projects. Applications for Direct Technical Assistance are submitted directly to FEMA’s website and require completing a short questionnaire to describe the community’s needs.
FEMA plans to host several webinars to educate state, local, tribal, and territorial governments on the programmatic changes. More information will be shared as it becomes available on www.fema.gov.
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The U.S. Army (Arlington, VA) shared an editorial piece from Colonel Vance M. Brunner, commander at U.S. Army Environmental Command. Colonel Brunner highlighted the importance of mission-focused environmental stewardship exhibited through the REPI Program. He states that the REPI Program works alongside local communities to preserve private lands around military installations, preventing encroachment. He points to the civilian environmental specialists and land managers as key reasons for the program’s success in protecting vital ecosystems while supporting Army readiness.
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