these protracted forward deployments, there has been
a decrease in overall land use and associated envi-
ronmental impacts. That situation is about to change.
Many of these deployed forces are now returning per-
manently to U.S. installations. Concurrently, units are
being consolidated at several major installations – for
example, Fort Carson, CO and Fort Bliss, TX. This will
place increased pressure on some of these installations
and their neighboring communities. The trans-bound-
ary effects of encroachment between the military and
its neighboring communities will require new ways of
looking at the military installation in the context of lo-
cal and regional space, communities and ecosystems.
Another factor which will have major influences
on military lands and their sustainability in the 21st
century are the effects of climate change. The regional
effects of prolonged flood and drought, insect infesta-
tions, rising sea levels and other greenhouse gas in-
duced outcomes will directly impact the quality and
diversity of military lands (USAEPI 2007). Military
land managers will have to be adaptable and flexible
in their management approaches to responding to
these changes.
These new trajectories in military lands manage-
ment further emphasize that the physical ecosystems
existing on military installations represent a national
asset for training and testing of our military forces.
They provide the ecological foundation of sustainabil-
ity. These critical federal lands do not exist in isolation
within their administrative boundaries. Rather, they
are imbedded into local and regional contexts and
ecosystems that are characterized by trans-boundary
processes, flows, effects and changes. Efforts to sus-
tain these resources, both within and outside the
installations’ boundaries, will require an increased
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