public universities, such as Colorado State Univer-
sity and the University of Virginia (Doe 2010; Zeidler
2010).
Integrated Natural Resources Management
Within this broader historical context of military
sustainability, the management of natural resources
management on military lands began in earnest in the
middle of the 20th century as the Services acquired and
retained extensive tracts of lands for training and test-
ing before and after World War II. In particular, the
early focus of these efforts centered on forest manage-
ment and wildlife management. In the post-WW II era,
weapons technology and tactics led to bigger, more
powerful, and more destructive vehicles and weap-
ons systems. Consequently, the environmental dis-
turbances and impacts of military activities on these
lands became a concern. The need to rehabilitate this
land damage, both to sustain it for long-term use and
to comply with emerging federal environmental laws
in the 1970’s, increased the importance of compre-
hensive land management approaches. Furthermore,
multi-purpose uses of military lands beyond military
activities also necessitated these efforts. These man-
agement requirements resulted in the establishment
and growth of professional land management staffs
on military installations, representing such disciplines
as forestry, wildlife management, watershed manage-
ment, vegetation and invasive species management,
and ecology.
Several Congressional initiatives, including the
Sikes Act of 1960 spurred early efforts in land man-
agement. The Sikes Act, named after Rep. Robert L.F.
Sikes, a Democrat representing Northwest Florida,