The Nature Conservancy, Department of Defense Partnership Conserves Forests and Wetlands Along Chattahoochee Fall Line

Unlikely Allies Partner in Community Sustainability Goal Setting Conference on May 10-12, 2005, in Columbus, Ga.

Columbus, Ga.—May 4, 2005—In the midst of speculations about military base closures, The Nature Conservancy is participating in Fort Benning’s Sustainability Goal Setting Conference set for May 10-12, 2005 in Columbus, Ga. Conference participants will develop a sustainable solution for Columbus that meets the needs of the community and the military’s training mission, while protecting the region’s natural heritage.

"Our long-time partnership with the Department of Defense and Fort Benning is mutually beneficial," explained Wade Harrison, Chattahoochee Fall Line project director for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia. "The Nature Conservancy’s partnership with Fort Benning enables the military to continue to train our country’s soldiers at the highest standards, while preserving Georgia’s natural diversity."

Encompassing 184,000 contiguous acres in west Georgia and east Alabama, Fort Benning is not only the primary training ground for our country’s infantry, but it is also a safe haven for the rapidly disappearing longleaf pine ecosystem and many rare plants and animals.

However, as development moves closer to the boundaries of Fort Benning, the Army may lose its flexibility to conduct military activities, which often involve noise, smoke, dust and low-flying aircraft. Fort Benning’s ability to continue critical land management and conservation activities on the installation – such as prescribed fire – is also threatened by encroaching development.

The prescribed burning program currently in place on Fort Benning is critical to managing the forest. Since 1993, The Nature Conservancy has provided planning and monitoring assistance to Fort Benning to manage the natural systems on the base. If development adjacent to the installation proceeds unchecked, Fort Benning’s ability to manage the forest may be threatened. In addition, the remarkable natural habitats found on Fort Benning would become increasingly isolated from the surrounding landscape.

"Many of the ecosystems found on Fort Benning and around the Columbus region depend on regular sweeps of fire and heat to survive and persist," Harrison said. "The Army’s training methods – which often result in fire – have actually helped to conserve the longleaf pine ecosystem found on Fort Benning for many years. To protect the natural diversity of the region, fire must remain on the land."

To address the issue of increasing development around the installation, The Nature Conservancy recently completed a study showing how a variety of conservation tools, including habitat management incentives, voluntary conservation easements, land purchases for conservation and land use planning, can create greenspace buffers and corridors that benefit the community and maintain the natural integrity of the region.

The recent attention brought to land conservation efforts in Columbus and around the state was spurred by Governor Purdue’s announcement and $100 million allocation to the Land Conservation Act earlier this month.

"The Nature Conservancy has been a great conservation partner, not only for Fort Benning but increasingly for other landowners throughout the Chattahoochee Valley," said Ken Callaway, a landowner and board member of Callaway Blue Springs Water Company. "As our community grows, we have to protect the things that make it special. The Governor's Land Conservation Act and The Nature Conservancy's work in this area are two examples that we're heading in the right direction."

About The Nature Conservancy’s Work on Fort Benning

Since 1993, The Nature Conservancy has worked with Fort Benning and the community to protect and manage the natural areas on the installation and to identify conservation needs and opportunities in the surrounding area.

As the Army’s primary training installation for our country’s infantry, Fort Benning encompasses more than 184,000 contiguous acres and provides significant habitat for imperiled plants and wildlife, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise, the relict trillium and the sweet pitcher plant.

With a wide range of natural communities, including upland pines, bottomland hardwoods, sandy hills, river bluffs, seepage bogs, seasonal herbaceous ponds, and longleaf pine grasslands, Fort Benning and the surrounding Chattahoochee Fall Line project area is a conservation priority for The Nature Conservancy.