"After decades of indifference," the Defense Department is "spending about $100 million annually for protection of natural resources" as larger military installations play "an unexpected and increasingly important role ... as safe havens for wildlife and plant life."
That role "has become increasingly apparent as development has devoured open space and contiguous forest." Olin Allen of the Arlington, VA-based Nature Conservancy and coordinator of the District of Columbia Natural Heritage Program: "They're the equal of-if not more significant than-parks in terms of the size and diversity of the wildlife populations they harbor."
For example, Quantico Marine Corps Base in northern Virginia encompasses approximately 60,000 acres, "dwarf[ing] any of the county, state, regional, or national parks in the area" and employs a staff of more than 40 natural resource employees, including environmental engineers, wildlife biologists and game wardens (Steve Vogel, Washington Post, 11/9).
NEXT STORY: Pay gap is real, says top military leader