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U.S. military to assess and manage risks of climate change
By Susan Grigsby
Back in the early 80s there was a breeding colony of least terns, near the mouth of the Santa Margarita River, that occasionally hosted the endangered Western snowy plover. During the nesting season, Marines were unable to access the Pacific Ocean in their amphibious vehicles from the sandy beaches of Camp Pendleton that were adjacent to the nesting site. Marine Corps bases in California are scrupulous about protecting the environment that they occupy.
There were buffalo herds that were guaranteed the right-of-way while crossing roads further inland on the base. Their presence near firing ranges was enough for a cease fire to be called until they ambled out of range, as it was feared that they would be too great a temptation for the young Marines who were in training.
In 1991, the Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms re-introduced Nelson’s bighorn sheep back into the Bullion Mountains, their historic range. The price of a pair of horns was $40,000 on the black market at the time, and the sheep were safer in the middle of an artillery range than they were on the mountain slopes of the nearby Joshua Tree National Monument (now Park). They are still there today, thriving.
The military is capable of doing a competent job of protecting the environment at the same time that it is training its forces for combat. They can multi-task with the best of them. Which is why the uproar on the right over the latest Department of Defense (DoD) directive is rather insulting to our military forces.
There were buffalo herds that were guaranteed the right-of-way while crossing roads further inland on the base. Their presence near firing ranges was enough for a cease fire to be called until they ambled out of range, as it was feared that they would be too great a temptation for the young Marines who were in training.
In 1991, the Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms re-introduced Nelson’s bighorn sheep back into the Bullion Mountains, their historic range. The price of a pair of horns was $40,000 on the black market at the time, and the sheep were safer in the middle of an artillery range than they were on the mountain slopes of the nearby Joshua Tree National Monument (now Park). They are still there today, thriving.
The military is capable of doing a competent job of protecting the environment at the same time that it is training its forces for combat. They can multi-task with the best of them. Which is why the uproar on the right over the latest Department of Defense (DoD) directive is rather insulting to our military forces.
Snip
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/14/1483252/-U-S-military-to-assess-and-manage-risks-of-climate-change#read-more
