Announcing the 2024 Sentinel Landscapes Designations

Announcing the 2024 Sentinel Landscapes Designations

Today, the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, comprised of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of the Interior (DOI), announced the designation of five new sentinel landscapes. In these landscapes, natural and working lands thrive alongside military installations and ranges. The partnership is excited to welcome these new landscapes and support their partners' work to mitigate climate change impacts and improve sustainable land and water management practices around military installations.

The 2024 Sentinel Landscape Designations include:  

• Eastern New Mexico Sentinel Landscape, New Mexico
• Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape, Utah
• Hawaiʻi Sentinel Landscape, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island
• Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape, Pennsylvania
• Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape, California

"The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership provides DOD with the unique opportunity to expand and diversify our partnerships with non-governmental organizations, state and local governments, Tribes and land managers to enhance the resilience of military installations and the local communities that support them," said Brendan Owens, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment. "This year, the Department is excited to support the five newly designated landscapes in achieving their dual priorities of safeguarding national defense and enhancing installation and community resilience, particularly in the Pacific and Western regions.”

“The USDA Forest Service is proud to participate in the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership,” said Randy Moore, USDA Forest Service Chief. “We are committed to investing in sustainable land use practices with our fellow federal partners in the spirit of shared stewardship. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership provides support to military readiness while securing conservation benefits, bolstering forest economies, increasing public access to outdoor recreation, and providing wildfire risk reduction for communities.”

“Through the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, we have worked with private landowners to permanently protect more than 515,000 acres and implement sustainable management practices on an additional 2.7 million acres around military testing and training areas,” said Terry Cosby, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief. “These efforts preserve wildlife habitat, bolster agricultural and forest production, and support climate resiliency, among other benefits, while at the same time ensuring our military has the space it needs for its operations.  This work showcases the power of collaboration and partnership to help us meet our mission.”

"The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership demonstrates the remarkable successes that can happen through collaborative, locally led conservation efforts," said Martha Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director. "This program works by connecting private landowners with voluntary state and federal assistance programs that provide tax reductions, agricultural loans, disaster relief, educational opportunities, technical aid, and funding for conservation easements. By focusing multiple agencies' resources on a Sentinel Landscape, the Service and its partners use taxpayer dollars more efficiently and achieve greater conservation outcomes."

Read more about the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission and accomplishments at www.sentinellandscapes.org.

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