Soldiers in the garden: managing the US military training landscape

Despite a reputation for destruction, militaries across the world may maintain important biological natural resources that are key to achieving global biodiversity conservation goals. On lands used by militaries for soldier training, numerous rare and endangered species can be found. The study presented here explores the relationship between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the species it hosts by considering the military training landscape as perceived by DoD employees. To construct a more complete understanding of the conceptualizations of the ideal training landscape, we interviewed land managers at several training installations. We found that the underlying beliefs that managers have about training, war, and nature influence their view of the ideal training landscape. These beliefs have indirect yet tangible impacts on the environment as the management practices implemented to bring about the ideal training landscape contribute to achieving conservation objectives and promoting threatened and endangered species on military land.