It was 3 years ago. I received a call from Washington that I needed to come to the Pentagon and see the Undersecretary of Defense.

My main purpose of the trip was to discuss military base encroachment and the conservation of lands around bases. At that time I was made aware of the extensive conservation efforts of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Not long after that I was introduced to Jim Copeland of the Navy's Meridian Naval Air Station (MNAS). I was truly amazed at how this military base was balancing conservation and military readiness.

The conservation objectives of the MNAS sound more like a National Wildlife Refuge or National Forest. For a complete listing of these objectives, see Table 1.

Bird Damage Management
As one can imagine, fast flying aircraft and slow flying birds don't always get along. To reduce this conflict, the MNAS employs a program termed Bird Airstrike Hazard Management, or BASH for short. The purpose of BASH is to reduce the number of collisions between birds or other animals and aircraft in order to prevent pilot injuries, or death, and reduce cost of repairs and replacement of aircraft. They also monitor bird strikes, which includes studying and recording wildlife movement patterns and use near and on airfields and clear zones, and maintaining records of strikes.

Soil Erosion and Water Quality
To minimize soil erosion on the base, the natural resource personnel work to reduce or stop erosion when and where it is located and prevent erosion from occurring. Base personnel monitor perimeter roads and logging roads, trails and new construction sites for sheet, rill and gully erosion. When conducting forest management activities, Best Management Practices (BMPs) are used to minimize non-point source pollution. Funds may be provided to correct erosion problems if they occur.

Invasive Species
The control of invasive plants is a major part of the mission of the base. Personnel of the MNAS work to prevent and control the spread of invasive species of plants that threaten native biological diversity and forest productivity. Through monitoring, the natural resources personnel note infested areas during other resource management activities treat areas and evaluate treatment effectiveness. Kudzu and cogongrass are the major pest plants that occur on the base that currently require monitoring and control.

Wetlands
The MNAS prevents the loss of wetland acreage and maintains wetland habitat quality. They have identified and mapped all of their wetlands. They also assess construction plans for impacts to wetlands.

Forest Management
Forest management on the MNAS uses scientific principles to accomplish its objectives, which have been chosen to support the base's training mission while conserving native biological diversity and ecosystem integrity. Planned forest management also integrates the objectives in what the Department of Defense terms as Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP).

The base has updated their forest inventory utilizing GIS systems to develop a forest management plan that integrates ecosystem management with a sustained yield of timber. Student pilots need consistent visual clues in and around the runway environment to aid in navigation. Uneven-aged management minimizes sudden forest changes and fulfills this need.

Immediately after forest management activities, logging decks are seeded to wildlife food plantings, such as clover, annual lespedeza and partridge pea, if native plants do not recolonize the site. This action will enhance wildlife habitat and control soil erosion.

Clear zones near the runways need to be maintained for safety of flight. These areas should be clear of trees and other above ground obstructions and include the areas adjacent to the runway as well as the approach and departure end of each runway. Trees are in danger of falling on power lines, buildings, roads or people. Most of the loblolly pines that are 50 to 80 years old are in decline. Many are succumbing to red heart disease, rot, wind, fire damage, fusiform rust and bark beetles. Some pine stands are infrequently burned and at risk of catastrophic wildfire.

The desired forest condition to be reached for the MNAS in the next 50 years is for all upland and flatwoods pine sites to be stocked with longleaf pine with an understory of little bluestem and other grasses and forbs typical of the West Gulf longleaf pine ecosystem when frequently burned in the growing season. The historic range of longleaf pine includes the MNAS, which is on the northernmost extent of longleaf in Mississippi.

Hardwoods will buffer and protect the drainages, wetlands, floodplains, riparian corridors and bottomlands. Pine and hardwood cover will resemble the size and species described by the General Land Office records. To avoid forest fragmentation and mimic natural forest processes, harvests will be single tree selection and small group selection.

In order to protect and restore the longleaf pine ecosystem, the MNAS joined with the Longleaf Alliance, Wildlife Mississippi, other conservation groups and a host of state and federal agencies, all working together toward the same goal. According to Jim Copeland, the Natural Resources Manager for the MNAS, "One day our isolated pockets will be filled with longleaf pine and the landowners around and in between us will catch the vision and plant their lands to longleaf too."

Biological Diversity
In addition, the native biological diversity of the base is conserved. Natural resources personnel conserve existing native biological diversity by restoring the habitats most threatened in present times, such as longleaf pine and river bottom canebreaks.

Biological diversity is measured by acres burned, acres of longleaf planted, acres of canebreak established and acres of open understory established.

Implementation of single tree and group selection harvest, limiting harvest cuts of greater than 5 acres in size and protection of hardwoods in wetland areas will maintain present native biodiversity for the next several years and will provide a chance to document baseline conditions. Selective thinning and use of prescribed fire will increase biodiversity by opening stand canopies, stimulating herbaceous vegetation and favoring longleaf and shortleaf pines over loblolly pine.

Threatened and Endangered Species
The MNAS assists in recovery of threatened and endangered species. They map and monitor occurrence of state and federally protected species.

Although no federally-listed species have been found on station, five of the six recorded state-listed species occur in or near wetland areas. Water willow is found in swamps while Southern shield woodfern, green-fringed orchid and Turk's cap lily occur in mesic hardwood habitats along streams, wetlands and swamps. Four-toed salamanders are found in moist forested sites where abundant woody debris provides cover.

Protecting forested corridors along streams and bottomland hardwoods from disturbance and timber harvest should maintain habitat quality for these listed species. Retention of older age classes (> 70 years) of trees will benefit salamanders and other species that require moist microhabitat conditions and woody debris on the forest floor.

Outdoor Recreation
To conserve outdoor recreation and special natural areas, the base provides outdoor recreation. They develop self-guided nature trails for conservation education of public and station personnel. They have also mapped existing primitive, natural areas and historical sites, and maintain hunting and fishing records and trail registration.

The thinning and prescribed burning operations in pine stands conducted on the base should have a positive effect on deer, squirrel and quail hunting as well as opportunities for wildlife watching and native plant study.

The residents and employees take pride in the "pristine" appearance of the MNAS's forest. As a result, protection of scenic values during timber harvest is a high priority. When trees are to be cut along roads, in and around administrative areas, housing, recreation areas or where the public can view harvesting operations (or the immediate after-effects) the scenic values will be protected in a variety of ways.

Cost-Effective Maintenance
As part of the INRMP, the base is constantly working to reduce the cost of maintaining the grounds. This is accomplished while maintaining an acceptable level of appearance through reduction in mowing, landscaping with native plants, reforestation of open areas and prompt treatment of eroded sites.

The Navy is authorized for the reimbursement of costs of managing forest resources for timber production. These reimbursable funds come from the sale of timber and other forest products. Timber sales on the MNAS have varied from a low of $14K in 1980 to a high of $175K in 1992. However, the purpose of the timber sales is not to produce revenue but to maintain a healthy forest.

Forty percent of net profits from timber sales are returned to the counties for use on roads or schools. The amount corresponds to the percentage of station land in each county: Lauderdale County (73.8%), Kemper County (19.6%) and Noxubee County (6.5%).

When it comes to conservation, the lands of the Department of Defense often are not the lands that come to mind. However, they should. They are doing a great job at a low cost.

Table 1. Conservation Objectives of the Meridian Naval Air Station