A Win-Win-- A Military Program With Environmental Benefits: A Look at Encroachment and the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative

Encroachment is an ongoing problem for the Department of Defense (DOD). DOD developed strategies to deal with this issue, including the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI). REPI projects balance mission readiness and conservation by creating buffer zones around military installations with encroachment problems. It does this by entering into cooperative agreements with eligible partners to purchase fee simple or some lesser interest in land in the vicinity of a military installation that has a dual benefit, limiting incompatible development and conservation.While REPI has become an important tool for DOD, there are shortcomings in the program inhibiting its effectiveness. DOD needs not only to provide better guidance to the services on REPI, but how to better incorporate Sikes Act cooperative agreements into range sustainment and leveraging other federal programs that have similar goals. Other legislative changes are needed for the program to continue its success, such as creation of a fund to hold the annual appropriations and authorization to use funds outside the fiscal year they were appropriated for. With changes such as these, REPI can continue to build on its current successes.

Author

• Gillman, Marla

Language

• en

Keyword

• REPI
• Encroachment

Date created

• 2011

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Environmental Law

Degree

• LL.M.

Advisor

• Paddock, LeRoy

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/xk81jk523