Statement from Trust for Public Land on Department of Defense’s Newly Announced Sentinel Landscape Designations in California and Hawaii 

San Francisco, CA — 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 including the Hawaiʻi Sentinel Landscape, on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island and the Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape, in Southern California – both of which Trust for Public Land has helped in multiple projects to conserve and restore. 

Trust for Public Land issued the following statement from Guillermo Rodriguez, Vice President Pacific Region, California State Director, and Lea Hong, Associate Vice President, Hawai‘i State Director:

“TPL is proud to participate in the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership. This initiative supports military readiness while providing significant conservation and restoration benefits, bolstering economies, increasing public access to outdoor recreation, and reducing wildfire risks for communities. 

The newly announced Sentinel Landscape Designations in California and Hawaii are pivotal in expanding our successful conservation efforts in these states through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program. TPL remains dedicated to this mission and looks forward to advancing our work under the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership to protect and enhance our nation’s treasured landscapes.” 

Since 2006, REPI and its partners have committed nearly $162.4 million to projects supporting four military installations in Hawaii. TPL has played a crucial role in these endeavors, purchasing or facilitating the protection of over 16,300 acres on Oʻahu in partnership with state, local, and NGO partners. These efforts have conserved ten special places using REPI funding and other sources of public and private funding. In 2022 alone, more than 4.4 million acres of land were enrolled in financial and technical assistance programs, preserving wildlife habitat, enhancing agricultural and forestry production, and reducing land-use conflicts around military bases.

In California, REPI and its partners have invested over $261.0 million in projects supporting 15 military installations, protecting over 78,000 acres. TPL has been instrumental in these efforts, purchasing or facilitating with local partners 18 projects across seven installations, leading to the protection of over 32,300 acres, including more than four projects totaling 2,500 acres in the newly announced Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape. 

For nearly two decades, TPL has partnered with the DoD, primarily through the REPI program, to work with communities to maintain military readiness and protect natural resources. Our efforts focus on reducing incompatible development, conserving habitats, and increasing climate resilience. Since 2004, TPL has completed 94 projects near 27 military installations across 15 states, protecting 170,000 acres through over $149 million in DOD funds.

Recent TPL successes with the REPI program include collaborations with Buckley Air Force Base, the conservation of the 9,580-acre Redington Forest adjacent to a Navy training facility, the protection of more than 10,000 acres near the Appalachian Trail, including Quill Hill, and most recently, the preservation of nearly 12,000 acres at Bohart Ranch near Colorado Springs, which bolsters the U.S. Air Force Academy. 

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About Trust for Public Land 

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected 4 million acres of public land; created 5,420 parks, trails, 200+ Community Schoolyards projects, and iconic outdoor places; raised $94 billion in public funding for parks and public lands; and brought parks and trails to within a 10-minute walk of home for nearly 9.7 million people. To learn more, visit tpl.org.