Environmental office preserves the natural and cultural resources during military training

Photo By Sgt. DeUndra Brown | Chris Potin, of Hattiesburg, Miss., finds a gopher tortoise that will be tagged as an endangered species, a way of preserving the natural and cultural resources that are used in assisting the military at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center on Aug. 5, 2015. The environmental office staff at Camp Shelby works hard to ensure that all environmental requirements are being met and that the installation stays in compliance with permits.(Mississippi National Guard photo by Sgt. DeUndra Brown, 102nd Public Affairs Detachment/Released)  

CAMP SHELBY, MS, UNITED STATES

08.05.2015

Story by Sgt. DeUndra Brown 

102d Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – One of the most often overlooked missions at Camp Shelby is the preservation of its geological and cultural resources.

In addition to training Soldiers, Camp Shelby serves as a steward of the environment for more than 136,000 acres of the largest reserve component training site in the nation.

The Camp Shelby Environmental Office staff preserves the natural and cultural resources while allowing Soldiers to utilize the terrain for training.

Maj. Cindy King, the environmental officer, invests a lot of time and resources on protecting the environment.

“There’s a lot going on in our environmental office that people don’t realize,” the Purvis, Mississippi, native said. “Camp Shelby currently has a gopher tortoise ‘head start’ program. Eggs are collected from the wild and incubated with intention of releasing them back into the wild after a period of two to three years.”

Some other overlooked areas within the scope of what is not seen by the public includes cultural and archeological resources management, water quality testing, practice habitat restoration, control of invasive species, and geographical information systems technology.

The cultural and archeological resources deal with monitoring and maintaining historical sites, to include native American and more recent historical features in need of long-term cultural preservation.

Water quality testing is conducted on all streams flowing from the installation and monitor contaminants that may be of concern to the general public.

The environmental office also conducts habitat restoration and control of invasive species, such as wild hogs, cogon grass, kudzu and other nuisance species that have adverse effects on the environment. Forestry management and prescribed fires play a huge role in habitat management, and hundreds of acres are burned each year to accomplish this task.

Geographic information systems technology is a complex database tool that allows the staff to track and monitor endangered species locations, wetlands, cultural and historic features, and emission sources.

“We maintain a state of readiness to deploy out in the field at anytime. Having a team ready to respond at moment’s notice is vitally important. It’s all about protecting the environment,” said King.

• Date Taken: 08.05.2015
• Date Posted: 08.05.2015 21:37
• Story ID: 172287
• Location: CAMP SHELBY, MS, US