From Army installations across the United States to overseas training areas, protecting military lands from invasive species is an essential part of maintaining combat readiness while preserving valuable natural resources.
At Fort McCoy, that mission continues through a comprehensive invasive species management program that combines science-based stewardship, innovative management techniques, public education, and regional partnerships to protect nearly 60,000 acres of military training lands.
The installation’s Natural Resources Branch works year-round to monitor, prevent, and manage invasive plant and animal species that threaten forests, prairies, wetlands, lakes, streams, and wildlife habitats. Those efforts help sustain the realistic training environments required by Soldiers while ensuring Fort McCoy remains a responsible steward of the diverse ecosystems found across the installation.
Fort McCoy’s program reflects a broader commitment by the U.S. Army to manage millions of acres of training lands around the world. Through Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans at Army installations, natural resource professionals balance military readiness with environmental stewardship by protecting native habitats, restoring ecosystems, conserving threatened and endangered species, reducing wildfire risks, and preventing invasive species from degrading training lands.
Unchecked invasive species can outcompete native vegetation, alter forests and wetlands, reduce biodiversity, increase management costs, damage infrastructure, and diminish the quality of military training areas. By emphasizing early detection, monitoring, prevention, education, and integrated management strategies, Army installations help ensure training lands remain healthy and resilient for future generations of Soldiers.
At Fort McCoy, invasive species management has become an increasingly important part of the installation's overall natural resources mission.
Natural Resources Branch personnel employ an integrated approach that includes regular monitoring, mapping, mechanical removal, selective herbicide applications, biological controls, habitat restoration, and long-term scientific evaluation. Specialists also work closely with state and federal agencies, universities, local governments, conservation organizations, and neighboring landowners to coordinate invasive species management across the region.
One example of Fort McCoy's innovative approach has been the use of targeted grazing by goats to suppress invasive woody shrubs in difficult-to-access areas. Combined with traditional management methods, biological controls help reduce invasive vegetation while minimizing impacts to native plant communities and wildlife habitat.
The installation also actively manages aquatic invasive species in its lakes and waterways. Natural resources specialists monitor invasive aquatic plants and coordinate removal efforts that help protect fisheries, recreational opportunities, and aquatic ecosystems while preventing invasive species from spreading to neighboring waters.
Education remains another critical component of Fort McCoy’s invasive species program.
That commitment was demonstrated recently during the annual Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group Summer Field Day, hosted at Fort McCoy. The event brought together natural resource professionals, landowners, agency representatives, and interested citizens from throughout west-central Wisconsin to learn about identifying and managing invasive plants, tree diseases, aquatic invasive species, and methods for restoring native landscapes.
Although weather required organizers to adjust portions of the outdoor program, participation remained strong.
“We had an excellent turnout again this year with a different group of people than last year's event,” said Jessica Salesman, Fort McCoy natural resources specialist. “People came from surrounding counties as well, including Vernon and Jackson. But the weather — like last year — made the outdoor-focused event challenging to organize. Even with the slight change in the afternoon program, people really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to learn how to identify many of the common invasive plants and aquatic organisms they may encounter in the county and west-central Wisconsin.”
Salesman said the annual field day serves both the public and Fort McCoy's long-term natural resources mission.
“Hopefully next year the weather will be more cooperative and we can get back to Pine View again,” Salesman said. “The Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group tries to offer information on a wide variety of topics that are of interest to or can help landowners, interested citizens, and even other agency personnel address invasive species issues where they live and work. It's a benefit to Fort McCoy because it fosters good working relationships and information sharing that ultimately assists our efforts to manage the impacts of invasive species on the installation. Thank you to MWR for allowing us to host the event at the Whitetail Ridge Chalet and Pine View Campground — they’re both excellent venues for our program.”
Fort McCoy Wildlife Biologist Kevin Luepke said the event reflected growing interest in invasive species management throughout the region.
“From my view, it looked like they had a great turnout, probably the biggest I have seen in a few years,” Luepke said. “Other than that, great information presented by WDNR and USDA on tree diseases and native species use for landscaping and pollinator habitat.”
The annual field day has become an important opportunity for sharing knowledge among federal, state, county, and private organizations. By bringing together specialists from multiple disciplines, the program helps improve early detection of invasive species, encourages coordinated management across property boundaries, and provides practical information that landowners can apply on their own properties.
For Fort McCoy, those partnerships extend well beyond a single annual event.
Natural Resources Branch personnel routinely collaborate with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group, neighboring landowners, universities, conservation organizations, and other federal agencies to address invasive species that do not recognize property boundaries.
That cooperation allows specialists to exchange research, share management techniques, coordinate treatment efforts, and improve regional awareness of emerging invasive threats before they become widespread.
Those efforts also support Fort McCoy’s broader environmental stewardship mission. Healthy forests, prairies, wetlands, and waterways provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, improve ecosystem resilience, and help ensure military training lands remain available for the thousands of Soldiers, Reserve Component units, and other service members who train at the installation each year.
As invasive species continue to spread across Wisconsin and throughout North America, Fort McCoy officials say proactive management, public education, scientific research, and strong regional partnerships remain among the most effective tools for protecting both military readiness and the natural resources entrusted to the Army’s care.
By combining innovative land management practices with collaboration across agencies and communities, Fort McCoy continues to demonstrate how military readiness and environmental stewardship work hand in hand — supporting the Army's mission while preserving Wisconsin's natural resources for generations to come.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
At Fort McCoy, that mission continues through a comprehensive invasive species management program that combines science-based stewardship, innovative management techniques, public education, and regional partnerships to protect nearly 60,000 acres of military training lands.
The installation’s Natural Resources Branch works year-round to monitor, prevent, and manage invasive plant and animal species that threaten forests, prairies, wetlands, lakes, streams, and wildlife habitats. Those efforts help sustain the realistic training environments required by Soldiers while ensuring Fort McCoy remains a responsible steward of the diverse ecosystems found across the installation.
Fort McCoy’s program reflects a broader commitment by the U.S. Army to manage millions of acres of training lands around the world. Through Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans at Army installations, natural resource professionals balance military readiness with environmental stewardship by protecting native habitats, restoring ecosystems, conserving threatened and endangered species, reducing wildfire risks, and preventing invasive species from degrading training lands.
Unchecked invasive species can outcompete native vegetation, alter forests and wetlands, reduce biodiversity, increase management costs, damage infrastructure, and diminish the quality of military training areas. By emphasizing early detection, monitoring, prevention, education, and integrated management strategies, Army installations help ensure training lands remain healthy and resilient for future generations of Soldiers.
At Fort McCoy, invasive species management has become an increasingly important part of the installation's overall natural resources mission.
Natural Resources Branch personnel employ an integrated approach that includes regular monitoring, mapping, mechanical removal, selective herbicide applications, biological controls, habitat restoration, and long-term scientific evaluation. Specialists also work closely with state and federal agencies, universities, local governments, conservation organizations, and neighboring landowners to coordinate invasive species management across the region.
One example of Fort McCoy's innovative approach has been the use of targeted grazing by goats to suppress invasive woody shrubs in difficult-to-access areas. Combined with traditional management methods, biological controls help reduce invasive vegetation while minimizing impacts to native plant communities and wildlife habitat.
The installation also actively manages aquatic invasive species in its lakes and waterways. Natural resources specialists monitor invasive aquatic plants and coordinate removal efforts that help protect fisheries, recreational opportunities, and aquatic ecosystems while preventing invasive species from spreading to neighboring waters.
Education remains another critical component of Fort McCoy’s invasive species program.
That commitment was demonstrated recently during the annual Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group Summer Field Day, hosted at Fort McCoy. The event brought together natural resource professionals, landowners, agency representatives, and interested citizens from throughout west-central Wisconsin to learn about identifying and managing invasive plants, tree diseases, aquatic invasive species, and methods for restoring native landscapes.
Although weather required organizers to adjust portions of the outdoor program, participation remained strong.
“We had an excellent turnout again this year with a different group of people than last year's event,” said Jessica Salesman, Fort McCoy natural resources specialist. “People came from surrounding counties as well, including Vernon and Jackson. But the weather — like last year — made the outdoor-focused event challenging to organize. Even with the slight change in the afternoon program, people really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to learn how to identify many of the common invasive plants and aquatic organisms they may encounter in the county and west-central Wisconsin.”
Salesman said the annual field day serves both the public and Fort McCoy's long-term natural resources mission.
“Hopefully next year the weather will be more cooperative and we can get back to Pine View again,” Salesman said. “The Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group tries to offer information on a wide variety of topics that are of interest to or can help landowners, interested citizens, and even other agency personnel address invasive species issues where they live and work. It's a benefit to Fort McCoy because it fosters good working relationships and information sharing that ultimately assists our efforts to manage the impacts of invasive species on the installation. Thank you to MWR for allowing us to host the event at the Whitetail Ridge Chalet and Pine View Campground — they’re both excellent venues for our program.”
Fort McCoy Wildlife Biologist Kevin Luepke said the event reflected growing interest in invasive species management throughout the region.
“From my view, it looked like they had a great turnout, probably the biggest I have seen in a few years,” Luepke said. “Other than that, great information presented by WDNR and USDA on tree diseases and native species use for landscaping and pollinator habitat.”
The annual field day has become an important opportunity for sharing knowledge among federal, state, county, and private organizations. By bringing together specialists from multiple disciplines, the program helps improve early detection of invasive species, encourages coordinated management across property boundaries, and provides practical information that landowners can apply on their own properties.
For Fort McCoy, those partnerships extend well beyond a single annual event.
Natural Resources Branch personnel routinely collaborate with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group, neighboring landowners, universities, conservation organizations, and other federal agencies to address invasive species that do not recognize property boundaries.
That cooperation allows specialists to exchange research, share management techniques, coordinate treatment efforts, and improve regional awareness of emerging invasive threats before they become widespread.
Those efforts also support Fort McCoy’s broader environmental stewardship mission. Healthy forests, prairies, wetlands, and waterways provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, improve ecosystem resilience, and help ensure military training lands remain available for the thousands of Soldiers, Reserve Component units, and other service members who train at the installation each year.
As invasive species continue to spread across Wisconsin and throughout North America, Fort McCoy officials say proactive management, public education, scientific research, and strong regional partnerships remain among the most effective tools for protecting both military readiness and the natural resources entrusted to the Army’s care.
By combining innovative land management practices with collaboration across agencies and communities, Fort McCoy continues to demonstrate how military readiness and environmental stewardship work hand in hand — supporting the Army's mission while preserving Wisconsin's natural resources for generations to come.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: |
06.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
06.26.2026 16:55 |
| Story ID: |
568731 |
| Location: |
FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: |
14 |
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0 |
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This work, Fort McCoy continues comprehensive invasive species management program supporting Army readiness, regional partnerships, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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