In 1960, Congress established the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a- 670o) to ensure that natural resources on military bases are conserved and protected. These bases and installations encompass more than 11.4 million acres nationally and 26.1 million acres globally, making the DoD one of our nation’s largest federal landowners. In many cases, the lands that bases and installations occupy are protected from human access and impact. And while they can be impacted significantly by training activities that support the military mission, they often contain some of our nation’s most significant natural resources including large, unbroken expanses of forests, timberlands, grasslands, and marshes. They are also home to hundreds of sensitive fish and wildlife species and their habitats.