The REPI Program is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 REPI Challenge award.  Once again, the REPI Challenge focused this year on innovative projects that limit incompatible development, enhance military installation resilience, and/or relieve current or anticipated environmental restrictions on military testing, training, or operations at locations hosting key capabilities outlined in the National Defense Strategy.

This year the REPI Program awarded $17.1 million in program funds to be coupled with over $142 million in partner contributions to implement seven projects.  By spreading funding across these seven projects, the 2020 REPI Challenge will be able to contribute to initiatives benefitting 11 installations and their communities across the country.  The locations and their associated REPI Challenge funding include:

• Atlantic Test Ranges-Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD: 4,000 acres protected; $3.0 million
• Fort Huachuca, AZ: 2,191 acres protected; $2.1 million
• Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC: 2,100 linear feet of living shoreline created; $1.0 million
• Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, GA: 16,082 acres protected; $5.0 million
• Naval Weapons Station Earle, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, AEGIS Technical Representative, NJ National Guard Sea Girt, Warren Grove Gunnery Range, NJ: 1,600 acres restored to improve resilience; $1.9 million
• Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, VA: 3.5 acres of shoreline restoration and stabilization; $1.0 million
• Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA: 24,247 acres protected; $3.0 million

The REPI Challenge awards funds on an annual basis to one or more projects that provide innovative approaches to protecting to the military mission.  This annual competition seeks to cultivate projects that conserve land at a greater scale, thereby helping the REPI Program meet its goals.  Since the initiation of the REPI Challenge in 2012, more than $73.3 million in REPI Program funds have been leveraged with over $300.1 million in partner contributions to protect over 532,000 acres of working lands, habitat and open spaces at 22 locations nationwide.

The REPI Program is also excited to launch the 2021 REPI Challenge process, which will again focus on projects that support key capabilities in the National Defense Strategy.  The request for proposal can be found here and the pre-proposal form can be found on the U.S. Endowment’s website.  Pre-proposals are due no later than Monday November 23, 2020.

More information on the REPI Challenge and the 2020 award is available in the 2020 REPI Challenge fact sheet. The 2020 fact sheet, along with information on past REPI Challenge projects, is available on the REPI Challenge page under Buffer Projects tab.  The REPI Office will also be hosting a webinar highlighting some of this year’s winners on December 9, more information on how to register for the webinar can be found here.

The 2020 Report on REPI Program Outcomes and Benefits to Military Mission Capabilities is now available.  This report summarizes over 15 years of planning and execution data submitted by the Military Services to quantify the extent of known or potential land use conflicts, solutions to address these conflicts, and overall investments in and benefits to military capabilities.

The analysis demonstrates that lands near installations and training areas are increasingly at risk of converting to development incompatible with military activities.  As the report shows, protecting such lands through the REPI program is more cost-effective than settling for test and training workarounds, replacing compromised and recently modernized assets with new construction, or relocating missions.

Fortunately, the REPI program is capable of creating such significant value for the DoD mission because it benefits from the dedicated support and innovative solutions from so many partners.  Together, we will continue to preserve and enhance mission capabilities in support of national defense.

To showcase ongoing military installation resilience efforts, the REPI Program is supporting several virtual engagements this Fall. The 2020 Resilience Webinar Series Flyer highlights the diverse range of workshops and webinars hosted by REPI, Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability, and Western Regional Partnership. Throughout this series, we will engage with installations, partners, and resilience leaders across the country to discuss how installation resilience can enhance military readiness.

Please visit our new Resilience page to learn more about how REPI is enhancing installation resilience. 

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has officially announced that $5.6M would be awarded via the Longleaf Stewardship Fund through 23 grants to advance longleaf pine habitat and support wildlife in eight Southeast states. 

Ten military installations in the Southeast will benefit from the awarded projects, thereby enhancing DoD’s ability to test and train for current and future missions. Military installations benefiting from the 2020 awards include: Fort Rucker, AL; Camp Blanding, Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Pensacola, and Naval Air Station Whiting Field, FL; Fort Benning and Fort Stewart, GA; Fort Polk, LA; Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, NC.  This year through the Longleaf Stewardship Fund, for every dollar DoD spends approximately $11 will be spent by partners, resulting in an outstanding return on investment and the accomplishment of shared goals on the landscape.

The REPI Story Map is a new tool intended to provide a REPI 101 briefing to audiences unfamiliar with the Program. The Story Map outlines the history, maturation, and growth of the REPI Program and its suite of tools, and contextualizes where the activities have occurred through tandem use of the REPI Interactive Map.

The REPI Story Map, shown below, is available through the REPI Story Map section of the website or at REPImap.org/storymap.