The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. Founded in 2013 and codified in statute through the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (10 U.S.C §2693), the partnership aligns the objectives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of War, and Department of the Interior to strengthen military readiness, conserve natural resources, bolster agricultural and forestry economies, increase public access to outdoor recreation, and enhance landscape resilience.  

In FY 2024, more than 1.6 million acres were enrolled in financial and technical assistance programs that support sustainable land-management practices.  These increases illustrate the sustained growth of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s impact.  Together, these results show how coordinated investments are strengthening landscape resilience, supporting working lands, and protecting the training and testing missions of military installations.

For more information about the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, read the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership Fact Sheet. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership newsletter shares success stories, announcements, and opportunities to the sentinel landscapes network and public. Subscribe to the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership Listserv.

2025 Sentinel Landscapes Accomplishments Report Released

The 2025 Sentinel Landscapes Accomplishments Report is now available! The report highlights the partnership’s role in safeguarding military installations and ranges from encroachment, strengthening resource-sharing across partners, and protecting landscapes for the dual-benefit of realistic training and landscape conservation that are essential for long-term mission sustainment.

Through FY 2024, projects in sentinel landscapes received over $1.75 billion in funding, with $368 million committed in FY 2024 alone. The partnership also saw a 125,000-acre increase in protected acres, bringing the total number of acres permanently protected to 876,230 acres. In FY 2024, more than 1.6 million acres were enrolled in financial and technical assistance programs that support sustainable land-management practices. 

 

2026 Sentinel Landscape Designations to Support Mission-Critical Capabilities

On June 8, 2026, the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, comprised of the USDA, DOW, DOI, announced the designation of two new sentinel landscapes. The designation of these landscapes recognizes the importance of preserving compatible land uses, maintaining open training space, and reducing wildfire risk to sustain mission-critical military readiness while advancing conservation and working land objectives through the partnership.
 
East Mississippi: Anchored by Naval Air Station Meridian and home to Columbus Air Force Base, the East Mississippi Sentinel Landscape supports a critical portion of the nation’s pilot training enterprise through its extensive training routes, special-use airspace, and compatible rural lands.
Pikes Peak, Colorado: Anchored by the U.S. Air Force Academy and home to Schriever Space Force Base, Peterson Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and Fort Carson, the Pikes Peak Sentinel Landscape encompasses one of the nation’s most critical defense clusters.
 

Read more about the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission and accomplishments at www.sentinellandscapes.org.

Sentinel Landscapes Investments Through FY 2024