Climate Adaptation for DoD Natural Resource Managers

A Guide to Incorporating Climate Considerations into Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) owns or manages more than 25 million acres of lands, representing a wide array of natural ecosystems that support numerous rare and endangered species. These lands are critical to maintaining the nation’s security by supporting military training and testing that can take place under realistic conditions. Over the coming decades, DoD installations will experience significant impacts from climate change, which could compromise their capacity to support the military mission and undermine DoD’s ability to protect and restore native species and ecosystems.

Climate Adaptation for DoD Natural Resource Managers was developed by the National Wildlife Federation with support from DoD, and is designed to help DoD installation managers prepare for and reduce climate-related vulnerabilities and risks. The guide provides an overview of how climatic changes may impact military lands and resources, and offers a structured process for incorporating climate considerations into Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans (INRMP), legally required planning documents that outline how each installation will conserve and manage its natural resources.

Adaptation Planning Worksheets
The guide offers a six-step INRMP adaptation planning process, which is supported by a series of detailed adaptation planning worksheets. To facilitate their use by DoD installation managers, electronic versions of the worksheets are available for download here in Excel and Microsoft Word format. Additionally, a filled-out example of these worksheets is available here.