Management of Maritime Communities for Threatened and Endangered Species

Maritime ecosystems along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts support the military mission of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Since the DoD mission has not required large-scale urbanization of the coast, these ecosystems also provide high quality habitat for several federally threatened and endangered plant and animal species (TES). TES conservation is compatible with military land use, as long as native plant communities remain subject to the cycles of disturbance and regeneration characteristic of the coastal zone. This report discusses four vegetation types that comprise the natural areas that support maritime TES: the overwash community, the sand dune community, the maritime shrub community, and the evergreen maritime forest community. Disruption of the natural processes of beach erosion and rebuilding through construction of seawalls, jetties, artificial dunes and beaches, roads, and urban areas is probably the most harmful human impact to maritime communities and their associated TES. Since the native maritime plant communities are relatively resilient to military training activities, conservation of this high quality TES habitat is not problematic on DoD lands. Protection of TES during critical times such as migration and the breeding season may be accommodated through seasonal or spatial restrictions on activities.