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Abstract:
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Over the past twenty years, military training activities have become increasingly varied and land intensive. The major tenet of Army training has become, We will provide our soldiers with the best preparation by training as we expect to fight. Army foresters provide a vital service to the military training community by using accepted silvicultural practices to shape the landscape to meet training requirements. Buffers between training activities and public development are vital to the image of the Army as a good neighbor. Properly managed, forested ecosystems create particularly valuable and effective buffer areas for military training. The Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program utilizes conservation easements, partnerships with public, private, and non-governmental organizations, and creative land management practices to allow the Army to move buffer areas outside the installation boundary, thereby utilizing more available acreage for training. Foresters from all branches of government and private organizations are vital in structuring these areas to effectively buffer military installations from encroachment.
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