The United States Army Reserve (USAR), 88th Readiness Division (RD) is a nineteen-state virtual installation in northwestern United States, providing services and base operations support for soldiers, families, civilians, and units. The Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) addresses all 88th RD properties and lands within U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Region 3 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin) whether owned or leased (except from other DoD branches), that have natural resources.  Preparation and implementation of an INRMP on military installations is required by the Natural Resource Management on Military Lands Act of 1960, commonly known as the Sikes Act. The INRMP, which is typically updated on a 5-year basis, has recently been updated by the 88th RD to prescribe natural resources management activities anticipated during 2024 through 2028. Implementation of the INRMP update is needed to comply with Federal law and Department of Defense (DoD) guidance and to coordinate natural resources management efforts among the responsible parties. Implementation of the 2024-2028 INRMP supports the USAR military mission by ensuring regulatory compliance and integrating requirements for training land use into natural resources management goals.

Additionally, the 88th RD has prepared a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) to evaluate the anticipated environmental and socioeconomic impacts that developing and implementing a new or substantial revision of an existing INRMP might have on a site’s existing resource areas. The PEA will be used to inform decision makers and the public of the likely environmental consequences of implementing the Proposed Action or Alternative Actions, as described in Chapter 2. This PEA is a starting point for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for developing and implementing new and updated INRMPs at USAR sites within the eight states that correspond to USFWS Region 3. It provides a comprehensive framework that USAR personnel can use as a basis to prepare the NEPA documentation for future plans and/or plan updates.

While preparation of the Draft PEA is currently in progress, the Draft INRMP 2024-2028 Update is currently available to view and download at the link below. The PEA will ultimately be an appendix to the Final INRMP, and therefore, relies heavily on the INRMP to reference both site and project details. Once finalized, public release of the Draft PEA document will occur via this webpage. The anticipated timeframe for Draft PEA publication is currently May/June 2024.