ARIZONA—The Deputy to the Commanding General at Fort Huachuca, Jeff Jennings, presented Forest Supervisor Kerwin S. Dewberry, Coronado National Forest, with a copy of the fort’s Commander-in-Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence during a tour with the Forest Service’s regional leaders.

The Commander-in-Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence is an award given to recognize the outstanding efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. Fort Huachuca was recognized by the Department of Defense this spring for their efforts over the past year, and they took this opportunity to share the award with one of their local partners, the Coronado National Forest.

The forest partnered with the fort, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local government and non-governmental groups to address some of the challenges facing landowners in the region surrounding Fort Huachuca and the Buffalo Soldier Electronic Test Range as part of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership.

“This project has enabled us to provide public safety, ecological and resource benefits for southeast Arizona,” said Dewberry. “We are proud to be part of the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape team and look forward to many more years of success together.”

The Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape is a 1.6-million-acre area composed of federal, state and privately owned land. The partnerships formed within the project helped private landowners protect wildlife habitat, bolster agricultural production and reduce land-use conflicts in the region.

“The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of federal agencies, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that works with private landowners to advance sustainable land management practices around military installations and ranges,” said Amber Morin, partnership coordinator for the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape.

“Creating positive and productive partnerships enables the Coronado National Forest to accomplish goals that would otherwise be outside our capabilities,” said Dewberry.

To learn more about the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape, visit https://sentinellandscapes.org/landscapes/fort-huachuca/.