The Daily Tar Heel gives us some insight into a rarely noticed function of military bases.:

The stock image of a military base involves concrete, guns and bombs. But a new study could reveal a different aspect of military lands – their function as wildlife havens.

“What’s ironic is that they harbor all of these endangered species because they’re protected from development,” said Aaron Moody, UNC-Chapel Hill geography professor.

Moody is the principal investigator in a collaborative study, in which scientists from multiple universities will map the habitat of several endangered species in the Fort Bragg area.

What began as an attempt to protect the longleaf pine has become a nationally recognized effort at presevertion of habitat, wildlife, and endangered species. In June, Fort Bragg will hold a ceremony to celebrate its part in the resurgent red-cockaded woodpecker population. 15 years ago, according to Jeffery Walters, many thought that the bird would soon be extinct.

This is a terriffic effort of our military forces. Consider contacting the {encode=”stntdesk@unc.edu” title=”editor”} of the Daily Tar Heel to thank him for covering this story, and to ask him to continue covering some of the good news that is coming from our military bases.

Hey Danny. 🙂