EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The base received the honor of Military Conservation Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service May 15 at a ceremony held at the Air Force Armament Museum.
Eglin was selected for the award, which highlights the conservation efforts and impacts of the collaboration among the DOD, the Service, and other partners, for its proactive and innovative approach to conserving a variety of native fish and wildlife and the habitats on the installation where they live.
“We honor Eglin for their commitment to preservation and the resources they've invested showing that conservation and military training and testing can work well together,” said Mike Oetker, regional director of the Service’s Southeast Region.
The 96th Civil Engineer Group commander, Col. Jeremiah Hammill, thanked the base’s natural resources team for their dedication to environmental stewardship and their strategic management of the base’s natural resources.
“This team’s diligence, collaboration, and conservation plans prioritized wildlife, fire, and forestry management activities to ensure the operational capabilities of the complex water and land resources that support Eglin's test and training missions,” he said.