ATLANTA – State Representative Dave Belton (R-Buckhead), Chairman of the House Military Affairs Working Group, along with the members of the House Military Affairs Working Group recently studied agricultural and forestry initiatives to enhance conservation efforts and protect Georgia’s military installations from encroachment.
“It seems an unlikely relationship, but agriculture and forestry are often the military’s best friends,” said Rep. Belton. “Oftentimes, military communities build structures too close military installations, thus creating noise and security problems. One of the best ways to prevent military installation encroachment is to incentivize agricultural and forestry land use surrounding military bases. These incentives have environmental and conservancy benefits, as agricultural and forestry land conserves clean water sources and provides endangered species with natural habitats.”
During the 2017 legislative session, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed House Bill 332, the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, out of its committee. This legislation would dedicate 75 percent of all state sales and use tax applied to the sale of outdoor recreation equipment to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. This trust fund would provide grants and loans to cities, counties, departments, agencies or non-governmental entities of the state for the acquisition of land for the purposes of: wildlife conservation, local parks and trails, and stewardship of conservation land. HB 332 includes a military-friendly component to encourage the conservation of land surrounding Georgia’s military installations.
Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin), Chairman of the House Games, Fish & Parks Committee, expressed his support of the House Military Affairs Working Group’s efforts to protect military installations by incentivizing agricultural and forestry land use.
“Any mechanism that incentivizes wildlife conservation and greater opportunities for Georgia’s hunters and farmers while buffering and protecting our state’s military bases is a win-win situation,” said Rep. David Knight.
“Many states have aggressively enacted military and environmental friendly collaborative programs, and these states should be studied and emulated in order to protect Georgia’s military bases and agriculture industry, our state’s number one industry,” said Rep. Belton. “The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act would allow Georgia to compete with our military-rival states. By dedicating a portion of the existing sales tax on outdoor recreation equipment, this proposal would supplement the efforts of organizations like The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund that already actively collaborate with the Georgia Department of Defense to support our military installations in a way that conserves water, wildlife, industries and communities.”
In recent years, states across the country have enacted programs to protect their military bases. Florida’s “Florida Forever,” a conservation program that partners with the military to conserve delicate ecosystems and protected species, has conserved more than 718,000 acres. Additionally, North Carolina has spent over $1 billion in 1,800 grants with the “Clean Water Management Trust Fund,” and Minnesota created “Sentinel Landscapes” to marry agriculture with the military, which has garnered support from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and the Interior.
“The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has worked closely with the military to expand the Townsend Bombing Range between Moody Air Force Base and Fort Stewart, the massive maneuver areas around Fort Benning and Fort Stewart and the runway apron near Robins Air Force Base. Still, there are more opportunities for our state’s Department of Natural Resources to work alongside Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Moody Air Force Base and Fort Gordon to conserve delicate species, including the gopher tortoise. The Altahama River Corridor is another prospect to conserve clean water sources, as well as the Townsend Bombing range. To date, Georgia has protected roughly 137,000 acres for our military, and plans to add another 40,000 acres in the coming years,” added Rep. Belton.
For more information on HB 332, please click here.
Representative Dave Belton represents the citizens of District 112, which includes all of Morgan County and the eastern side of Newton County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2014, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Military Affairs working group. He is also a member of the Economic Development & Tourism, Education, Energy, Utilities &Telecommunications, and Interstate Cooperation committees.
Representative David Knight represents the citizens of District 130, which includes portions of Henry, Lamar, and Spalding counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2004, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Game, Fish, & Parks Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Banks & Banking, Higher Education, Rules, Small Business Development and Ways & Means committees.
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