Common use of Air Force Clause in Contracts

Air Force. Initial GIS estimates that the Air Force currently owns roughly 19% of the DoD-owned lands in the four states that are Parties to this Agreement. Unofficial estimates indicate that the Air Force has roughly 5-7% of the gopher tortoises on DoD-owned lands, but this does not account for potential habitat. In conjunction with DoD, the Air Force will obtain more accurate data to include actual and potential habitat acreage. In accordance with USAF Instruction 32-7064, Integrated Natural Resources Management, the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) supports the military mission by combining a series of component plans into an ecosystem management approach and is the primary tool for managing species and their habitat at USAF installations. An approved installation INRMP assists the installation commander with the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources consistent with the use of the installation to ensure the readiness of the Armed Forces. The following is a list of habitat conservation and management activities included within the installation INRMPs which have been utilized by some installations in the southeastern U.S. to conserve and enhance species such as the gopher tortoise. This listing is not meant to be all-inclusive, but merely examples of the various actions that have been historically taken by USAF installations as detailed in their individually approved installation INRMPs: • Conserving known ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and surveying for new ones in areas of potential habitat if any construction or significant ground disturbing activities are planned. • Managing the natural communities to improve habitat. • Providing predator control programs capable of removing specific individual predators predating ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, nests, or young hatchlings. • Limiting public access to selected areas of the installation, which helps protect against poaching. • Minimizing habitat conversion to incompatible land uses such as residential or commercial property on the installation. • Monitoring gopher tortoise population demography. • Monitoring incidence of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD). • Monitoring gopher tortoise activity and movement patterns to determine home range for individual tortoises. • Thinning forests and removal of hardwood midstory encroachment within known gopher tortoise/indigo snake habitat. • Conducting prescribed burning of forests and fields within known gopher tortoise/indigo snake habitat. • Maintaining locational and demographic information on tortoises within the installation GIS system, known as GeoBase (if applicable). • Implementing inter- or intra-installation "on-site" permit translocation plans (with prior approval by the applicable states).