Replaced with revised version of poster 8/11/10.Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Balbach, Harold E.

Dissanayake, Sahan T.M.

Onal, Hayri

Westervelt, James D.

English

Research Papers in Economics

 
 
Optimum Land Allocation for Species Protection and Military 
Training on DoD Installations 
 
Sahan T. M. Dissanayake
1*, Hayri Önal
1, James D. Westervelt
2, and Harold E. Balbach
2 
 
1Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign,  
 
2U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research 
Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) , Champaign Illinois.  
 
*Corresponding Author: Sahan T. M. Dissanayake, Department of Agricultural and Consumer 
Economics, University of Illinois, 405 Mumford Hall, 1301 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 
61801-3605. Email: sdissan2@illinois.edu. Phone: (217) 419-0452, Fax: (217) 244-7088 
 
 
Poster prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association 2010 
AAEA,CAES, & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, July 25-27, 2010 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright 2010 by Sahan T. M. Dissanayake. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim 
copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright 
notice appears on all such copies. Sahan T. M. Dissanayake, Hayri Önal
Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
James D. Westervelt, Harold E. Balbach
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL)
Optimum Land Allocation for Species Protection and Military Training on DoD Installations
1. Introduction
Increasing military needs 
Mathematical Conservation and the Military
The DoD spends more per acre to 
manage species than any other 
federal land management agency 
In 2006, the DoD spent $1.6 billion for restoration and conservation
The DoD prevents urban and 
agricultural development within 
military installations
BLM    DoD USFS    FWS    NPS
Density of Species
BLM    DoD USFS    FWS    NPS
Distribution of Species
Why?
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Need effective 
utilization of land for 
both military and 
conservation goals
Need to relocate 
species affected by 
expanding military 
training needs
require more land  But Suitable habitats 
for many 
endangered 
species are located 
on DoD lands
Mathematical 
programming models 
can design an optimum 
landscape for 
conservation and 
military needs
How?
Federally Listed Species Imperiled Species
Therefore
Conservation and the Military
An Example: Ft. Benning, GA
• Covers 182,000 acres
• US Army Armor Center and 
School will be relocated
• New firing ranges and 
maneuver areas are being 
built on lands that have 
large Gopher Tortoise 
populations
• Covers 280,000 acres
• Largest military installation in the 
Eastern US
• Ft. Stewart has a significant 
population of GTs
An Example: Ft. Stewart, GA
(a) Military ranges
Spatial Considerations
 Compact  CMAs - GTs are a ground-bound species
 Movement distances - Minimize relocation distances
 Meta-clustering - Multiple populations can  interact
2. The Research Problem
Joint Management Considerations
 Joint management is more efficient, 
 GFs rely on burrows and need ponds
 Simultaneously identify military areas and CMAs
Identify conservation managements areas (CMAs) to manage endangered 
and threatened species given the military training needs 
3. Methods
We develop six linear mixed-integer 
multi-objective programming models
1. Base relocation model for Ft. Benning
2. Minimum distance relocation model for Ft. Benning
3 Meta clustering relocation model for Ft Benning
Gopher Tortoise (GT)
• Species at Risk
• Essential for survival of more 
than 200 species
• Social species, community 
integrity must be maintained
(a) Current (b) Future
Locations of military land use
Gopher Frog
Ft. Stewart has a significant population 
of Gopher Frogs (GF)
• Near Threatened Species
• Rely on GT burrows for shelter
• Breed in ponds and require ponds 
within 2 miles of burrows
(b)Suitability index for GT
 Cluster distances - Locate military areas and CMAs apart
(a) Observed GT  (b) GT suitability
Observed GT and habitat suitability 3. Meta-clustering relocation model for Ft. Benning
4. Clustered habitat selection model for Ft. Stewart
5. Multiple species habitat selection model for Ft. Stewart
6. Multiple land use model for Ft. Benning
The models are solved using GAMS/CPLEX
Base Relocation Model
1C M A 2 CMA
Minimum Distance Model Meta-Clustering Model  Clustered Habitat Model Joint Management Model Multiple Land Use Model 
1C M A 2 CMAs
integrity must be maintained 
(c)Location of ponds
4. Results
1C M A 2 CMA
Observed GT and habitat suitability
Need to identify training areas and 
habitat areas to relocate GTs
Need to identify management areas 
for the management of GT and GF
   
1 CMA  2 CMAs 
3 CMAs  4 CMAs 
   
 
1 CMA  2 CMAs 
2 CMAs 
Distance between military 
and conservation = 10 
2 CMAs 
Distance between military 
and conservation = 20 
 
 
 
1 CMA  2 CMAs 
3 CMAs  4 CMAs 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30 Cells 
(27 km) 
25 Cells 
(22.5 km) 
20 Cells  
(18 km) 
15 Cells  
(13.5 km) 
 
 
 
1 CMA  2 CMAs 
3C M A s   4 CMAs 
  
 
No GF  10 GF Parcels 
20 GF Parcels 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Conclusions
❖The minimum distance relocation model places the CMAs closer 
to original habitat sites (in red) compared to the base model
❖Selected CMAs are meta-clustered
❖Smaller meta-cluster distances result 
in one cluster 
❖The model selects clustered CMAs ❖The model selects GT CMAs that 
are also close to ponds
(The ponds are shown in dark blue)
 Row-1: Clustered military and CMAs
 Row-2: Training areas and CMAs are 
located away from each other
 
 
 
Current military area  
Future/planned military area 
Installation area 
The CMAs are shown in dark 
colors within black circles 
O ti i ti d l b d t id tif l d f ti i ilit l d
6. Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the participants in the AERE session (15H) at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Economics Association in 
2008 and to the participants of the PERE workshop at University of Illinois for valuable comments and suggestions. This research was partially 
supported by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) project 
No.W81EWF-7204-6330 and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CREES) Project No. ILLU 05-0361.
7. References 
[1]. Benton, N., J.D. Ripley, and F. Powledge, eds. Conserving Biodiversity on Military Lands: A Guide for Natural Resources Managers. 2008 edition.  Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Available at http://www.dodbiodiversity.org.
[2]. Cocks, K.D., and I.A. Baird. (1989). Using mathematical programming to address the multiple reserve selection problem: an example from the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Biological Conservation 49: 113–30.
[3]. Williams, J. C., ReVelle, C. S., and Levin, S. A., (2005). Spatial attributes and reserve design models: a review. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 10:163–181.
[4]. Elliott M., Anderson L., Bumback B., Schmidt J. P., Kramer L., (2003). Georgia GAP reptile models. Gap Analysis Project. http://gapanalysis.nbii.gov/. 
 Adding spatial requirements can lead to 
 CMAs made up from less suitable parcels  Larger CMAs to meet the minimum population
 Less compact or contiguous CMAs   Complex models that are computationally harder to solve
Optimization models can be used to identify land for conservation given military land use
Spatial and ecological criteria can be incorporated into integer programming models
Multiple land uses, both conservation and military, can be solved simultaneously

edition.

Spatial attributes and reserve design models: a review. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 10:163–181.

Using mathematical programming to address the multiple reserve selection problem: an example from the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

Optimum Land Allocation for Species Protection and Military Training on DoD Installations

Optimum Land Allocation for Species Protection and Military Training on DoD Installations

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