Historic Agronomic Focus of Military Land Use and Management.

The A2 Military Land Use and Management Division is one of the oldest Divisions of the American Society of Agronomy.  This paper reports on the multiple, time relevant topic areas presented and explored in A2 at ASA Annual Meetings throughout the last 50 years.  It will cover the initial impetus of the Division, i.e. management of turf grass which could be used for landing fields, erosion control, woodland management and out-leasing of land for agriculture.  It will also take a look at the various internal and external drivers for military land management – to include the passage of multiple environmental laws in the 1970s and 1980s and how military land management responded to these requirements.  The presentation will also identify the various environmental strategic initiatives initiated by the Department of Defense in the 1990’s and with the turn of the century in or to sustain training land, water and airspace, to include today’s focus on sustainable landscapes.