Lincoln Chafee: “the Sikes Act was enacted by Congress in 1960 to provide enhanced stewardship of fish and wildlife and other natural…”

“the Sikes Act was enacted by Congress in 1960 to provide enhanced stewardship of fish and wildlife and other natural resources on military installations. It was named for Congressman Bob Sikes of Florida. The act seeks to capitalize on the enormous potential for natural resource conservation on military lands. The Department of Defense controls nearly 25 million acres of land and water at approximately 900 military installations in the United States, and the National Guard oversees an additional 1 million acres on 80 sites. These lands serve as home to approximately 100 endangered or threatened species and countless other fish and wildlife resources. The Sikes Act was last amended in 1986, and authorization expired in 1993. Since then, several attempts to reauthorize the act have been made, and although Congress has been close several times, all have failed. We now have a golden opportunity to amend and reauthorize the Sikes Act, in S. 936, the bill to authorize the Department of Defense.”