Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Renews Sikes Act Memorandum of Understanding

# What happened Fish & Wildlife Agencies renewed its cooperative Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of War and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The agreement continues coordination on the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and habitats on military installations under the Sikes Act.

# Why it matters Under the Sikes Act, military installations must develop and implement Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) in cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies and the USFWS. These plans guide how installations manage natural resources in ways that remain consistent with military readiness while conserving wildlife and habitat.

The renewed MOU keeps that collaboration in place across more than 350 military installations that use INRMPs. It formalizes priorities for fish and wildlife conservation and adds several planning elements aimed at reducing future regulatory conflicts over listed species.

# What the MOU will do

• Advance priority conservation actions on military lands while ensuring actions remain compatible with training and readiness.
• Promote public access and outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, where such access is feasible and consistent with mission needs.
• Emphasize integration of newly revised State Wildlife Action Plans into INRMP planning and implementation.

Those State Wildlife Action Plans feed local and state-level conservation priorities into INRMPs so installations can coordinate actions intended to recover state- and federally listed species and address other at-risk species proactively.

# Leadership perspective Ryan Brown, Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and President of the Association, highlighted the role military lands play in conservation. He said military installations often support some of the nation's highest-quality habitats and that the partnership helps conserve those natural resources while providing opportunities for military families and the public to enjoy compatible outdoor recreation such as hunting and fishing.

# Context and history

The renewed agreement specifically aims to support species recovery and reduce the need for future listings under the Endangered Species Act by aligning installation planning with state conservation priorities.

# Practical implications for installations and the public Installations will continue using INRMPs as the primary planning tool for managing natural resources. Public recreational access, including hunting and fishing, will remain an option when it is compatible with safety and mission constraints. State agencies and USFWS will have a clearer path to fold State Wildlife Action Plan priorities into installation management decisions.

# Bottom line The MOU renewal preserves a formal framework for states, the USFWS, and the Department of War to coordinate conservation on military lands through INRMPs. It focuses on integrating state wildlife priorities to support listed-species recovery and on keeping compatible outdoor access available where mission needs allow.