10 U.S.C. § 2694: Conservation and cultural…

Summary

The Secretary of Defense can set up and run a program to manage certain conservation and cultural projects that matter across the whole Department of Defense. To be included, a project must affect more than one military service or a sentinel landscape, be needed to follow laws or help military operations or make bases more resilient, be better handled at the Department level, and have no other federal agency already in charge. Examples include making ecosystem or nature-based resilience plans, doing wildlife studies, returning Native American remains and cultural items to tribes, controlling invasive species, creating regional artifact storage, and carrying out ecosystem plans that link at least two non-contiguous installations not all under the same service Secretary or that cover a sentinel landscape. The Secretary can work with public or private groups under cooperative agreements to run the program. The program does not override any other federal, state, or local natural or cultural resource laws. Sentinel landscape is a term defined in another law.

Title 10, §2694

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment.—

The Secretary of Defense may establish and carry out a program to conduct and manage in a coordinated manner the conservation and cultural activities described in subsection (b).

(b)Activities.—

(1)A conservation or cultural activity eligible for the program that the Secretary establishes under subsection (a) is any activity—

(A)that has regional or Department of Defense-wide significance and that involves more than one military department or involves a sentinel landscape;

(B)that is necessary to meet legal requirements or to support military operations or that would contribute to maintaining or improving military installation resilience;

(C)that can be more effectively managed at the Department of Defense level; and

(D)for which no executive agency has been designated responsible by the Secretary.

(2)Such activities include the following:

(A)The development of ecosystem-wide land management plans or nature-based climate resilience plans.

(B)The conduct of wildlife studies to ensure the safety and sustainability of military operations.

(C)The identification and return of Native American human remains and cultural items in the possession or control of the Department of Defense, or discovered on land under the jurisdiction of the Department, to the appropriate Native American tribes.

(D)The control of invasive species that may hinder military activities or degrade military training ranges.

(E)The establishment of a regional curation system for artifacts found on military installations.

(F)The implementation of ecosystem-wide land management plans—

(i)for a single ecosystem—

(I)that encompasses at least two non-contiguous military installations, if those military installations are not all under the administrative jurisdiction of the same Secretary of a military department; and

(II)providing synergistic benefits unavailable if the installations acted separately; or

(ii)for one or more ecosystems within a sentinel landscape.

(c)Cooperative Agreements.—

The Secretary may negotiate and enter into cooperative agreements with public and private agencies, organizations, institutions, individuals, or other entities to carry out the program established under subsection (a).

(d)Effect on Other Laws.—

Nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted as preempting any otherwise applicable Federal, State, or local law or regulation relating to the management of natural and cultural resources on military installations.

(e)Sentinel Landscape Defined.—

In this section, the term “sentinel landscape” has the meaning given that term in section 2693(g) of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted “meaning given that term in section 2693(g) of this title” for “meaning given that term in section 317(f) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91; 10 U.S.C. 2684a note)”. 2021—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(1)(A)(i), inserted “or involves a sentinel landscape” before semicolon at end. Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(1)(A)(ii), inserted “or that would contribute to maintaining or improving military installation resilience” before semicolon at end. Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(1)(B)(i), inserted “or nature-based climate resilience plans” before period at end. Subsec. (b)(2)(F)(i). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(1)(B)(ii)(I), inserted a dash after “single ecosystem”, designated remaining existing provisions as subcl. (I), redesignated provisions of existing cl. (ii) as subcl. (II) of cl. (i), and realigned margins. Subsec. (b)(2)(F)(ii). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(1)(B)(ii)(II), added cl. (ii). Former cl. (ii) redesignated cl. (i)(II). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–81, § 317(c)(2), added subsec. (e). 2011—Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 112–81, § 2814(1), inserted “and sustainability” after “safety”. Subsec. (b)(2)(F). Pub. L. 112–81, § 2814(2), added subpar. (F). 1997—Subsec. (b)(1)(D). Pub. L. 105–85 substituted “executive agency” for “executive ageny”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title III, § 332(b), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2485, provided that: “Section 2694 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 1996.”

§2694 Conservation and Cultural Activities