National Association of Counties
Fort Huachuca, located in Cochise County, Arizona, is one of the largest unmanned aerial vehicle training facilities in the world, supporting operations for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Customs and Border Protection. Employing a workforce of approximately 3,000, Fort Huachuca is the largest employer in Cochise County and adds an estimated $2.9 billion annual impact to the local economy. Located in southern Arizona, the semi-arid, remote landscape surrounding the installation is made up of mountains, native grasslands and ranches. This type of land use supports Fort Huachuca by ensuring low levels of electromagnetic interference on the installation’s training activities.
Population growth and development pressures, however, create new challenges for the region, such as competition for limited water resources in an area already impacted by drought. A group of partners came together to form the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape in an effort to use collaborative, community-driven strategies to tackle water conservation, as well as issues of agricultural viability, wildlife habitat restoration, wildfire mitigation and military mission protection.
Cochise County–in partnership with the City of Sierra Vista, Hereford Natural Resource Conservation District, and The Nature Conservancy–formed the Cochise Conservation and Recharge Network (CCRN) to conserve groundwater, improve the health of riparian habitat and maintain economic vitality in the San Pedro River watershed. Since its inception, the CCRN added Fort Huachuca and the City of Bisbee as members. With REPI support, CCRN has permanently protected thousands of acres of land along the desert river, which is estimated to avoid 1.3 billion gallons of potential groundwater pumping annually.
To build resilience and mitigate wildfire risk near Fort Huachuca and surrounding communities, Fort Huachuca was also awarded over $2 million in REPI Challenge funding in 2020 to protect more than 2,000 acres of working ranches and forests. Portions of this land will contribute to existing hazardous fuels reduction projects occurring in adjacent forests, including U.S. Forest Service lands used for important military testing activities. Through Fiscal Year 2020, the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape partnership has protected 65,121 acres and enrolled an additional 309,475 acres in voluntary landowner conservation and sustainability practices and assistance.
“Cochise County’s collaborative participation in the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape partnership as well as the Cochise Conservation and Recharge Network has opened up a world of opportunities, like REPI, to protect and enhance our important natural resources, especially water. The area’s water supply is directly linked to the health of the San Pedro River and the viability of Fort Huachuca’s missions” notes Mark Apel, Environmental Projects Coordinator for the County.
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