On January 8, 2026 The Society for Biodiversity Preservation provided comments to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Proposed Defense Training Facility (Permit Application No. NAB-2025-60845-M52). SBP made the case that the proposed facility would cause devastating and permanent damage to critical wetland and stream ecosystems. Specifically, the project would permanently destroy 149,390 square feet of wetlands—including 147,033 square feet of forested wetlands and 2,357 square feet of emergent wetlands. Additionally, 968 linear feet of intermittent streams would be permanently destroyed. These functioning wetlands provide essential environmental services including flood control, water filtration, and wildlife habitat. The proposed project area is also a critical habitat for several endangered and threatened species identified by the Corps, including the Northern Long-eared Bat (endangered), Tricolored Bat (proposed endangered), and Monarch Butterfly (proposed threatened) which would be adversely affected by this project. Mitigation sites take years or even decades to achieve the functional equivalency of mature natural systems, if they succeed at all. The immediate and certain destruction of existing high-quality habitat cannot be offset by the uncertain promise of future habitat creation elsewhere.
Public welfare is not served by sacrificing irreplaceable natural resources when alternatives exist. SBP strongly recommends that the Corps require the applicant to pursue alternatives that avoid these unacceptable environmental impacts. More details on the application can be found here.