Connecting Landscapes

Sentinel Landscapes

Anchored by at least one active military installation or training range, Sentinel Landscapes serve as vital buffers that support military readiness while protecting some of the nation’s most important natural and cultural resources. These landscapes safeguard essential wildlife habitat, water sources, carbon-storing ecosystems, and cultural heritage—making them critical to both national security and landscape-scale conservation. Most land within Sentinel Landscapes remains privately owned and continues to support local livelihoods through working ranches, farms, and forests. This creates a unique opportunity for landowners, the military, and conservation partners to work together to protect natural resources while strengthening ecosystem resilience and sustaining working lands

Location

California, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Virgina, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida, USA

Films

The Little Brown Bird

Project Goals

By using storytelling to demonstrate how collaborative land stewardship strengthens climate resilience, water security and habitat connectivity, Wildpath intends to build awareness of sentinel landscapes as a model for aligning conservation, agriculture and defense priorities, and ultimately inspire long-term, landscape-scale conservation.

Project Outcomes

In Florida, two sentinel lands have officially become part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor: Avon Park Air Force Range and northwest Florida (surrounding Eglin Air Force Base), which together account for more than 10 million acres of lands prioritized for conservation. This achievement demonstrates how strategic protection supports both wildlife and national security. By showcasing the conservation and defense benefits of sentinel landscapes through our multimedia storytelling campaigns, Wildpath’s work is laying the groundwork to expand national understanding of the importance of Sentinel Landscapes and how they function. For example, our film “The Little Brown Bird,” documents the role that Avon Park has played in supporting the slow recovery of the country’s most endangered songbird.

Wildpath is working to tell powerful stories of how conservation efforts within Sentinel Landscapes aim to simultaneously address defense, agriculture, and conservation needs.

Designated through a formal partnership between the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, there are currently 19 Sentinel Landscapes spread across parts of 18 states and the U.S. territory of Guam. Many Sentinel Landscapes overlap places where wildlife move between protected areas, helping species migrate and adapt as conditions change; as a result, many of these lands provide the framework for state and regional wildlife corridors throughout the United States. Wildpath is working with the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program team to document Sentinel Landscapes across the country. In 2025, we identified six Sentinel Landscapes to cover in depth: California’s Mojave Desert; Georgia; southern Indiana; Middle Chesapeake in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware; New Jersey’s Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and Avon Park, Florida. In each of these places, Wildpath is collaborating with each Landscape’s coordinators, local partners, and military personnel to produce photography, video, and storytelling that illustrates how conservation and defense align. We are assigning National Geographic Explorers and contributing photographers to capture the people, wildlife and places that make these landscapes irreplaceable. We’ll be covering stories on endangered and iconic wildlife, landscape-scale conservation, and Tribal and community cultural heritage; key partnerships, such as among private landowners, conservation organizations, and military teams; how protected sentinel landscapes contribute to climate resilience and military readiness; and how they connect to larger wildlife corridors.

Resources

Efforts to Save North America’s Most Endangered Bird Are Succeeding

  • Audobon
Films That Spark Change

The Little Brown Bird

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Photography with a Purpose

February 2026 Media Toolkit

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Next Landscape

Connected Planet

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The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. Located in central Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, the Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape is anchored by Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), the nation’s busiest National Guard training center and the Army’s second most active heliport. As one of only three specialized Army National Guard aviation facilities, FTIG is critical in preparing warfighters and projecting military strength and capabilities in forward-deployed areas. The sentinel landscape encompasses forested ridges and fertile valleys that provide clean water and serve as a crucial corridor for rare wildlife and bird migration. Photograph by Katie Orlinsky/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This aerial photo shows a regeneration opening from previous timber harvest in Yellowwood State Forest, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana. The trees were removed to begin forest regeneration and diversify tree age structure. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This photo shows cave salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) in a cave in Twin Creek Valley, Henderson Park, owned by the City of Salem, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This photo shows David Ray, a private landowner whose property lies within the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana, demonstrating the use of a drip torch that he uses for prescribed burns. Ray's property is one of the best examples of restored oak woodlands on private lands. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This photo shows a monarch butterfly caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) in Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area, managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This photo shows an eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area, managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape covers 3.5 million acres, including 470,000 acres of conserved land, and is home to Naval Support Activity Crane, the Lake Glendora Test Facility, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Center, and the Indiana Air Range Complex. This photo shows a meadow at sunrise, Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area, managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, Indiana. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape in California covers 3.5 million acres of the western Mojave Desert and is home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. In this photo, a U.S. Marines speaks on the radio while leaning against a truck after sleeping in the desert on the range in the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms (MCAGCC). Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape in California covers 3.5 million acres of the western Mojave Desert and is home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. This image shows a black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) in Red Rock Canyon State Parl. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape in California covers 3.5 million acres of the western Mojave Desert and is home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. This image shows the desert landscape, with the curving arms of a Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) in Joshua Tree National Park. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. The Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape in California covers 3.5 million acres of the western Mojave Desert and is home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. This photo shows a female Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) and a bumblebee pollinating a bladderpod (Cleomella arborea) at Coyote Hole, an area of significant cultural heritage owned by the Native American Land Conservancy near Joshua Tree National Park. Photograph by Jen Guyton/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. Located in central Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, the Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape is anchored by Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), the nation’s busiest National Guard training center and the Army’s second most active heliport. As one of only three specialized Army National Guard aviation facilities, FTIG is critical in preparing warfighters and projecting military strength and capabilities in forward-deployed areas. The sentinel landscape encompasses forested ridges and fertile valleys that provide clean water and serve as a crucial corridor for rare wildlife and bird migration. Photograph by Katie Orlinsky/Wildpath
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable land use practices around military installations and ranges. Located in central Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, the Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape is anchored by Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), the nation’s busiest National Guard training center and the Army’s second most active heliport. As one of only three specialized Army National Guard aviation facilities, FTIG is critical in preparing warfighters and projecting military strength and capabilities in forward-deployed areas. The sentinel landscape encompasses forested ridges and fertile valleys that provide clean water and serve as a crucial corridor for rare wildlife and bird migration. Photograph by Katie Orlinsky/Wildpath

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