Fort Bragg stretches across 251 square miles of the North Carolina Sandhills, and is the home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces. The bustle of the base is made up of contractors, military families, civilian support staff, and, of course, over 50,000 active duty personnel. As one of the largest military bases in the U.S., this bustle of activity is hardly surprising, but the base’s importance for rare plants may be. Three federally endangered plant species also have a home on the base, as do a host of plant species at risk of becoming federally listed. Luckily, for these special plant species, the Army takes protection of their natural resources and endangered species very seriously.
Read more in the Center for Plant Conservation November Newsletter.