An aquifer is a water-bearing rock or sediment that is saturated and permeable enough to store water.

View all definitions

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities

View all definitions

Variations in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer that encompass increases and decreases in temperature, shifts in precipitation, and changing risk of certain types of severe weather events.

View all definitions

Adjustment in natural or human systems in anticipation of or response to a changing environment in a way that effectively uses beneficial opportunities or reduces negative effects.

View all definitions

A cooperative agreement is a legal instrument of financial assistance between a federal awarding agency and a recipient.

View all definitions

A cost-sharing agreement is an agreement under which parties agree to share a percentage of the total project cost.

View all definitions

Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or unsustainable agriculture.

View all definitions

Department of Defense

View all definitions

An easement is a legal right to use another's land for a specific limited purpose; when an entity is granted an easement, it is allowed the legal right to use the property, but the legal title to the land itself remains with the owner of the land. In this case, easements granted to REPI and its partners allow the program to protect the land by limiting the uses of the land.

View all definitions

External, as well as internal, DOD factors and influences that constrain or have the potential to inhibit the full access or operational use of the live training or test domain. Examples include, but are not limited to, endangered species and critical habitat, unexploded ordnance and munitions, radio frequency spectrum, maritime or airspace restrictions, air quality, airborne noise, urban growth, physical obstructions, and renewable energy projects.

View all definitions

The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

View all definitions

A flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought. It often starts with low rates of precipitation followed by abnormally high temperatures, winds, and radiation.

View all definitions

This is a general term used to indicate a base, fort, camp, or other DOD facility.

View all definitions

An Intergovernmental Support Agreement is a partnership agreement between installations and their State or local governments to receive, provide, or share installation support services.

View all definitions

A living shoreline is a stabilized coastal edge made of natural materials such as plants, sand, or rock.

View all definitions

The capability of a military installation to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt to, and recover from extreme weather events, or from anticipated or unanticipated changes in environmental conditions, that do, or have the potential to, adversely affect the military installation or essential transportation, logistical, or other necessary resources outside of the military installation that are necessary in order to maintain, improve, or rapidly reestablish installation mission assurance and mission-essential functions.

View all definitions

National Association of Conservation Districts

View all definitions

National Association of Counties

View all definitions

National Conference of State Legislatures

View all definitions

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

View all definitions

Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

View all definitions

A partner is a private or governmental entity that provides financial, technical, real estate, legal, or other significant support to a Military Service in the pursuit or conduct of a REPI project or transaction. Examples include federal agencies, state and local authorities, national nonprofit conservation organizations, and local land trusts. Eligible entities under Section § 2684a are a defined subset of partners.

View all definitions

Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen for a period of two or more years.

View all definitions

A prescribed burn is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, or ecosystem restoration.

View all definitions

The term “range,” when used in a geographic sense, means a designated land or water area that is set aside, managed, and used for range activities of the Department of Defense. Such term includes the following: firing lines and positions, maneuver areas, firing lanes, test pads, detonation pads, impact areas, electronic scoring sites, buffer zones with restricted access, exclusionary areas, and airspace areas designated for military use in accordance with regulations and procedures prescribed by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

View all definitions

DOD Instruction 4715.24, “The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program and Encroachment Management,” establishes policy, assigns responsibility, and provides procedures for executing the REPI Program.

View all definitions

A riparian buffer is an area adjacent to a river or stream that contains a combination of trees, shrubs, or other vegetation.

View all definitions

Saltwater intrusion is the encroachment of saltwater into groundwater or a freshwater aquifer. The intrusion of saltwater contaminates the freshwater stored in aquifers, making the resource unsuitable for use.

View all definitions

Sea level rise is the increase in sea levels over time due to added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Both phenomena can be attributed to global warming.

View all definitions

Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability

View all definitions

Storm surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, caused primarily by winds pushing water onshore.

View all definitions

A substrate is a surface or base where an organism lives or grows.

View all definitions

United States Code

View all definitions

Wave energy refers to energy passing through ocean water, causing it to move in a circular motion.

View all definitions

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is present near the surface of the soil for an extended period of time.

View all definitions

Western Regional Partnership

View all definitions

Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, White House, 3 March 2021.

Army Climate Resilience Handbook, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, August 2020.

Green Infrastructure Cost-Benefit Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020.

The REPI Primer Series

A guide to the military’s leading climate change and conservation program

The REPI Program’s mission is to make military installations more resilient to climate change and land use conversion, both of which can restrict the military’s ability to carry out testing and training activities necessary to prepare the warfighter for combat. We accomplish this by partnering with public and private organizations to carry out conservation projects or natural resource restoration efforts around military bases. From Fiscal Year 2003 through Fiscal Year 2023, DOD has protected over 1.2 million acres of land at 124 locations across 37 states and territories to preserve critical operational assets, infrastructure, and capabilities.

REPI projects span the United States. They are numerous, complex, and tailored to local needs. Starting one, therefore, can often seem overwhelming. Our primer series is designed to help military installations and their partners prepare for future REPI projects or expand existing ones. These resources explain how REPI projects will benefit your community, support native ecosystems, enhance installation and community resilience to climate change, and more. Some primers are tailored to categories of REPI partners, such as land trusts, conservation districts, or state agencies. Others focus on specific types of REPI projects. To find the primer that meets your needs, visit the Primers page on REPI.mil.