H.R. No. 332
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The area surrounding Joint Base San Antonio-Camp
Bullis was designated as a sentinel landscape in 2022 by the United
States Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, and
Department of the Interior; and
WHEREAS, Sentinel landscapes are areas in which natural and
working lands are well suited to protecting defense facilities from
land use that is incompatible with the military's mission; once a
location becomes a sentinel landscape, the DoD, USDA, and DOI work
with local partners to equip private landowners with the resources
necessary to carry out sustainable management practices; such
activities as farming, ranching, and forestry deliver economic and
ecological benefits while protecting defense facilities from
development that could constrain important training and testing
activities; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, rapid population growth emanating
from San Antonio and the I-35 corridor has begun to affect
invaluable military operations and maneuver areas; Joint Base San
Antonio-Camp Bullis, located in northern Bexar County on the
Edwards Aquifer Recharge and Contributing Zones, is the only field
training range for DoD medical personnel and U.S. Air Force
security forces personnel; moreover, it provides a vital field
training range for the Texas National Guard; designation as a
sentinel landscape makes more resources available to willing
landowners to ensure that operations can continue unimpeded; and
WHEREAS, Formed to bolster the new sentinel landscape, the
Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape Partnership is a locally led
coalition of more than 50 organizations, among them governmental
bodies, conservation groups, and the Texas A&M University Natural
Resources Institute; the partnership works to promote thoughtful
land stewardship, supporting private landowners with technical and
financial resources for a variety of needs, including improving
soil health and infiltration, managing hillside erosion and
creek-bank stability, and increasing native plant diversity and
abundance; its efforts will help mitigate drought, flood, and
wildfire risks and reduce light pollution, which impairs nighttime
training; and
WHEREAS, The training ranges at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp
Bullis play a critical role in military preparedness, and the Camp
Bullis Sentinel Landscape, supported by the Camp Bullis Sentinel
Landscape Partnership, is safeguarding those ranges while also
promoting agricultural and economic vitality and conserving
natural resources; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape and
commend the members of the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape
Partnership for their commitment to its success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape and the Camp Bullis Sentinel
Landscape Partnership as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Murr
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 332 was adopted by the House on March
8, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House