JBLM Environmental team works with partners to conserve species, maximize training flexibility
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Species Management and Modeling Team is collaborating with federal and state partners to add another species — the streaked horned lark — to its habitat-based, population modeling management framework, aiming to meet conservation goals for the bird while maximizing training flexibility.
The framework includes a modeling tool that assesses how the lark and other protected species would be affected by specific actions on base, such as construction or artillery training. This data helps JBLM identify lower-impact options, work with regulatory agencies, and inform leadership decisions on mitigation for activities with greater potential effects.
The overall framework is part of a joint initiative with the Department of the Interior and Department of War. It received a 2026 Secretary of the Army Environmental Award for Natural Resources Conservation in the Individual/Team Category.
The team met in September with stakeholders, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and non-governmental organizations, to add the streaked horned lark to JBLM’s modeling tool. They used a structured scientific decision-making process to guide development of the lark model and evaluate how different base activities could affect the species.
The streaked horned lark is federally listed as threatened by the Endangered Species Act. It lives in three main areas in Western Washington and is also found in Oregon. Approximately 75% of the South Puget Lowland larks nest at JBLM, according to the “Periodic Status Review for the Streaked Horned Lark in Washington (2026),” by Christa LeGrande and Derek Stinson.
Recovering the lark on and off base is important to the military mission, said Christopher Beck, JBLM Environmental Division chief and leader of the Species Management and Modeling team.
“Through partnership, we can advance the military’s training goals while benefitting species. Recovering lark populations is critical to all the agencies involved, and this process represents a win-win for partnerships across the region,” he said.
Future collaborative work with stakeholders will build on the September meeting’s progress and additional research that will help code JBLM’s model. Then, decision support models will be created and further analyzed, according to Beck and a document on the process by Dr. Jim Peterson and doctoral student Elizabeth “Lizzy” Lang, of Oregon State University’s Peterson Lab.
“I think the true importance of this is, it allows us in a partnership to showcase a collaborative process that’s very structured, integrating the expertise of our partners and building a better product together,” Beck said.
To learn more about the JBLM Environmental Division, visit: https://home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/my-Joint-Base-Lewis-Mcchord/all-services/public_works-environmental_division.
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