Making peace: lawmakers are looking for ways to resolve land-use conflicts between civilian communities and military bases.

• Author: Savage, Melissa

The juniper and oak trees in central Texas have long been home to a little yellow bird known as the golden cheeked warbler. As residential development swept through central Texas, however, the birds had to move. Today, the golden-cheeked warbler is an endangered species and, with nowhere else to go, has moved onto Camp Bullis, a military installation just outside of San Antonio.

Home to about 130 military personnel, Camp Bullis sits on 12,000 acres and serves as a medical training facility for all military branches. The specialized training on the base has helped improve the survival rate for wounded soldiers. Today, 90 percent of those wounded in battle survive.

When the golden-cheeked warbler decided to take up residence on the base, the commanding officers had to adjust how they conducted their training exercises, since less land was available.

Over the years, military bases across the country have had to take on the unlikely role of environmental steward, maintaining habitats for endangered species, migrating birds and certain bugs. But environmental concerns are just part of the equation that pits the needs of the military against those of growing communities. And this new environmental job sometimes runs counter to the overall mission of each base: training soldiers for combat.

The problems faced at Camp Bullis are playing out at other military installations across the country. In some 20 states, legislators already have enacted laws to address the conflicts between military installations and encroaching civilian residential populations.

Senator Leticia Van de Putte, who represents the district that is home to Fort Sam Houston--another military base near San Antonio has seen the consequences of residential development near military bases. It's in her backyard. But she also knows the encroachment issue isn't confined to San Antonio. It's a problem for bases across the country, from the Marine's Camp Pendleton in southern California to the Army's Fort A.P. Hill in northern Virginia.

"For legislators with installations in their district, it's critical that they stay aware of what's happening on the bases, in the community and how state legislation can play a role in helping strike a balance between the community's needs and ensuring the military base can meet its mission," Van de Putte says. "The good news is that, while encroachment is pretty common, states, military bases and local communities are working together. Partnerships among...