Sheppard kicks off encroachment management efforts

  • Published
  • By 82nd Civil Engineering Squadron
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Sheppard Air Force Base will kick off the development of an Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan (ICEMAP) starting Jan. 17 with workshop and installation personnel interviews. These activities will provide a greater understanding of the installation's mission and operation requirements, as well as insights into the shared interests of the installation and surrounding community.

ICEMAPs are being completed at Sheppard and other Air Force installations as part of the Air Force Encroachment Management Program, established by Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 90-20, signed in April 2012. The program is developing policy, guidance and tools to help Air Force major commands and installations address internal and external encroachment and sustainment challenges.

The Sheppard ICEMAP will examine the following challenge areas; airspace and land restrictions, airborne noise, urban growth, spectrum encroachment, endangered species and critical habitat, air, water, cultural resources, unexploded ordnance and munitions, energy compatibility and availability, security and safety, and climate effects.

Two other area Air Force installations including Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Okla., and Vance AFB in Enid, Okla., are also completing ICEMAPs in 2014. The ICEMAP project teams will work together to identify shared encroachment challenges and potential regional management actions that the installations may undertake together.

The ICEMAP is being developed as Sheppard AFB personnel continue their involvement in a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) with local municipalities. The JLUS will provide recommendations to local communities and the base for maintaining compatible development around and on the installation. Similarly, the ICEMAP will offer Sheppard's leadership a clear path for addressing encroachment and sustaining base missions.

Marstel-Day, LLC is assisting Headquarters Air Force, Air Education and Training Command and Sheppard AFB in the development of the ICEMAP. The firm has assisted military installations nationwide in utilizing innovative solutions to navigate complex issues regarding sustainability, land use, real property, conservation and the environment.

The key focus of the ICEMAP process is managing encroachment, described as the impact of a stakeholder's actions on current and future military activities as well as the impact of the military's actions on stakeholders. In addition, encroachment impacts from natural factors and climate effects are considered in the analyses.

A consultant team from Marstel-Day, LLC will visit Sheppard AFB from January 22 to January 29 to conduct the workshop and installation personnel interviews. The purpose of the workshop is to identify staff roles and responsibilities in managing encroachment. The interviews will facilitate the collection of encroachment related information necessary for the development of the Sheppard AFB ICEMAP, which is slated for completion in September 2014.