McCoy gets 2005 U.S. Army Reserve Environmental Excellence Award

      Fort McCoy has received the 2005 U.S. Army Reserve Environmental Excellence Award. It's the first time the installation has received the award, said Al Balliett.

Commercial logging personnel prepare to dispose of timber in a Fort McCoy management area. (File photo)

      Balliett, chief of the Environmental Management Branch of the Fort McCoy Directorate of Support Services (DSS), accepted the award during a U.S. Army Reserve Command Environmental Workshop. Eligible participants included the other Army Reserve installations and Regional Readiness Commands (RRCs).

      "I was surprised, but pleased to receive the award," Balliett said. The award was comprised of a trophy and a plaque. "The environmental program at Fort McCoy is successfully preserving environmental, biological and cultural resources in order to sustain the training lands that are required to fulfill mission requirements. The success of the program is due in large part to the individual support of the civilian and contract work force and Soldiers training at Fort McCoy by incorporating sound environmental practices into their work processes and daily activities."

      George Gricius, the Environmental Chief for the Army Reserve, said the awards were established to recognize the outstanding performance by individuals and RRCs/installations within the Army Reserve environmental community. Typically, the Army Reserve environmental staff and RRCs/installations have difficulty competing against the Department of the Army active-duty installations for awards, so the Army Reserve environmental chiefs agreed to implement their own method of acknowledging outstanding performance.

      "The nominees are submitted to an awards subcommittee that distributes the nominee packets to all of the Army Reserve environmental chiefs. The Army Reserve environmental chiefs from the RRCs and installations evaluate each packet and then cast their vote for the best candidate in each category, a true acknowledgment by peers,"

Gricius said. "It's a culmination of all the good things Fort McCoy has done and continues to do. They do a superior job, and they're well deserving of this honor."

      During fiscal year (FY) 2005, Fort McCoy was able to partially overcome its lack of adequate environmental funding, Balliett said. In many other instances, the installation saved or obtained money by combining projects, collecting permit fees, attracting grants from other agencies or by finding cost reductions.

      Fort McCoy took more than $400,000 in funding received through the Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management and used it for the demolition landfill closure/coal yard cleanup project. The installation saved more than $200,000 by combining the two projects, he said.

      Mark McCarty, an environmental protection specialist and the team liaison for the installation's Biological and Cultural Resources Team for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), said the installation's Natural Resources program collected $164,214 in permit fees during FY 05. These fees were used to support Natural Resources projects. Funds of $18,000 for prescribed burning and $12,000 for timber stand improvement were provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Turkey Stamp Fund and the National Wild Turkey Federation programs.

      The installation's Forestry program reported the total value of timber harvested at McCoy during FY 05 was $444,120. These funds will be used to help fund the forestry program, McCarty said.

      A new water-blast system for paint-stripping operations replaced the previously used aluminum oxide. Balliett said this reduced the cost of purchasing blast material to 40 cents a pound and reduced the amount of hazardous waste to be disposed of by 10,000 to 15,000 pounds a year. The facility also provided an electrical cost savings of $28,000 in one year.

      Fort McCoy had many success stories in the endangered species realm, McCarty said. The endangered species biologist, with input from military trainers, natural resource managers and an environmental attorney, has helped the installation avoid the encroachment and training controversies found at many installations with endangered species, he said.

      Hydraulic dredging on several Fort McCoy lakes improved habitat and water quality for several Class I trout waters by managing succession and sediment deposition. Fill from several dredging projects, including Hazel Dell Lake, Sparta Pond and Swamp Pond, has helped reclaim an abandoned borrow site and provided material for a containment barrier for a tactical training base, among other projects. These recycled soils provide a $4 per cubic yard cost savings for fill material.

      The environmental program makes installation fishery and water quality reports available to local agencies to help them apply for and obtain grants to reduce sedimentation and enhance stream habitat in local areas. Fort McCoy also shares its environmental expertise with local, state and federal agencies to help improve water quality from cranberry industry releases, he said.

      The Fisheries program used the best-management practices and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources techniques to improve trout habitats. Trout populations and biomass are at historical highs, with natural trout numbers increasing by more than 200 percent as a result of the projects, McCarty said.

      The Fort McCoy pest control program has replaced many traditional pesticides with botanicals and reduced pesticide use by eliminating pest sources and means of entry, Balliett said.

      The Fort McCoy Wildlife program reduced herbicide use by releasing 17,000 bio-control insects for spotted knapweed and leafy spurge control. During FY 05, the installation surveyed/assessed 35,000 acres and treated 5,000 acres for invasive plant species, McCarty added.

      Balliett said the installation also recycled nearly 70 tons of lead-acid batteries, more than 3,000 gallons of antifreeze, more than 20,000 gallons of used oil, almost 5,500 pounds of oil filters, more than 300,000 pounds of tires and nearly 500 tons of scrap metals during FY 05. The installation's Re-Use-It Store also issued nearly 600 hazardous material items, which saved purchase costs of $5,420 and disposal costs of $5,760, respectively, in FY 05.