And on the other side of the coin military training areas in Germany are studied as potential nature reserves because just some limited amount of sane oversight goes a long way...

"The Baumholder military training area is therefore of special importance for nature conservation and landscape management. 722 ferns and flowering plants have been identified so far. Of these, 27 species are on the Red List of the Federal Republic of Germany and 34 species are on the Red List of Rhineland-Palatinate. In the animal kingdom, the abundance of insects and amphibians is striking. For bird life, the open and semi-open cultivated landscapes are particularly important, as can be seen, for example, in the occurrence of red-backed shrikes and Great Grey Shrikes. The larger animals such as the lynx, wildcat or black stork, which have found a retreat here, are of public interest."

[–] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, I think I read something about how the DMZ in Korea is flourishing with wildlife because the animals there aren't heavy enough to trip the mine that both sides have laid. Thus no people are encroaching on them and they can just let themselves happen.

[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It is true: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/130820-wildlife-korea-dmz-war-culture-biology-science

[–] DarthBueller@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The US spends millions of dollars buying up land around military facilities and permanently conserving it. There are Federal grant programs that work in partnership with nonprofit land trusts to accomplish the very thing. Every conserved property has a conservation values inventory completed as part of the protection process that documents natural communities (including rare and endangered species). This inventory serves as the baseline for enforcement of the conservation restrictions. I’m a reformed real estate attorney that works for a conservation land trust.