FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2026
Contact: FW8_Public_Affairs@fws.gov
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes Naval Base Ventura County for excellence in natural resource conservation
VENTURA, CA – Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service honored Naval Base Ventura County as the recipient of the 21st Annual Military Conservation Partner Award in recognition of the installation's commitment to conservation in a ceremony held at the base.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proud to support the readiness and excellence of the U.S. Military. In addition, military lands and waters provide some of the best habitat in our country. Naval Base Ventura County is an outstanding example of the conservation contributions that military installations make across the nation,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Regional Director, Paul Souza. “Their leadership on environmental initiatives demonstrates that conservation and military training can complement each other.”
Each year, the Military Conservation Partner Award is presented to a military installation whose efforts represent significant conservation accomplishments achieved in partnership with the Service and other conservation agencies.
"Receiving this recognition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a tremendous honor for the entire Naval Base Ventura County team,” said Captain Daniel W. Brown, Naval Base Ventura County’s Commanding Officer. “It's a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Natural Resources Conservation Team and our strong partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are deeply committed to our mission, and that includes being responsible stewards of the incredible resources entrusted to us.”
Located approximately 65 miles north of Los Angeles, Naval Base Ventura County is comprised of three major operating facilities at Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, and San Nicolas Island, which provide airfield, seaport and base support services to fleet operating forces and shore activities.
Naval Base Ventura County encompasses more than 2,200 acres of wetlands, 57.5 miles of coastline, 3,400 acres of dunes, nearly 200 species of native plants and 11 species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The base includes some of the highest quality habitat in California including the largest remaining coastal salt marsh salt marsh
Salt marshes are found in tidal areas near the coast, where freshwater mixes with saltwater.
Learn more about salt marsh estuary in Southern California.
In addition to supporting and executing the mission of the Department of the Navy, the base’s Natural Resources Program coordinates with the Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement the goals and objectives in three Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans. These guidance plans detail nature-based solutions and emerging technologies to both improve the ecosystem and ensure mission resiliency.
To accommodate their mission critical operations, Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement to proactively restore wetlands for possible future use as mitigation bank. Habitats restored in advance will allow the Navy to maintain or increase valuable wetland areas and conserve species while also supporting mission requirements.
Through the Military Conservation Partner Award, the Service applauds the base’s use of wetland mitigation banking to secure quality wetland habitats for listed and native species on base while providing mission flexibility on base, and their creative nature-based solutions to improve ecosystem and mission resiliency for Mugu Lagoon. The base also partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create cost-effective beach resiliency designs to protect habitat for federally protected species like California least tern and western snowy plover and ensure mission readiness and infrastructure stability. Additionally, the base has implemented innovative biosecurity strategies, employed emerging technologies for island night lizard and island fox recovery, and collaborated with partners outside of the base to support range-wide efforts for species conservation.
The Service commends the hard work accomplished by Naval Base Ventura County’s command and looks forward to continuing cooperative conservation efforts in the future.
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