Optimal Site Selection for Military Land Management

Site selection procedures have improved rapidly with the acceptance of GIS technologies that can quickly evaluate the properties of thousands of potential sites. However, when more than a single parcel of land is required or when the certainty of the decision requires a more deliberate selection procedure, a systematic methodology is needed to analyze multiple scenarios and select an optimal or near –optimal solution. This need is especially true for military installations where unique land uses require calculated decision making that reflect more than “best judgment” decisions. Examples of these unique land uses include the location of hazardous storage facilities and the location of live–fire exercises. These distinctive activities are further complicated by the desire to increase the level of readiness by conducting additional training exercises on limited resources. An additional factor influencing the location of activities on military installations is that many of these sites have become prime habitat for threatened and endangered species. This paper describes the use of a site selection model to identify and evaluate and generate optimal regions with specific shape properties. In addition a heuristic algorithm that uses the “greedy” principle is applied to find solution regions with specific shape properties and non-inferior cost values. A case study using the model will be used to identify least cost areas for training activit ies on the Fort Hood military reservation.