Zentelis & Lindenmayer (2015) contend military training areas (MTAs) “have the potential to make a significant formal contribution to biodiversity conservation,” yet their conservation value has not been rigorously assessed. We believe their paper is an important step in raising awareness of the potential conservation value of MTAs to policy makers, scientists, and conservation professionals. Here, we offer an empirical evaluation of their statements regarding size, distribution, and representation of ecological systems (i.e., vegetation communities) within MTAs for the contiguous United States (CONUS) by comparing MTAs with lands managed by other U.S. federal agencies.
