Members of the Little Rock AFB environmental team add native plants to the pollinator garden at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas (from left: Dana Hardage of the 188th Wing; CEMML’s Rebecca Morse; Carice Kimbrell of the USFWS). Photo courtesy Airman Aidan Stein. BY JODI PETERSON
It’s early spring on Little Rock Air Force Base in central Arkansas. On a 40-acre plot that was once covered with military housing and a golf course, native plants are just starting to push up through the soil. By summer, their blossoms will attract butterflies, moths, and native bees.
This pollinator habitat is a dramatic transformation of the land. The old buildings were demolished a decade ago and replaced with a grassy meadow containing a walking trail and a fishing pond. The work has been accomplished through a partnership between the installation’s natural resources staff, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands at Colorado State University.
The most recent addition to the project is a pollinator garden; work began in fall 2024. One of the key participants is Rebecca Morse, a temporary natural resources technician at Little Rock AFB. Through CEMML’s Early-Career Development Program, she landed a 10-month position at the installation after graduating from Arkansas Tech University last year with a degree in environmental science. Her position is funded by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center through a cooperative agreement with CEMML. The ECDP offers students and recent graduates paid opportunities to work on public and federal lands and gain experience in fields such as wildlife and vegetation management, historical restoration, GIS, and environmental regulatory compliance. “I saw the CEMML posting on a job board and was really excited,” Morse said. “I come from a military family but I’m not soldier material, and this job gives me a great way to do my part through helping manage natural resources on military lands.”
At Little Rock AFB, Morse helps plant native wildflowers and grasses in the new pollinator garden, which was funded by a federal grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation. With Carice Kimbrell, a USFWS liaison for the Air Force, Morse developed signs and information sheets to educate visitors about plants such as purple passionflower, coreopsis, and pink muhly grass, and how to grow them at home. “We also plan to add a little arbor and some benches so people can sit closer to the garden,” Morse said. The garden team hosted public workdays in September for National Public Lands Day; local families and their children participated, as well as airmen from the installation.
Winged visitors to the pollinator habitat may include many native insects: butterflies such as the silvery checkerspot, common buckeye, black swallowtail, and the imperiled monarch; moths like the wavy-lined emerald and snowberry clearwing; and bees such as carpenter, mason, and leafcutter. Butterfly milkweed and common milkweed abound, giving monarchs a place to feed and lay eggs. “We’ve got four different beds within the pollinator garden,” said Morse, “and each has plants donated by St. Joseph’s Urban Farm or purchased by the installation. Right now we’re just trying to see what survived the winter.”
When she’s not working on the pollinator garden, Morse surveys for invasive species on the installation. In wooded areas, she looks for harmful plants such as privet and Japanese honeysuckle and works with Kimbrell to control them. She also assists with tasks like removing bats from aircraft hangars, deterring invasive house sparrows from nesting where their droppings could land on people, and removing fallen trees and branches from roadways.
These projects not only support imperiled pollinators and healthy wildlife habitat—they also help Little Rock AFB achieve its military mission. The open land draws deer and birds away from the installation’s runways, reducing the risk of dangerous collisions between military aircraft and wildlife. Invasive species control helps clear dense forest understory, creating a better environment for on-the-ground military training. This work also helps fulfill the installation’s Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan, which is required by the Sikes Act of 1960. Finally, Morse’s assistance frees installation staff from having to handle some problems. “Her work keeps pressure off of our airmen so they can focus on supporting the installation, especially during busy deployments. In this way, she is often the hands and feet of our environmental team,” said Kimbrell.
“I’m not 100% certain what’s next after my position here ends,” said Morse. “But I really enjoy the botany side of my job, and working here has been awesome to learn about native plants and management techniques. I’ve gotten a lot of great experience, and everyone has been so nice and welcoming.”