Sequestration has caused furloughs for almost 800,000 civilian employees at the Defense Department, but “funding for the Pentagon’s environmental initiatives is largely shielded” from the spending cuts, according to a top official.

“The Defense Department has a dedication to the environment that is wider in scope than a lot of people are familiar with,” John Conger, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, said at the Aspen Security Forum last week. “We spend $4 billion a year on our environmental programs.”