What’s happening: Three new conservation projects are set to launch soon at Camp Grayling – or, as it’s officially known, the Michigan National Guard Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center (CGJMTC). Associating military sites with conservation efforts might not be the first connection one might make, but northern Michigan’s Camp Grayling has a rich history in ecosystem management, officials there say.
What it is: Built in 1913 and still active to this day, Camp Grayling serves as the primary training facility for the Michigan National Guard. The largest U.S. National Guard training facility in the nation, Camp Grayling spans approximately 147,000 acres and stretches across Crawford, Kalkaska, and Otsego counties in northern Michigan.
Why it’s important: “Camp Grayling has a rich history of taking a proactive approach to ecosystem management and engages in ongoing collaboration with several public and private entities for projects such as flora and fauna inventories,” says Matt Kleitch, natural resource specialist for CGJMTC. “These projects will improve the ecological health of natural communities and associated species thus improving resiliency. Additionally, the habitat restoration component will result in a reduction of wildland fuels and further mitigate wildfire risk.”
What’s in store: The U.S. Army 2024 Environmental Resilience Funding program has awarded $224,000 to Camp Grayling in support of three conservation projects there. Researchers will conduct surveys in what’s known as a High-Quality Natural Area (HQNA) within the campus, ultimately leading to ecological management and restoration projects. The intent is to protect federally threatened species, including the eastern massasauga rattlesnake and Voss's/Houghton's goldenrod. Other at-risk species to benefit will be the wood turtle, Blanding’s turtle, secretive locust, dusted skipper, and 30 more plants and animals.
A second project will focus on the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, using a newly developed technique that deploys cameras and drift fences at strategic points in hopes of better understanding the snake’s distribution throughout Camp Grayling. Continual population monitoring of the snakes is key to their survival, yet the extent of the snakes’ distribution throughout the 147,000-acre site is murky.
A third project will focus on the federally endangered Hungerford's crawling water beetle, which was first discovered at Camp Grayling in 2019. A survey of local streams will help researchers better understand the size of the local water beetle population.
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