The Michigan National Guard Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center received $224,000 from the U.S. Army 2024 Environmental Resilience Funding program to fund three conservation projects at the training center.
The funding program is available to projects that focus on climate change conservation resilience and is provided through a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center (CGJMTC), built in 1913, serves as the primary training facility for the Michigan National Guard and spans around 147,000 acres, which stretches across Crawford, Kalkaska and Otsego counties in northern Michigan.
“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,” said 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.”
The three conservation projects include:
Habitat Restoration in a High-Quality Natural Area - Researchers will conduct surveys in a high-quality natural area within the training center campus. The intent being to protect federally threatened species, including the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Voss's/Houghton's goldenrod, the wood turtle, blanding’s turtle, secretive locust, dusted skipper and 30 more plants and animals.
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Surveys in CGJMTC using the Adapted-Hunt Drift Fence Technique - This project will focus on the eastern massasauga rattlesnake by using a newly developed technique that deploys cameras and drift fences at strategic points in hopes of better understanding the snake’s distribution throughout CGJMTC. Continual population monitoring of the snakes will be key to their survival.
Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle Surveys - This project will focus on the endangered Hungerford's crawling water beetle, which was first discovered at Camp Grayling in 2019. A survey of the local streams will be done to help researchers better understand the size of the local water beetle population.
The CGJMTC partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff in Michigan on project planning and proposals and will continue that partnership for implementation. The work aligns with the FY 2023-2027 U.S. Army Climate Change Implementation Plan.