Michigan National Guard Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center Receives U.S. Army Environmental Resilience Funding for Three Conservation Projects

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan National Guard Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center (CGJMTC) has received $224,000 from the U.S. Army 2024 Environmental Resilience Funding program to fund three conservation projects at CGJMTC. The funding is available to projects that focus on climate change conservation resilience and is provided through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

• Habitat Restoration in a High-Quality Natural Area (HQNA) - The goal of the project is to conduct surveys and ecological management/restoration to benefit Federally threatened species found within the HQNA at CGJMTC. Federally listed species include the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (EMR) and Voss's/Houghton's goldenrod. Additional species include the Wood and Blanding's turtle which are being considered for federal listing; the secretive locust and dusted skipper which are on the Army's List of Priority Species at Risk (LPSAR); and 30 State Threatened & Endangered and special concern species.
  
  
• Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Surveys in CGJMTC using the Adapted-Hunt Drift Fence Technique - The eastern massasauga rattlesnake (EMR) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to factors such as habitat loss, human persecution and snake fungal disease. Continual population monitoring is vital to ensuring recovery goals are met. Conventional sampling methods such as visual encounter surveys can be effective for detecting EMR. However, such tactics are time consuming, labor intensive and typically rely on environmental conditions favorable for snake activity to optimize detections by surveyors. The overall extent of EMR distribution across the installation is not well understood. Using a recently developed technique that combines a configuration of camera traps placed along drift fences, this project will sample suitable habitat for EMR in areas of unknown occupancy status on Camp Grayling. The main objective is to gain a better understanding of the snake's distribution across Camp Grayling and to determine whether EMR detection rates differ between seasons (spring, summer and fall) and habitats used by EMR for overwintering and the active season.
  
  
• Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle Surveys - The goal of the project is to survey and monitor suitable streams within the boundaries of CGJMTC for the federally endangered Hungerford's crawling water beetle (HCWB). HCWB was first detected on the installation in 2019 and has been detected from four locations on a cold-water stream. Fine scale monitoring is needed to ensure long term viability of this population and inform adaptive management actions. Surveys in additional streams within Camp Grayling have not yet detected the beetle but have identified potentially suitable habitats. Further survey work in these streams will increase the understanding of the current distribution of HCWB and available habitats within CGJMTC.
  
  
• "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."
  
  CGJMTC partnered with USFWS 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 Strategy Implementation Plan and proactively supports that mission.