Off the Trail

The Fort Custer Military Installation has served the American people for over a century. But now, it's playing an important role in protecting its country from a new threat. As it contains one of the most untouched pieces of wilderness in southwest Michigan, researchers believe the installation holds key information on climate change. This is the introductive episode for the podcast series "Off the Trail.”

Nora ventures onto the the Fort Custer Military Installation to shadow the Kalamazoo Nature Center crew as they battle invasive species. But she finds that the definition of an invasive species is more complicated than she ever would have guessed. How long does a species need to be in an ecosystem before it is considered native? Could some invasive species help a habitat survive climate change? Nora interviews ecologists with different perspectives on how to best preserve our wilderness.

Today Nora finds herself in oversized firefighter gear and face to face with flames as she shadows the Kalamazoo Nature Center fire crew. She learns why this team is burning forests at the Fort Custer Military Installation, how prescribed fire is vital for ecosystems, and how Native Americans have been harnessing fire for centuries.

The Mitchell's Satyr butterfly is small, brown and hardly ever seen. It only lives in specific wetlands here in southwest Michigan, and there are hardly any left. Nora sloshes around a fen wetland at the Fort Custer Military Installation with conservationist Holly Hooper as she sets out to save this fleeting species. Not only will Nora find out how to catch, count and raise butterflies, but she will also find out why saving this endangered insect is so important.

Today Nora joins the Kalamazoo Nature Center's team of ornithologists as they track, catch, tag, and collect samples from the feathered inhabitants of the Fort Custer Military Installation. She learns that some of these colorful songbirds carry vital information on climate change that could affect conservation work across the nation.