Tag Archives: bioblitz

Waterton-Glacier mushroom ‘bioblitz’ announced

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Morel mushrooms near West Glacier, Montana - Cathy McCoy
Morel mushrooms near West Glacier, Montana – Cathy McCoy

From the official press release . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center is pleased to announce its inaugural Waterton-Glacier Mushroom BioBlitz June 9 and 11 at Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks. Visitors will work alongside taxonomic experts to document fungal diversity, and learn more about mushrooms and other fungi in the Crown of the Continent. Participants will use the iNaturalist app to record field observations, and are encouraged to download the app prior to the event.

Glacier National Park’s Mushroom BioBlitz is June 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Apgar, St. Mary, and North Fork locations. Participants are not required to stay until 5 pm. The event is free and open to people of all ages and skill levels. Registration is required. Visit https://www.nps.gov/rlc/crown/bioblitz.htm to register. Contact CCRLC at (406)-888-7944 or email Evan Portier at evan_portier@nps.gov for more information.

Waterton Lakes National Park’s Mushroom BioBlitz is June 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Contact william.greene@pc.gc.ca for more information. Remember to bring a valid passport if traveling across the border.

Funding and support for the Wateron-Glacier Mushroom BioBlitz is provided by the Glacier National Park Conservancy, Montana Geographic Alliance, Western Montana Mycological Association, and the Alberta Mycological Society.

Public invited to Invasive plant bioblitz event, July 19

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From the press release . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at Glacier National Park has announced an invasive plant BioBlitz, an opportunity for the public to help with early detection of invasive plants along park trails. The event will be held on Tuesday, July 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event begins at the park’s Community Building in West Glacier and will be followed by an afternoon spent pulling invasive plants along park trails. Participants will learn to identify five targeted invasive plants, and how to use a GPS unit and the free iNaturalist app to mark invasive plant locations while hiking along park trails.

Participants are asked to bring gloves for hand pulling, hiking footwear, and plenty of drinking water. Glacier National Park Conservancy will provide a free lunch for all attendees.

Since 2005, the Glacier National Park Citizen Science Program has utilized trained citizen scientists to collect population data on species of interest in the park. Training provided to participants serves to inform them on threats to native plants and animals that may result from human disturbance, climate change, and invasive species. The Citizen Science Program not only provides valuable data to park managers, but it helps create an informed group of visitors involved in active stewardship of Glacier National Park.

Funding and support for the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center’s Citizen Science Program is provided by the Glacier National Park Conservancy. For more information on the Citizen Science Program or to attend the Invasive Plant BioBlitz event call 406-888-7986 or e-mail e-mail us.

This event is one of four BioBlitzes at Glacier National Park that are part of the National Park Service’s Centennial Year celebration of biodiversity in national parks. For more information on other events in the National Park Centennial BioBlitz series follow this link:

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/biodiversity/national-parks-bioblitz.htm

NPS Centennial BioBlitz opportunity announced

Environmental Issues, News,

This recent National Park Service press release looks pretty interesting . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center announces a summer long National Park Service Centennial BioBlitz at Glacier National Park (GNP). Visitors to the park are invited to become citizen scientists by documenting wildlife sightings within GNP on the free iNaturalist app. The public may also sign up for a free account from their computer at http://www.inaturalist.org.

The BioBlitz iNaturalist project “Glacier Wildlife Observations” takes place from May 1 through September 30, 2016. Observation data recorded between Friday May 20 and Sunday May 22 will be displayed in real time on a “jumbotron” at the Biodiversity Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

“All interested visitors to Glacier National Park are encouraged to document wildlife sightings within the park during the NPS Centennial summer,” said Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center Director Tara Carolin. “No animal is too large or insect too small. We are interested in every kind of fauna visitors may encounter during their summer visits to Glacier. Once you #FindYourPark, we invite you to #FindOurFauna.” Continue reading NPS Centennial BioBlitz opportunity announced →

Flathead ‘Bat BioBlitz’ may help Canada’s endangered bats

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The Canadian Flathead, as well as the area immediately below the border, has hosted a number of bat studies in the past few years, including this most recent one…

Bat biologists are converging in B.C.’s Flathead River Valley tomorrow. They hope to gain new information to advance bat conservation in B.C.’s southeast and to ultimately minimize the impacts of White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious disease that has killed millions of North American bats.

The four-day Bat BioBlitz, organized by conservation groups in B.C. and Alberta and led by Wildlife Conservation Society Canada’s bat biologist, Dr. Cori Lausen, will build on an initial inventory of Flathead bats that Lausen conducted last summer during a BioBlitz. That inventory detected two species of bats in the Flathead that are considered federally Endangered by the Committee on Endangered Wildlife in Canada: little brown myotis and northern myotis.

“In the southeast corner of B.C., the Flathead may be the gateway for entry of White Nose Syndrome into B.C., and it is thus urgent to start monitoring bats in this area,” said Lausen. “Significant bat hibernation caves have never been found in B.C. and yet the Flathead is surrounded by karst and has the deepest cave in all of Canada.”

Read more . . .

Canadian Flathead bioblitz tour next week

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If you happen to be in Canada next week, you can find out more about the recent “bioblitz” at a series of talks offered around British Columbia. Here’s the announcement, courtesy of the Flathead River Valley web site . . .

Birds, bats, bugs… oh my! Come hear about the exciting biodiversity recently discovered in BC’s Flathead River Valley and how you can help save it forever. Speakers include Royal BC Museum’s Claudia Copley and Melissa Frey among others.

January 21st @ Science World In Vancouver – 7PM
January 22nd @ College of the Rockies Lecture Theatre in Cranbrook – 7PM
January 23rd @ The Arts Station in Fernie – 7PM
January 24th @ Canmore Collegiate – 7PM

Last summer’s Flathead BioBlitz reveals “Scientifically Significant” findings

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Last summer, a group of scientists conducted a “bioblitz” of the Canadian Flathead, examining the area’s invertebrate species. This summer, and even larger group will document bird and fish species. Of course, their findings have implications on both sides of the border . . .

The discovery of a brand new spider species, the first Canadian record of a rare spider, and the first B.C. sighting in 100 years of a Herrington’s Fingernail Clam are some of the significant science findings from the first Flathead BioBlitz, according to data released today.

The August 2012 BioBlitz was conducted by 10 scientists, including six from the Royal B.C. Museum, and focused on documenting a stunning variety of rare, at-risk and extensive invertebrates from clams to butterflies to spiders. The second Flathead River Valley BioBlitz kicks off today with a team of 20 biologists who will spend a week traipsing through the spectacular river, valley and surrounding Rocky Mountains to document bird and fish species.

Continue reading . . .

Sierra Club BC and Royal BC Museum doing special event on Canadian Flathead

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If you happen to be up that way, our neighbors to the north are doing a special event on the Canadian Flathead Valley. Here’s the announcement . . .

Join us at the Royal BC Museum for this special event

It’s called a BioBlitz!

On February 28, please join Sierra Club BC and the Royal BC Museum for an evening of stories, science and imagery about B.C.’s Flathead River Valley. RSVP for your free ticket!

In August 2012, Royal BC Museum staff and volunteers joined forces with other scientists in a 7-day BioBlitz to survey and record as many species as possible in the Flathead River Valley. For one intensive week, they documented the valley’s birds, insects, fish, plants, mammals, salamanders, spiders, frogs, slugs, snails, and other surprises!

When: February 28, 2013
Where: Royal BC Museum – Newcombe Conference Hall, 675 Belleville St., Victoria
Free admission, but please RSVP through Eventbrite for a ticket

Join us and begin to appreciate the richness of the Flathead River Valley – a natural treasure in our own backyard.