Matthew, part of our Young Leaders in Conservation Program, sure did!
For his summer project, Matthew and his friends headed into Glacier National Park for an iNaturalist Bioblitz, getting outside, photographing the plants and animals they found, and uploading their observations to iNaturalist.
So, what’s the big deal?
Each observation adds to a growing database that helps scientists and conservationists understand where species are found and how abundant they are. iNaturalist observations are a useful tool in research and management, as they can tell us where new species are appearing, where threatened populations are, and how the seasonality of plants are changing with human-intensified climate change.
This project helped with efforts to conserve and steward nature by increasing our understanding of what species occur on the trails surveyed in Glacier National Park, and where these species occur. This type of data is especially helpful in a closely managed place like Glacier National Park. Parks staff use iNaturalist data to locate threatened or invasive species.
Check out their observations on iNaturalist here!
Matthew in Glacier National Park.
Views from Glacier National Park.
