Welcoming a New Team Member & Prepping for Shorebird Surveys
Plus, recent publications, news, and more!
We are thrilled to welcome Austin Green to the Sageland Collaborative team as our newest Ecologist & Conservation Biologist! In this role, Austin will continue to lead the Wildlife Watch project while also developing a new program focusing on habitat connectivity.
Wildlife Watch leads Mary and Austin stop for a photo on a day trip setting up cameras. We're thrilled to have Austin on our team! Photo by Sierra Hastings.
Austin is no stranger to the work that we do, having previously volunteered on the Boreal Toad Project before establishing Wildlife Watch as his Ph.D. project with the University of Utah’s Science Research Initiative and Sageland Collaborative.
Recognized as our 2023 Partner of the Year, Austin has been a major asset to the Sageland community.
Upcoming Shorebird Surveys
Red-necked phalarope photo donated for our use by ©Dorian Anderson.
Birders, our shorebird surveys along Utah's wetlands will be here before we know it. Read our article, A Little Spinning Bird and the Wider World of Great Salt Lake Conservation, and get excited for the big day!
Where Have Wildlife Been This Winter?
Despite their fragile wings, monarchs migrate heroic distances. Graphic by Sierra Hastings.
Have you read our recent blog post peeking into the distant lands and cozy burrows where our project species spend their days during the long winter months? (It's okay if not--you may have been on holiday as well!)
Check it out to learn all about the elaborate ski trips and cozy winter plans of the wildlife from our projects.
We Need You: Our Winter Conservation Project
While the prediction of an early spring has us all excited for our warm-weather projects, there is still much to be done on Wildlife Watch Project's Image Analysis.
Volunteers take a look at wildlife camera images in the field. Photo by Sierra Hastings.
Volunteers on this project analyze our wildlife camera images taken from across the Wasatch. This help us identify wildlife and sort the data. Plus, you get a behind-the-scenes view of what local wildlife are up to. Join us to further conservation from the comfort of your own home or library!
Recent Data on Wildlife Watch
Data from this year’s Snapshot USA survey, an annual survey of mammals across the nation, highlights just how lucky we are to share our state with so many critters. Check out this moose detection rate map—and notice how high the rate is in Utah!
Every year, the survey puts out its “Top 10” states with the most detections of particular species, and Utah has a place in the Top 10 for a whopping 12 species.
Data from Wildlife Watch are a critical component of Utah’s contribution to this nationwide effort, which has been going on since only 2019, and we hope to continue to put Utah on the conservation map.
You can get involved in this work by signing up for our Image Analysis Project. Help us catalogue more of these amazing animals!
In the News
Snapshot from the Sierra Magazine.
Don't miss this recent article in Sierra Magazine, all about rosy-finches.
From the article: “The rosy-finch is an "iconic" animal of America's alpine regions because "there's really no other vertebrate species that's thriving in those environments," said Janice Gardner.
"We've been hearing so many people say, 'I've had rosy-finches at my bird feeder for decades, and I don't have any rosy-finches this year.'
A boreal toad, just before being weighed and recorded as part of the Boreal Toad Project. Photo by Sierra Hastings.
Thank you for loving wildlife and lands in the West!
Make your gift today to support the future of conservation.
Visit the project page on our website, check out our Impact Report, or connect with us on social media (see links below) to learn more about our conservation work. Please feel free to contact us any time to share your volunteer stories, questions, or suggestions.