Week 6 on Wasatch Wildlife Watch: Volunteer Updates

Wasatch Wildlife Watch Volunteers,

It's hard to believe, but we're already in the middle of our first week on Rotation 2! If you haven't already done so, plan to find a site, set up your camera, and fill out your datasheet by the end of this week (June 13).

Remember to let Austin know if you are NOT able to complete the visit as planned. (Note that if you are able to make the visit, there's no need to check in.)

Thank you for all your work on this important project! We love hearing about your experiences on the project and seeing the wildlife your cameras are capturing.

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Meet the Team: Austin Green

Check out our interview with one of our project leads, Austin Green. Austin is a PhD candidate with the University of Utah's School of Biological Sciences.

Many of you have worked with him for multiple years on the project, but here are a few questions you may not know the answers to.

What interested you most when you started with this project in 2018? 

Living here all my life, I have seen firsthand how traffic in the Wasatch has increased, and I’ve always been curious about what effect this is having on wildlife. So, when I started this project, that was my biggest question: How does increasing human influence alter wildlife, both behaviorally and spatially?

What are some findings or impacts of Wasatch Wildlife Watch that you're personally most excited about?

I think I am most excited about the results of this project that will have a direct impact on conservation and management planning. Specifically, the results we have on wildlife distribution are going to be incredibly helpful to management agencies, especially UDOT and UDWR, when planning how to develop new areas while keeping, or improving, current habitat connectivity.

I’m also really into the recent behavioral research we’ve been looking into. Identifying how human influence alters how wildlife behave has lasting implications on long-term conservation, as it allows researchers and managers to plan for how animals will adapt to given initiatives, instead of relying on old and outdated information.

Austin trains volunteers in using wildlife cameras.

Austin trains volunteers in using wildlife cameras.

Do you have any field stories you'd like to share?

My favorite field stories always seem to involve my wife and me in Red Butte. The first one is during the first year of the project. Rachelle was my main hiking buddy all season, and one time, we were trying to cross the creek to get to the camera on the other side. I crossed the creek, using a tree branch to help stabilize me as I crossed. Rachelle, thinking I had put more of my weight on this branch than I actually had, tried to use the same branch to help her cross. But when she leaned into the branch, it slowly dipped her down into the water. I grabbed the branch, which she was still hanging onto, and lifted her out of the water. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy about it and we cut that day short and went home.

The other story involved us getting stuck at the top of the canyon because my car wouldn’t start. After trying to push, pull, and jumpstart the car, we ended up leaving it up there for three days, and each successive person who went up with us couldn’t get it to jump. Finally, my good friend, who also happens to be really good with cars, went up with me. He took one look at the battery terminals, scraped the corrosion off of one of them, got in the car, and started it right up. It was both hilarious and embarrassing that it took me three days to get a car down that simply had a corroded battery terminal.

What do you love most about this project? What are you looking forward to most in its future?

This project has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done. I have truly poured my heart and soul into it, and I have never been more proud of anything in my life. There are so many amazing aspects to this project, from the fieldwork to the data analysis and collaboration across so many amazing organizations and partners.

However, for me, the thing that keeps me coming back every year is the people I get to work with. We have had hundreds of amazing people work on this project at this point, and I try and make it a point of emphasis to get to know each and every one of them. I find it fascinating to hear about how they approach this project. The different perspectives and expertise everyone brings has truly shaped the direction of Wasatch Wildlife Watch, and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the future.

Start-of-Season Survey & Prize Drawing

Will you take a few minutes to fill our our start-of-season survey? It's quick, helps us better engage the community in conservation, and enters you in a drawing for an outdoor prize!

We Want to Hear Your Stories!

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Some of our volunteers saw a moose in the field last week, and another found a baby bobcat image on a camera card!

Have you had any fun experiences in the field or taken photos or videos while out on the project? Share them with us or tag us in your posts and stories on social media so we can share to inspire potential volunteers, donors, and supporters.

Image Sorting

Note that an online training for optional image sorting will be coming soon. We're working on getting our new platform up and running to support this work as soon as possible. 

In the meantime, you can sign up for the Image Analysis email list for updates.

Wild turkeys from a Wasatch Wildlife Watch project camera. May 2021.

Wild turkeys from a Wasatch Wildlife Watch project camera. May 2021.

Don't Forget...

1 - Make edits as needed to your completed Camera Rotation Schedule form at any point in the season. To find it, search your email inbox for "Wasatch Wildlife Watch Camera Rotation Schedule" from sender "Google Forms." If you haven't filled out the form, make sure to do so ASAP.

2 - ​Join our Facebook group to hear from other volunteers, share your experience, and get neat additional updates from project leads.

3 - Fill out our training survey if you haven't yet. Your feedback is incredibly important to us and helps us improve future trainings.

4 - Stay safe! Always keep COVID and backcountry hunting in mind. If possible, also plan to go into the field with a partner or let someone know about your plans. Please always follow Wild Utah Project's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies.

5 - You can order T-shirts at any point in the season!

Project Resources

Thank You

Thank you for your passion for wildlife in the Wasatch. We could not maintain this crucial wildlife project without your hard work.

 

Happy trails,

The Wasatch Wildlife Watch Team

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