The Wyoming Bioblitz is this weekend. I told you earlier this week that it’s a great justification for getting out of the house for a couple of days, but it’s also a chance for you to help biologists catalog the creatures and plant species we have all over Wyoming.
The Bioblitzes in the past have concentrated on specific areas, but due to COVID-19, this year’s Wyoming Bioblitz will use data collected all over the state. You can go to your favorite backcountry camping spot, or you can participate from your own backyard. As long as you’re outside, you can submit the plants and animals you observe.
The easiest way to participate is to download the Bioblitz app from iNatualist.org on your smartphone. The app will log your location for you, and you can use your phone camera to take a picture of the plant or animal you want to record. If you don’t know the exact identification of the critter or the plant, that’s no problem. The iNaturalist community will help with the identification, and if the picture and the description of the species is good enough, it will be used as an official record to document the species in that location.
The Wyoming Bioblitz starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday. It’s free, and anyone can participate. If you want to be eligible for the prizes offered by the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute, you’ll need to get registered on their website by tomorrow. The website is WyomingBiodiversity.org.
I’d like to thank the Biodiversity Institute, Audubon Rockies and The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming for giving me this excuse to put off cleaning out the chicken coop. Instead of dealing with that nasty chore, I’ll be outside this weekend. I hope you join me.
