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SRI understands the immense value in a community comprised of inquiring and observant citizens - so too have groups like NASA and Cornell University, pioneers in citizen science. We coordinate projects that aggregate and analyze data collected by volunteers and laypeople.
Managers of research projects with access to citizen volunteers can collect better, more far-reaching data than many projects with small cadres of trained biologists. Not only can citizen science tap into a huge labor force otherwise unavailable to researchers, but it also engages community members in conservation issues first hand, which is what SRI values most. Citizen science has been used to monitor everything from water quality to animal populations, from global warming to extraterrestrial activity. Beginning with the host of residents and visitors in Montana's Madison Valley, SRI has developed several citizen science projects.
SRI's Fence Fatality Study asks locals to make observations of wildlife fence fatalities in the Madison Valley, and then submit their data to SRI. By examining variables such as location of carcass, sex, age class, species, and direction of travel, we hope to get a clearer picture of these ensnarements. Learning what fence characteristics are most lethal to which species, SRI can then develop economical, effective recommendations for improving the free movement of wildlife across the landscape.
Additionally, our Audubon IBA designation project depends on the power of citizens. While professional ornithologists inventory sagebrush habitat for Brewer's sparrows, citizens help inventory bird species of concern on the rest of the Sun Ranch, including olive-sided flycatchers, long-billed curlew, Williamson's sapsucker, and many others.
Certainly, researchers such as SRI benefit from volunteer efforts that generate meaningful data. More importantly, we involve locals and visitors in conservation efforts. Through this engagement and sense of ownership, we make the most meaningful strides in conservation efforts in our communities.
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