The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program is looking for citizen volunteers to help track and gather information about where wildlife are crossing roads in several towns in the Black River Valley.
Volunteers will survey stretches of road in the towns of Steuben, Remsen, Boonville, Forestport, Ava, or Western, and will report on the wildlife tracks and signs that they observe.
The results will help guide conservation actions to maintain and enhance habitat connectivity between the Adirondack and Tug Hill region.
Surveys will take place during the winter of 2013/2014 as part of the WildPaths Citizen Science Project.
Two free workshops for members of the public interested in learning about wildlife tracking are being held to kick off WildPaths. No experience is necessary.
The first workshop will be at the White Otter Fish and Game Club on Woodgate Rd. in Wood-gate on Saturday, December 7, and a second will be held at BROEP’s Black River Forest Campus at 10719 Dustin Road in Forestport on Sunday, December 8. Both sessions will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Participants in the daylong workshops will receive expert training in how to interpret and read wildlife tracks, including a classroom introduction and a variety of indoor and outdoor tracking exercises.
“This is the inauguration of an exciting citizen science project, and it will also be a fun and educational opportunity,” said Leslie Karasin, Commu-nity Planning Coordinator with the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Participants in the training sessions will learn more about WildPaths and have the opportunity to sign up to help with surveys, but there is no commitment required for attending the training sessions.
For more information or to register for one of the trainings, call (518) 891-8872 ore email: lkarasin@wcs.org.
The Wildlife Conservation Society is undertaking the WildPaths project in coordination with multiple partners involved in the Staying Connected Initiative.
Partner groups include the Tug Hill Commission, Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, and The Nature Conservancy.