2019 Awardees of the Citizen Science Competitive Funding Program
The following projects have been selected to receive up to $25,000 from the Citizen Science Competitive Funding Program (CitSci Fund). The CitSci Fund supports collaborative citizen science efforts where partners, volunteers, and the Forest Service work together in the pursuit of sound science and meaningful community and volunteer engagement.
With the funds available, Ecosystem Management Coordination (EMC) was able to fully fund thirteen projects totaling $188,695.
Subscribe to our email list to receive updates on the CitSci Fund.
2019 Total Submissions: 56
LEVEL 1 - Ideation (up to $10,000)
Air Quality Bio-Monitoring Using Lichens on the Tahoe National Forest
A child uses a hand lens to take a closer look at lichen (USFS photo).
Location: Tahoe National Forest, California
Partner Project Lead: Hanna Mesraty, Project Director, Biodiversity Research Collective
Forest Service Project Lead: Don Schweizer, Air Resource Specialist, Pacific Southwest Region
Funding Award: $10,000
Citizen scientists will gather data on lichens and other ecological components of the Tahoe National Forest, raising awareness of why air quality monitoring is important and how it could impact the health of the forest and people in surrounding areas. In addition to being a reliable air quality indicator, lichen play a vital role in a larger ecological story, and with increasing wildfires, urbanization, and habitat loss in California, this project could help scientists communicate and engage publics with that story while providing key data.
Analyzing lichen tissue helps make determinations about air quality that is part of mandated monitoring efforts for all wilderness areas across the state. Many of these areas are too remote to use mechanical monitoring equipment, so lichen biomonitoring helps fill these gaps and empower citizens to critically engage on issues of biodiveristy and forest ecology.
Volunteers will collect lichen tissue and record ecological data, document species observations on citizen science platforms, and create herbarium-quality specimens. Collecting lichen tissue is relatively easy once properly trained and is a unique and engaging way to monitor air quality using part of the forest ecosystem.
Building a Southeast River Cane Monitoring Initiative for Cultural & Ecosystem Services
Left: A stand of river cane, Arundinaria gigantea Right: traditional Cherokee river cane basket (Photos courtesy of Cherokee Nation River Cane Initiative).
Location: Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma
Partner Project Lead: Whitney Warrior, Environmental Services and Historic Preservation Director, United Keetoowah Band
Forest Service Project Lead: Michelle Baumflek, Southern Research Station
Funding Award: $10,000
River cane (Arundinaria gigantea) is a bamboo species native to the Southeastern U.S. that is fundamental to traditional arts, technologies and cultural identity of over 45 federally-recognized tribes. River cane ecosystems (canebrakes) provide vital ecosystem services including erosion and runoff control, and endangered species habitat. However, river cane currently occupies two percent of its historical range due to changes in land use and overgrazing. Research on river cane is limited, and regional distribution of canebrakes is unknown. Documenting current spatial distribution of canebrakes is an essential step in understanding species ecology, restoration and management.
The goal of this ideation-phase project is to work with Cherokee Nation to develop citizen-science-based strategies for identifying and monitoring river cane ecosystems and creating a plan that can be implemented by tribes and other partners across the Southeastern United States. Citizen scientists will use their digital devices to document river cane locations. Data collected will contribute to analysis, restoration and modeling efforts, and monitoring of specific locations of interest.
Developing a river cane monitoring initiative promotes continuity of Cherokee Nation traditional knowledge and cultural traditions, including basketry and other traditional arts. Data collection is time-intensive and geographically widespread, and a citizen science approach will make monitoring more efficient and effective. Citizen science also has a twofold benefit of including local people who are knowledgeable about these habitats and skilled at locating rivercane, while also providing educational opportunities for those who want to learn about it.
Colorado Bat Watch: Monitoring Bats on Colorado's National Forests
Little brown bats are increasingly being found with white nose syndrome in North America (USF&W photo).
Location: Routt and Pike National Forests, Colorado
Partner Project Lead: Paige Singer, Conservation Biologist/GIS Specialist, Rocky Mountain Wild
Forest Service Project Lead: Melissa (Missy) Dressen, Wildlife Biologist, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests
Funding Award: $10,000
Colorado is home to 18 bat species, 3 of which are sensitive species in Region 2: the Fringed myotis, Hoary bat, and Townsend’s big-eared bat. Relatively little is currently known about the population status of most species of bats in Colorado to help inform evaluations of their status and population viability.
North American bats face unprecedented threats including white-nose syndrome—a rapidly spreading pathogen that has killed millions of bats in the eastern and Midwestern U.S. since 2006. The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome has not been detected in Colorado, but has spread into four adjacent states; most recently a 2018 detection in eastern Wyoming. There is a pressing need to expand bat monitoring in Colorado ahead of the pathogen’s arrival in the state. Citizen science is the optimal approach because data is needed across a large scale.
The North American Bat Monitoring (NABat) program provides a monitoring framework on the Pike and Routt National Forests in Colorado, with a long-term goal of developing a robust citizen science program to meet bat monitoring needs for multiple agencies state-wide. Citizen scientists will monitor roost sites to help understand how local populations are impacted by the pathogen. They will learn about the ecological and economic importance of bats and contribute to improving management by addressing threats to bat populations.
Leveraging Citizen Science to Map Lamprey Distributions in Oregon Using eDNA Methods
Western Brook Lamprey, Pacific Region (USF&W photo).
Location: Coos River watershed, downstream of the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon
Partner Project Lead: Shon Schooler, Research Coordinator, South Slough Reserve
Forest Service Project Lead: Rebecca (Becky) Flitcroft, Research Fish Biologist, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Funding Award: $10,000
Lamprey are a First Food for native people and fill an important role in highly functioning ecosystems. There are at least two native species of lamprey living in Oregon’s coastal watersheds, yet very little information is known about their distributions and population size. Accurate knowledge of fish distribution is a critical first step in habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement on Forest Service managed lands.
Obtaining population and distribution data can be labor intensive, and distinguishing adult Brook Lamprey and Pacific Lamprey ammocetes requires specialized expertise. These constraints, paired with a lack of prior management interest in lamprey population status, has meant that lamprey data collection is often ancillary to other studies (e.g., salmonids).
In this Level 1 project, citizen scientists will test several techniques for obtaining species-specific lamprey data by collecting environmental DNA (eDNA) in the Coos watershed. eDNA techniques lend themselves to the use of volunteer networks since volunteers would not need to be experts in identifying juvenile lamprey.
Potential citizen science volunteers will be included in the initial testing of methods and asked to provide feedback. Reserve education staff will also assist in testing methods with select local high school student classes. Citizen science volunteers will gain an understanding of the scientific method and an appreciation for Lamprey and the surrounding habitat.
LEVEL 2 - Development and Implementation (up to $25,000)
Developing a Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program in Alabama's National Forests
Waterfall in Talladega National Forest (USFS photo).
Location: Bankhead, Talladega, Tuskegee & Conecuh National Forests, Alabama
Partner Project Lead: Mona Dominguez, Program Director, Alabama Water Watch
Forest Service Project Lead: Estella Smith, Forest Soil Scientist, National Forests in Alabama
Funding Award: $25,000
For this water quality monitoring project, volunteers will gather chemical and bacterial monitoring data on specific streams. The goal is to establish a baseline of water quality observations within priority watersheds (that were identified through the Forest Service Watershed Condition Framework) to determine if the agency is providing clean water to the Forests, its ecosystems, and to the public—thereby better informing land management decisions.
Water quality monitoring has no programmatic funding and would greatly benefit other programs (such as silviculture, timber, fire, ecology, and soils) that rely on such data to support their work. Working with citizen scientists to collect this data will save money for the agency while also educating participants in STEM and engaging them in their public lands.
Citizen scientists, which include retirees, outreach specialists, educators, and K-12 and college students, will be involved in every step of the water quality monitoring process, from data collection to analysis. Alabama Water Watch monitoring techniques allow volunteers to complete water quality analysis streamside or at home using simple but effective equipment. Overall, this project aims to improve the local community's watershed health and quality of life.
Implementing a Citizen Science Beaver Assessment Program & Protocol for Lolo National Forest
Crew leader explaining the protocol and data collection methods of the Beaver Habitat Survey program (USFS photo).
Location: Lolo National Forest, Montana
Partner Project Lead: Lily Haines, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Clark Fork Coalition
Forest Service Project Lead: Traci Sylte, Soils/Water/Fisheries Program Manager, Lolo National Forest
Funding Award: $25,000
This project engages volunteers in compelling conservation work centered around the charismatic beaver. Evidence indicates that beavers increase water storage, which could help decrease wildfire risks as valleys become water-saturated. A comprehensive beaver inventory and understanding can help inform wildlife management as well as improve timber stand resilience and restore streams. Land managers want to know where beavers are and why they are there, as well as where more populations can (or should) be established.
In 2018, the Clark Fork Coalition (CFC) teamed up with the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) and the National Wildlife Federation to recruit middle schoolers as citizen scientists and address the lack of capacity for gathering this important data on beaver habitat in the Lolo Creek Watershed.
The program will expand in 2019 with funding from the CitSci Fund. Teams of youth and adult citizen scientists will document beaver presence, inventory current/historical beaver signs, and create high-resolution assessments of beaver habitat on priority streams on Lolo National Forest and adjacent lands.
Volunteer tasks are intentionally designed to involve them in multiple aspects of the scientific method (asking questions; collecting and interpreting data) and the application of knowledge (design review, identifying problems, discovering solutions) in order to develop the full spectrum of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that lead to deeply-meaningful engagement in the management of public lands and pathways to STEM careers.
Stream Tracker: Monitoring Streamflow Intermittence through Citizen Science
Signs of winder flow frozen as ripples in this intermittent Colorado stream channel (Stream Tracker photo).
Location: Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado
Partner Project Lead: Stephanie Kampf, Associate Professor, Colorado State University
Forest Service Project Lead: Matthew Fairchild, Forest Fish Biologist, Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests
Funding Award: $25,000
Intermittent streams (streams that do not flow continuously) make up most of the stream length in National Forests, yet these smaller streams are rarely monitored. Citizen scientists will use the Stream Tracker app to collect monitoring data on flow presence/absence. Their data will help update stream maps, thereby aiding in management decisions about where streamside buffers are needed, road construction and culvert sizing, and source water protection plans.
Stream monitoring points will be established along roads and trails and at active Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV) project sites. A training event will recruit volunteers to Adopt-a-stream teams tasked with visiting those sites regularly to record streamflow data. At each point, volunteers take photos and record observations of streamflow via a paper datasheet, website, or mobile phone.
Volunteers will learn how their monitoring contributes to broader scientific understanding by viewing maps of the sites they will be visiting and develop hypotheses about which streams will be flowing at different times. As they visit each of the monitoring sites, participants will see whether or not they were correct and can discuss ideas about why each stream does or does not have flow. For the end of year parties, volunteers will be given prizes and shown their data results and slideshows of their photos. The event will be an opportunity for volunteers to share their experiences and for everyone to look at the data collectively to compare flow conditions between monitoring sites.
Working with Citizen Scientists to Improve our Understanding of the Impacts of Roads & Traffic on Wildlife
Road in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest (USFS photo).
Location: Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho
Partner Project Lead: Renee Seidler, State Transportation Specialist, Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Forest Service Project Lead: Elizabeth Davy, District Ranger, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Funding Award: $25,000
Within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Fremont County, Idaho hosts charismatic megafauna such as elk, mule deer, pronghorn, moose, grizzly bears, and wolverine. In December of 2017, a wildlife roadkill study was initiated along US Highway 20 and State Highway 87 in Fremont County. With volunteer support, the study focuses on these two highway sections because they bisect big game movement routes. Volunteers will continue to support the roadkill study through December 2019, and data will be stored in a statewide database. The Caribou-Targhee National Forest will use the data for land-use planning, facilitating community engagement locally and statewide, and refining data collection protocols for other similar studies.
LEVEL 3 – Ongoing Projects (up to $10,000)
Community-based Monitoring of Western Migratory Bird Populations for the Boise National Forest
A forest-dwelling hummingbird on the Boise National Forest (Photo by Dale Toweill, Intermountain Bird Observatory).
Location: Boise National Forest, Idaho
Partner Project Lead: Gregory Kaltenecker, Executive Director, Intermountain Bird Observatory
Forest Service Project Lead: Lisa Nutt, Forest Wildlife Biologist, Boise National Forest
Funding Award: $10,000
Citizen scientists will collect data on bird species to monitor their populations and explore how changes in the environment are affecting migration and other key demographic features for birds in the Intermountain West.
The Intermountain Bird Observatory conducts long-term research and monitoring of western migrant bird populations and promotes public education, involvement, and wildlife viewing. This monitoring facilitates early indications of population changes of many species—including sensitive species—which helps land managers conserve important habitats.
Volunteers are directly engaged though hands-on avian research that fosters an appreciation of nature and creates a stewardship ethic for National Forests. Their tasks range from bird banding and species identification to analyzing the data they collected. The project will also collaborate with local high school teachers who conduct focused research projects by assisting them in developing research goals, field study design, data collection, and data management. Students benefit as teachers take those skills back to the classroom and incorporate science into their teaching.
Monitoring American Pika Response to Climate Change in Colorado
American pika eating clover (USFS photo by Mark Penninger).
Location: White River National Forest, Colorado
Partner Project Lead: Megan Mueller, Senior Conservation Biologist, Rocky Mountain Wild
Forest Service Project Lead: Jennifer Prusse, Eagle-Holy Cross District Wildlife Biologist, White River National Forest
Funding Award: $9,945
The Forest Service, along with, Rocky Mountain Wild, the Denver Zoo, and the local community, will continue working together to determine the status of the American pika (Ochotona princeps) on the White River National Forest. Citizen science provides the opportunity for large-scale monitoring that White River National Forest staff couldn’t do on their own.
The American pika is a small, charismatic mammal native to western North America. A smaller relative of rabbits, pikas are sensitive to climate-driven temperature variation, snowpack, and vegetation composition. It is a focal species in the White River National Forest land management plan, and studying these focal species gives land managers a deeper understanding of the health of a species’ habitat. In this case, the pika is an indicator of the health and integrity of their alpine ecosystem habitat. Recent research predicts that pikas may be extirpated from nearby Rocky Mountain National Park during this century under some climate change scenarios.
In 2018, volunteers accompanied staff to ground-truth and establish plots and conduct surveys. In 2019/2020, volunteers will hike to and survey plots independently (with a partner for safety), and have the option of conducting opportunistic surveys such as pika observations made while engaged in trail construction, outdoor education or other activities. This will provide volunteer opportunities for individuals with limited time or hiking ability. A volunteer advisory group that is open to all volunteers will participate further based on their interests, such as with data analysis and assisting with trainings.
Mountain Birdwatch: Monitoring the Distribution & Abundance of Montane Birds in Northern New England and New York
Mountain Birdwatch provides the only region-wide source of population information for 10 high-elevation breeding bird species, including the Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata). (Photo by Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Location: White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
Partner Project Lead: Jason Hill, Conservation Biologist, Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Forest Service Project Lead: Leighlan Prout, Wildlife Program Leader, White Mountain National Forest
Funding Award: $9,900
Since 2000, citizen scientists of the Mountain Birdwatch monitoring project have been recording songbird populations throughout the spruce-fir forests of New York and New England. Every June, the volunteers conduct repeated point counts at around 750 sampling stations located along hiking trails between 600 and 1300 m.
Almost 40% of these stations are located on Forest Service managed lands, including 232 sampling stations in the White Mountain National Forest. Mountain Birdwatch data are available online and shared with the Forest Service and other researchers each year. The citizen science program directly informs the primary information gap identified for Bicknell’s Thrush (a Regional Forester Sensitive Species) in the White Mountain National forest management plan, by providing abundance estimates across the forest.
Forest Service biologists are able to use the data to identify which montane bird species are declining (and where), where management actions would likely benefit the greatest diversity of montane avian species, and the areas of greatest density for each montane bird species.
Volunteers gain an in-depth knowledge of montane ecology, and the challenges and intricacies of conducting wildlife surveys. Mountain Birdwatch staff translate peer-reviewed publications into easy-to-understand formats with in-depth interpretations in their newsletter. First-time volunteers often want to accompany a more experienced observer before conducting their first survey, and in 2019, interns will be available to support new volunteers. Citizen scientists will be invited to share their ideas for improvement, including to help shape research questions, improve the protocol and have input on the suite of species that the project monitors.
Survey of Rural Appalachian Cemetery Landscapes in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest (USFS photo).
Location: Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia
Partner Project Lead: Danielle Ellis, Heritage Associate, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area
Forest Service Project Lead: J. Gavin Hale, Heritage Program Manager and Tribal Liaison, Monongahela National Forest
Funding Award: $8,850
Monongahela National Forest cemeteries are relatively unexplored regarding their cultural and archaeological research potential. With the help of local volunteers, this project will continue an inventory of cemeteries in Pocahontas and Greenbrier Counties to answer more detailed questions about pioneers, colonial settlement, and cemetery data collection techniques.
Per an ongoing request to provide better public access to cemeteries on Forest Service property from the Pendleton County Historical Society, the project will also document the presence of Forest Service roads near cemeteries and conduct road condition assessments to identify areas for access improvements.
County community members, including members of these local Historical Societies, are descendants of deceased individuals interred at the aforementioned cemeteries, and the members have a personally vested interest in the management and preservation of these cemeteries, and maintaining access to them. Local volunteers are the experts and have already spent countless hours documenting the region’s cemeteries independent of Forest staff. The data collected will contribute to more accurate and informed Forest management decisions regarding these historic cemeteries, and offers opportunities to engage with community members and organizations about their vested interests in cemeteries and cemetery landscapes to cultivate more positive relationships for future endeavors.
Youth Forest Monitoring Program
Students of the Youth Forest Monitoring Program monitor impacts of weeds in a meadow in Helena National Forest (USFS photo by Brandan W Schulze).
Location: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana
Partner Project Lead: Debbie Anderson, Executive Director, Montana Discovery Foundation
Forest Service Project Lead: Liz Burke, Conservation Educator, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Funding Award: $10,000
The Youth Forest Monitoring Program (YFMP) is a 7-week citizen science summer program for high school students. Over the last 20 years, YFMP students have collected key data from permanent monitoring sites on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Students are trained by Forest Service scientists and assisted by field instructors.
The high schoolers analyze their data and use this information to make recommendations used by forest managers. Students present their findings and management recommendations at the end of the program to an audience of forest scientists, county commissioners, and the public. YFMP students make a real difference across the forest and have contributed to known baseline data for the forest plan revision process.
In 2019, YFMP will revisit study sites within the Stonewall Timber Management Unit, an area impacted by the 2017 Park Fire. Students will collect critical information about how fire suppression efforts and long-term wildfires (the Park Fire lasted 7 weeks) impact tree succession and black-backed woodpecker habitat. Students will monitor 12 sites – half in the high intensity burn area and half in the lower intensity burn area and will evaluate impacts to tree species, noxious weeds, and wildlife presence.