BioBlitz in Yellowstone

Date: July 13, 2009
Contact: Al Nash, 307-344-2015
Contact: Stacy Vallie, 307-344-2015
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2009 09-054
Al Nash or Stacy Vallie (307) 344-2015

BioBlitz in Yellowstone National Park
A Modern Day Lewis and Clark Exploration

Join some of the area’s top researchers and scientists, including ichthyologists, ornithologists, mammalogists, entomologists, herpetologists and botanists, for the Yellowstone National Park BioBlitz - a 24-hour inventory of all living organisms -on August 28 and 29.

A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of scientists, community members and students find and identify as many local species as possible. The concept of a BioBlitz was first developed by Harvard biologist, E.O. Wilson, to catalog organisms around Walden Pond. Many states and other countries have now conducted similar events with one of the most publicized in New York’s Central Park where over 800 different species were documented. This will be the first in Yellowstone National Park.

The Yellowstone BioBlitz Committee is currently accepting applications from scientists interested in leading or joining a taxonomic specialty team on August 28 and 29. An application form is available at http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/getinvolved/outreach/bioblitz/yellowstone. You may contact kayhan.ostovar@rocky.edu with questions.

Applications are also being accepted from local citizen scientists, including middle and high school teachers, interested in learning more about the natural history in Yellowstone. If you are interested in working as a research assistant, you can apply using the above website. A limited number of spaces are available, so apply early. The deadline for citizen science applications is July 15.

The event will be open to the public on Saturday, August 29, in front of the Albright Visitor Center in Mammoth Hot Springs from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., for children, families and others interested in the project. Come visit with scientists in the "Discovery Field Lab" to learn more about the animals and plants that were discovered. Educational programs on Yellowstone’s natural history and specific survey techniques employed by the scientists will be available for families.

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