iNaturalist Citizen Science Project

“Dubois Invasive Species Watch”

In early 2020, working with our partners with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Lander Regional office), we prioritized the development of a new citizen-science led effort to help identify and record locations of invasive plant species in the larger Dubois area. Lots of Dubois-area residents and visitors have expressed desire to help our local bighorns and other wildlife in a tangible form, and we all agreed that prioritizing this citizen-science opportunity was a great fit!

Using the fun and user-friend app called “iNaturalist” we developed the Dubois Invasive Species Watch is a Citizen Science Project to help land managers identify the extent of invasive species in the area surrounding Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area and the larger Dubois area. Bighorn sheep are a community-wide iconic wildlife species that depends heavily on intact winter range and migration corridors. Rapidly responding to invasive species infestations will help maintain habitat for this and other wildlife species in the area.

Everyone can help! All you have to do is upload the iNaturalist app onto your devise, join the project (Dubois Invasive Species Watch), and while you’re out and about hiking, riding or exploring the beautiful landscapes around Dubois within the project area, keep your eyes out for some of the more common (and wildlife-challenging!) invasive species and make observations with your phone. The specific locations, photos and descriptions of the plants you see will be uploaded to the project site and used in real-time by habitat biologists.

We hosted a free zoom training for volunteers on May 28, 2020, and a link to this recorded video session can be viewed by clicking this link. You can also see the powerpoint itself (without video) by clicking this link: DuboisInvasiveSpeciesWatchTraining. Additionally, please check out this flier below for how YOU can help in this ongoing project to help our local wildlife: