Citizen science projects highlighted in Condon

Rebecca Ramsey, Swan Valley Connections(SVC) executive director, welcomed 28 participants to their quarterly potluck and speaker series held at the Swan Valley Community Hall.

"It's beautiful to see everyone together," Ramsey said. "At SVC we love to bring people together to connect them to each other and to the landscape to inspire conservation."

The featured speaker on Nov. 1 was Emiline Kraus, a science and parks intern with Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC) in Glacier Park. She spoke about citizen science projects at Glacier National Park.

"We had over 200 volunteers in 2023 collecting data on populations of loons, mountain goats, pika, dragonflies and golden eagles," Kraus said. "Research shows that volunteers have a high level of effectiveness in collecting data."

Loon studies began in 2005 in Glacier Park. Glacier is home to 21 pairs of loons, 20% of the loons statewide. Volunteers visit 45 lakes in the park to measure population numbers, chicks born and chick survivability. In 2023, 11 chicks survived and successfully left their nests. That is an increase from the average of five chicks.

"Loons don't breed until they are seven years old," Kraus said. "The oldest loon on record was 35 years old. They are very sensitive to disturbance and are indicators of ecosystem health."

Mountain goats are also studied by citizen scientists for population numbers and locations. In addition to counts, there is a project for citizen scientists to collect and map goat feces locations to map their movement corridors.

The mountain goats at Glacier are largely adapted to people and are attracted by salts from people urinating in the woods, according to Doug Chadwick, an international mountain goat researcher in attendance. He said wild mountain goats only leave their cliff homes for salt.

Research shows a decline since 2008 in mountain goat population at Glacier. Possibilities are disease, lower winter survival and habitat changes, according to Kraus. Mountain goats are largely dependent upon lichens in the winter, which are affected by temperature changes.

Citizen scientists clamber over talus slopes in Glacier Park to find out where pikas are living. Pika presence is often made known by piles of grasses they collect and leave out on rocks to dry. Pikas tuck away these hay piles in burrows under the rocks for their winter feed. Pikas are cold climate specialists and temperatures above 77 degrees Fahrenheit can cause them to overheat and die.

Pika scat is also mapped and collected for researchers to determine how closely related the population of 1,800-3,600 pikas in the park are to each other.

For the first research project on nocturnal pollinators since 1922, citizen scientists help count moths. Some of the moths found were the knapweed root borer and leafy spurge moths.

Citizen scientists help collect and test dragonfly larvae for mercury to get a baseline level for Glacier Park. Dragonfly larvae are known to be mercury accumulators.

"Research shows us a snapshot of what's on the landscape," Kraus said.

Citizen scientists are trained in observation methods and protocols for their project. Some of the research is done in one hour increments, observing and counting, others cover longer time periods.

Citizen scientists can volunteer for a few projects or for VIP where they commit to performing 50 hours of volunteer time in a season at Glacier National Park. In return, they are rewarded with a sense of stewardship, a greater awareness of the park's resource issues, and an expanded insight in ecological research methods.

For the park, citizen science provides a wealth of baseline data that increases the understanding of priority wildlife and plant species. It also enables the park to address the growing list of research and monitoring needs in spite of personnel and funding constraints, the National Park Service website said.

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC) promotes science and stewardship within the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. The CCRLC is part of a national effort to increase scientific research and literacy in national parks.

For more information on citizen science in Glacier National Park check out https://www.nps.gov/rlc/crown/citizen-science.htm