UW Biodiversity Institute Co-Hosts Wyoming BioBlitz in Bridger-Teton Forest June 26-28

Families, students and nature lovers will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about plants and wildlife -- and help scientists survey them -- during the Wyoming BioBlitz.

The annual event -- hosted by the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute and Audubon Rockies -- will take place in the Bridger-Teton National Forest Friday-Sunday, June 26-28. Event sponsors are the Rocky Mountain Herbarium and Wyoming Natural Diversity Database at UW, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

Registration is now open and closes Monday, June 8. To register, go to the Audubon Rockies webpage at www.audubon.org/rockies/get-involved/wyoming-bioblitz. Cost is $25 per person for those who provide all of their own meals. The cost is $50 for participants who would like one catered breakfast and one catered dinner.

During the Wyoming BioBlitz, community participants, in collaboration with expert scientists, survey an area and document all plants and animals found over the course of a weekend. Last year’s event took place at Seminoe State Park near Sinclair.

“We had around 100 people last year. BioBlitzes feature a team of taxonomic experts and community volunteers to document every living organism in an area during a set timeframe -- in our case, one weekend,” says Mason Lee, senior project coordinator of the Biodiversity Institute. “They are a great way to inventory biodiversity in an area.”

The New Fork Lake group campground, located 24 miles north of Pinedale, will be used for the event’s registration and camping site. To view the site map, go here. For campground information, go to www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/231913.

For more information, email Lee at mlee37@uwyo.edu.

About the Wyoming BioBlitz

Audubon Rockies hosted the first BioBlitz in 2008. The UW Biodiversity Institute joined as a partner in 2014 and has been involved ever since. The BioBlitz is a multiday event in which teams of scientists, teachers, volunteers, environmental educators and community members join forces to find, identify and learn about as many local plant, insect and animal species as possible in a limited timeframe.

About the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute

The UW Biodiversity Institute fosters conservation of biodiversity through scientific discovery, creative dissemination, education and public engagement. In this setting, scientists, citizens, students and educators come together to share a wealth of perspectives on the study and appreciation of biodiversity -- from microbes to poetry and ecosystems to economics. For more information, go to www.wyomingbiodiversity.org.