In the car

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources needs your help to ensure that Greater Prairie Chickens remain in Iowa. All you have to do is submit your sightings.

Greater Praire Chickens were once abundant in central and eastern United States; however, their numbers have dwindled since the 1800s.

Project organizers are looking for information about how prairie chickens are distributed in Southern Iowa regions, including Adair, Madison, Adams, Union, Clarke, Taylor, Ringgold, Decatur and Wayne Counties.

Now's the time to set up your American Kestrel nest box! This bird's population is experiencing long-term declines in North America, and existing data are insufficient for understanding the causes. The American Kestrel Partnership is an international research network designed to generate data, models, and conservation plans for kestrel habitat and populations at large spatial scales. The Partnership unites the data-generating capacity of citizen scientists with the data-analysis expertise of professional scientists by promoting research collaboration among citizen scientists, universities, government agencies, conservation organizations, schools, and businesses. The Partnership also fosters long-term conservation values and appreciation of science by engaging the public with hands-on research experiences.

Partner with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to monitor turkeys in the wild. The DEC seeks wildlife lovers in every county to help them observe and count young male and female turkeys (also known as Jakes and Jennies) in August 2012. This survey sheds light on the interaction between weather, environment and flock vitality. It also helps determine fall hunting potential.

Harsh winter conditions significantly affect young turkeys. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation seeks wildlife lovers in every county to help them observe and count young male and female turkeys (also known as Jakes and Jennies), from January 2012 through March 2012.

N.H. Fish and Game's winter wild turkey flock survey invites you to help record sightings of wild turkey flocks in New Hampshire from January to mid-March each year. This effort helps biologists assess the impact of winter weather on our turkey population!

Citizen scientist report their observations of roadkill (animals killed after collision with a vehicle) with an easy-to-use form. Roadkill data can be analyzed by observers and will be used to understand where roadkill occurs and the severity of the impact to wildlife species.

The Massachusetts Statewide Roadkill Database needs the public to document any roadkill observations in the state through an online mapping interface.

The project aims to minimize the impact of roads and traffic on rare and non-game wildlife, while improving highway safety, through cost-effective research, planning, and implementation of partnerships with citizens and communities of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Help contribute data and learn more about proactive efforts to protect wildlife in Massachusetts.

This project allows the public to document turtle roadkill observations in Massachusetts through an online mapping interface.

The project aims to minimize the impact of roads and traffic on rare and non-game wildlife, while improving highway safety, through cost-effective research, planning, and implementation of partnerships with citizens and communities of Massachusetts.

Help contribute data and learn more about proactive efforts to protect turtles and other wildlife in Massachusetts.

BeakGeek allows citizen scientists to share information about birds and bird sightings using freely available and simple social networking tools such as Twitter. BeakGeek adds value to the data created with these tools by providing map based visualizations and monitoring for terms such as "Rare Bird Alert".

Students’ Cloud Observations On-Line (S’COOL) is a citizen science project in which volunteers make and report cloud observations from sites of their choosing, such as a field trip, vacation, or even a backyard. The project aims to collect data on cloud type, height, cover, and related conditions from all over the world. Observations are sent to NASA for comparison to similar information obtained from satellite.

Many people take for granted how powerful clouds are in our atmosphere. It is clouds, in part, that affect the overall temperature and energy balance of the Earth. The more that scientists know about clouds, the more they will know about our Earth as a system. The S'COOL observations help validate satellite data and give a more complete picture of clouds in the atmosphere and their interactions with other parts of the integrated global Earth system. Citizens benefit from their participation in a real-world science experiment and from their access to a variety of background material. Educational materials for teachers are also available.

Related Material:
http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/Rover/

The RoadKill project is designed to involve students and teachers in scientific monitoring of an environmental parameter using telecommunications and to increase participant awareness of motor vehicle hazards with wildlife. Participants collect roadkill data in their community for analysis and compare their data to other areas participating in the project.

Roadkills vary depending on the population of the community, the amount of traffic, and the type of roads. Migratory patterns of animals and habitat of the local area will also affect the number of roadkills.

The purpose of Project Roadkill is to give students an awareness and understanding of the natural world around them. By participating in Project Roadkill, students and teachers will:
- understand the reciprocal effects between humans and wildlife
- predict which type of animal will be most and least killed by motor vehicles
- compare the relationship between geography and topography and the types and number of roadkill in different locales and states
- understand the habitats and ecological importance of small and large mammals, reptiles, and birds