Diario del proyecto City Nature Challenge 2021: The Wasatch

Nature is all around us in Northern Utah – and we need your help photographing it from April 30-May 3, during The 2021 City Nature Challenge! This annual international effort encourages people to find and photograph their nearby plants and wildlife using iNaturalist. All observations are recorded in our local project, but also contribute to the global bioblitz, with over 350 participating cities. We call our "city" The Wasatch (a combination of Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, Utah, Wasatch, and Weber Counties), and we need your help to highlight Utah's nature on a global scale by finding as many wild plants and animals as you can within these 8 Utah counties.

2021 marks the 5th year Utah is taking part in the City Nature Challenge, and last year was our most successful turnout to-date (over 6,500 observations!), nearly double our record, and a 170% increase in nature observers - that's you! We're looking to break last year's record, but we can't do with without you! How will you take part this year? Will you revisit a walk you did in 2020? Record as much nature as you can in your yard or neighborhood? Will you hop on one of our many partner bioblitz events?

How to take part:
-take photos of the wild living things (or evidence of the wild living things) you find in Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, Wasatch, Weber and Utah counties from April 30-May 3
-Add them to iNaturalist, and they will automatically count towards CNC: The Wasatch
-Get the word out to your friends and family!
-Join the 2021 City Nature Challenge: The Wasatch project for updates.

Looking for a local event, ways to connect, or fun resources for educators, families, or anyone interested in this year's City Nature Challenge? Visit The Natural History Museum of Utah's CNC webpage for more info: https://nhmu.utah.edu/citizen-science/challenge

City Nature Challenge 2021 important dates:
-Make nature observations on iNaturalist: April 30 - May 3
-All remaining observations uploaded to iNaturalist and identified: May 4 - May 9
-International results announced: May 10
-More info on the 2021 CNC in Utah: https://nhmu.utah.edu/challenge

Interested in a little competition?
We're making this year's challenge a friendly competition between participating Utah counties (Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, Wasatch, Weber and Utah). Who can find the most nature? With your help, it could be your county!

We can't wait to see what you find this year!
-NHMU Citizen Science (@nhmucitsci) & The Wasatch organizing partners: Hutchings Museum, Jordan River Commission, Ogden Nature Center, Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City Library, Salt Lake County Library, Stokes Nature Center, Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, Thanksgiving Point, The Nature Conservancy in Utah, Tracy Aviary, TreeUtah, US Fish & Wildlife Service - Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Utah Society for Environmental Education, Utah Open Lands, Utah Valley University.

Spring has sprung at Ogden Nature Center and we are all eager to get outside and observe what’s going on in the natural world. Queue up the City Nature Challenge! With our trusty smart devices, field nets, and bug jars, we’ll be out exploring what lives here on our 152-acre nature preserve while collecting valuable data for scientists to analyze.

We are fortunate at the Ogden Nature Center to be smack-dab in the middle of it all: A unique environment where urban meets desert with wetlands along the Wasatch mountains. Step onto our Habitat Trail where you’re likely to hear songs from both residential and migratory birds. You might also notice turtles basking in the sun when you visit Teal Pond, and mule deer trotting the trails or bedding down in the fields. Flip over a log or a rock and the world becomes full of animals with exoskeletons and many pairs of legs. There’s always something to see out here, whether familiar or new.

The Ogden Nature Center invites you to our self-guided City Nature Challenge on Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1. It’s less than 10 days away! We’re also happy to lend you some naturalist equipment like nets and jars to help you investigate further. It’s the perfect time to get down in the dirt and scour the trees and trails for all living things that share this home with you. We hope to see you out on the trails and throughout the Wasatch!

Check out what these other participating City Nature Challenge partners along the Wasatch are doing: Natural History Museum of Utah, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Hutchings Museum & Institute, Jordan River Commission, Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City Library, Stokes Nature Center, Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, Thanksgiving Point, The Nature Conservancy in Utah, Tracy Aviary, Tree Utah, Utah Open Lands, Utah Society for Environmental Education, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Hogle Zoo

by Brent Johnson, Teacher Naturalist at Ogden Nature Center
Follow Brent at @bjohnson86

Tracy Aviary is excited to return for the 2021 City Nature Challenge! Why is the CNC so important to us? Well, urban biodiversity is all around Salt Lake City! The months of April-May are especially critical for birds: spring migration is underway. Bird species are moving through our city; whether it be short-distance migrants like Townsend's Solitaires or far-ranging Neotropical migrants like Lazuli Buntings. The Jordan River is an important corridor; more than 200 bird species have been documented along its banks and byways! With this thrilling diversity, there is much to learn about our avian neighbors. Join Tracy Aviary scientists for a Bioblitz at the Jordan River Nature Center! At this event, we'll teach you how to use the iNaturalist app, then you can roam the grounds to document plants and animals for this project. We can't wait to see you and spot some good birds together!

By Frances Ngo, Conservation Outreach Biologist

Follow Tracy Aviary @tracyaviaryconservation

Are you ready to get out of the house and explore nature?! If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that community matters. With the City Nature Challenge, we have always believed this, and continue to walk our talk all while getting folks outside and discovering the nature that is all around us. The Wasatch City Nature Challenge has over 20 partners who are all working together to get Utahns outside and loving this state we all call home.

If you are looking for guidance on how to get involved in this year's City Nature Challenge, we encourage you to turn to our partners. They are prepared with tips, nature kits, events, and more!

Thank you, Partners!

Hutchings Museum
Jordan River Commission
Natural History Museum of Utah
Ogden Nature Center
Red Butte Garden
Salt Lake City Library
Salt Lake County Library
Stokes Nature Center
Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter
Thanksgiving Point
The Nature Conservancy of Utah
Tracy Aviary
US Department of Agriculture
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Utah’s Hogle Zoo
Utah Society for Environmental Education
Utah Open Lands
Utah Valley University.

Multiple Utah organizations are hosting events (online and in person), to help you connect with the CNC this year:
-PRE-CNC EVENTS-
April 17, 1-4PM| Socially-distant event | Ask your iNaturalist questions during the Confluence Celebration | Hosted by Utah Museum of Fine Arts & the Natural History Museum of Utah
April 24, 9:30AM-12PM | Socially-distant event | Slate Canyon Earth Day event/Learn to Use iNaturalist | Hosted by Slate Canyon Naturalists & Utah Valley University
April 27, 12:00PM | Virtual Event | Neighborhood Nature: Spring in Utah! | Hosted by Natural History Museum of Utah

April 28, 12:00PM | Virtual Event | Live City Nature Challenge Q&A with NHMU | Hosted by Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter

-FRIDAY, APRIL 30-
April 30, 11-11:30AM, 1-1:30PM, 3-3:30PM | Socially-distant Bioblitz | Bioblitz with Tracey Aviary | Hosted by the Tracey Aviary (reservations required)
April 30, 9AM-4PM | Socially-distant Bioblitz | Self-Guided Bioblitz at Ogden Nature Center | Hosted by the Ogden Nature Center

-SATURDAY, MAY 1-
May 1, 12PM-4PM | CNC Kick-Off + Free Nature Kit | Bioblitz with Hutchings Museum | Hosted by Hutchings Museum Institute | Get your free Nature Kit while supplies last. Come Make your first observations with us!
May 1, 10AM-11AM | Free Nature Kits & Socially-distant Bioblitz | Nature By You Biobiltz| Hosted by the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge | Get your free NHMU Neighborhood Nature Kit while supplies last
May 1, 11-11:30AM, 1-1:30PM, 3-3:30PM | Socially-distant Bioblitz | Bioblitz with Tracey Aviary | Hosted by the Tracey Aviary (reservations required)
May 1, 9AM-4PM | Socially-distant Bioblitz | Self-Guided Bioblitz at Ogden Nature Center | Hosted by the Ogden Nature Center

-MULTI-DAY SELF-DIRECTED ACTIVITIES-
Looking for places to visit during the CNC? Here are some locations of interest to The Wasatch partner organizations.

April 30- May 3 | Self-directed Bioblitz | Explore the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve | Hosted by the Nature Conservancy in Utah
April 30- May 3 | Self-directed Bioblitz | NHMU Fife Wetland Bioblitz | Hosted by the Natural History Museum of Utah | Photograph any wild plants and animals you see during the City Nature Challenge
April 30- May 3 | Self-directed Bioblitz | City Nature Challenge in Slate Canyon | Hosted by Slate Canyon Naturalists & Utah Valley University | Open-ended invite to search the area and make iNaturalist observations on your own - observations will help make a baseline species list for the area.
April 30- May 3 | Self-directed Bioblitz | BioBlitz the River Trail | Hosted by Stokes Nature Center
April 30- May 3 | Free Resources | Nature bookmarks & bingo cards | Hosted by Salt Lake City Library

-CNC IDENTIFICATION EVENTS-
May 5, 5:30-7:30PM | Virtual Identification Party | RSVP | Hosted by Natural History Museum of Utah
May 6, 12-2PM | Virtual Identification Party | RSVP | Hosted by Natural History Museum of Utah

More information at: https://nhmu.utah.edu/citizen-science/challenge

Like many of our neighbors throughout the Wasatch Front, I am a recent transplant to this area. With a growing economy and excellent access to natural areas, Salt Lake City and Utah Valley are wonderful places to live. All the recent transplants to our area have enriched our region and contributed to the economic opportunities that we have. However, with any population boom there are many challenges that we must face as a community.

As humans move to an area, they often change the area to better suit their own needs. By building new neighborhoods, creating routes to get to places, and changing the biology around them, we all have a large impact on our local ecology. One of the more dramatic ways people change an area is to bring with them plants to decorate yards and to eat. Often these plants are not found naturally in our area and have been cultivated in yards and gardens for generations. Even the most dedicated gardener will know that these plants often don’t want to stay where they are planted. This is one of the ways that non-native plants have spread into natural areas and come to dominate our landscapes.
I moved here a little less than a year ago. I was brought on as a new faculty member in the Biology Department at Utah Valley University to teach botany. Moving across the country, preparing to teach new courses, and setting up a research program is never a small task. Throw in a pandemic and it was a difficult time. My research involves non-native plants and how they can escape and become invasive. To do my research I need to find these invasive species and track where they came from. I also try to get a sense of how long it has been since they escaped and how the population has changed since an initial observation.

When I arrived to Utah I turned to iNaturalist and its group of citizen scientists to track down populations of plants to study. After unpacking, the first search I did was to find populations of the non-native watercress in our area. This made it easy for me to track down plants to study and start my research program. Currently I am growing around 100 plants in the greenhouse at UVU to get a better idea of how watercress arrived into Utah and understand the success of its invasion of Utah Valley. Other researchers and I depend on good observations in iNaturalist to better understand the biotic world around us, particularly in these changing times. Observations like the ones that will be made during the CNC this coming week help guide my research questions and provide a base line and an opportunity to find non-native plants at the start of their invasions. Who knows maybe that “weird plant thing” found during the CNC will be an opportunity to control our next invasive species threat before it consumes our natural areas?

Michael C. Rotter, is an assistant professor of biology at Utah Valley University. You can follow him on iNaturalist through is handle (michael329) and find out more about his research through his website: https://rotterplantecology.weebly.com/

Here at Stokes Nature Center in Cache Valley, it's our favorite time of the year! The world is greening, the greening things are flowering, and... THE BIRDS! The birds are returning! Time to lace up your shoes and get outdoors to see the season in action!

This year we're especially excited to have everyone get outside and explore the nature all around them. Live in the city? Perfect! Dandelions do, too! Live in the suburbs? Perfect! Box elder open season! Live in rural Utah? Double perfect! Our darker skies and open spaces make where we live great place to observe migrating birds relaxing from their northbound migration.

No matter where you live in Utah, you live in the perfect place to explore this great state we all call home. So get ready to get outdoors (the weather is looking AWESOME) and discover what makes spring by you the best time of the year! We'll see you out there this weekend for the City Nature Challenge!

Patrick Kelly
Stokes Nature Center

follow Patrick @patrickkelly907

Now is the time to get outside with the iNaturalist App and make some observations. Go on a nature walk during a break at work. Order some take out for dinner and enjoy it outside. Visit a nearby park with your friends and family. Whether you have 5 minutes or a couple hours, find some time to document the biodiversity in your neighborhood. Happy Bio-blitzing! Go Wasatch!