SALT LAKE CITY — The Bureau of Land Management and American Conservation Experience have partnered to develop an electronic citizen science monitoring program for wilderness study areas in Utah.
The new iOS application WildSNAP is now available for download through Apple’s app store.
“BLM-Utah is incredibly excited about the potential for the WildSNAP app to engage a new generation citizens in the stewardship of public lands,” Aaron Curtis, branch chief for the BLM’s Outdoor and Heritage Resources, said in a statement.
“The WildSNAP app packages the traditional approach of using a stack of paper, pen, camera, resource guides, compass and maps into a single, cleanly packaged and user-friendly interface. This new app technology will make field data collection more useful and efficient,” Tim England, director of technology for the American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing environmental service opportunities for a volunteer force to help restore America’s public lands.
The app, which allows users to collect information about natural and cultural resources within nine study areas throughout the state, will be available to members of the public who complete the required online training. The initial public launch will be limited to iPads; it will be supported on iPhones in the near future.
Data collected through the app will be sent to the local BLM office, and once verified by BLM staff, it becomes part of the official file. The BLM will review the information to determine whether any responses are appropriate when issues are discovered.
Site-specific guides have been developed for nine study areas — Crack Canyon, Mexican Mountain, San Rafael Reef, Sids Mountain, Deep Creek Mountains, North Stansbury Mountains, Spring Creek Canyon, Wah Wah Mountains and White Rock Range. In total, BLM manages 86 wilderness study areas in Utah. Additional monitoring guides will be released on a rolling basis.
For more information, go to wildSNAP.org or contact Peter Woodruff, American Conservation Experience program manager, at pwoodruff@usaconservation.org, or Allison Ginn, BLM-Utah National Conservation Lands program lead, at aginn@blm.gov.