End of Day 4
WONR CNC 2024 Day 4 Totals
Here's the link to the larger, ecoregional umbrella project:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2024-cnc-northern-rocky-mountain-biodiversity-challenge-nrmbc
Check out the Facebook page for screenshots of the daily results:
https://www.facebook.com/wildonesnorthernrockies/
Preliminary results will be shared ASAP. Final results, after the coming week to finish uploading observations made between 4/26-29, will be announced on 5/6.
One thing is for sure: having a city employee spearhead the Moscow (Latah County) CNC, and a USFWS employee spearhead the Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai County) CNC has made a tremendous impact on participation in those 2 counties. The genie won't ever go back in the bottle. Both will be players in the future.
Not included in the WONR CNC, Spokane County also saw a significant rise in participation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-spokane-county-wa
Mini competitions between Pullman and Moscow, and Spokane and Coeur d'Alene will most certainly drive interest in pollinators.
And props to Moscow for becoming a Xerces Bee City to boot. I look forward to next year's Pollinator Summit where the importance of native bees is emphasized, and to hear about the great strides Moscow (and the county conservation district) has taken to support pollinators. (It's curious why some conservation districts don't include any mention of pollinators.)
If Missoula/Missoula County ever gets organized, there will be a transformational ecoregional change in interest in native plant/native insects. The recently concluded Montana Pollinator Research Summit should lay the foundation to make that happen.
Much was made of using iNaturalist, and engaging community participation. Much focus, too, was on bumble bees and moths (monarchs weren't even mentioned). I'll be making presentations on the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas, and on a possible North Idaho Moth Project. The plight of these species has been neglected.
