City Nature Challenge 2020: Denver-Boulder Metro's Journal

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Boulder-Denver City Nature Challenge! Because this year's CNC was not framed as a competition, but instead a collaborative event that embraces the healing power of nature, we have decided acknowledge standout observations as well as some of our more active participants. Check it out below!

Best Backyard Wildlife Photo
Red Fox by lynaet: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43842881

Best Urban Wildlife Photo
American Beaver by carolinewise: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43459894

Best Wildlife Coexistence Photo
Canada Goose by jsalzman13: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43341206

Best Black-tailed Prairie Dog Photo:
by Lyn Simuns (lsimuns): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43251302

Rarest animal observation:
White Mule Deer by Ken Wat (ken47): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43716756

Rarest plant observation:
Bell's Twin Pod by Ann Cooper (wordswild): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/44202010

Best Bird photo:
Swainson's Hawk by msilver2: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43749968

Best Mammal Photo:
Red Fox kits by Gary B. (gbarka): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/44005230

Best Reptile photo:
Bullsnake by Hannah Floyd (cheetahfanatic_29): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/44049428

Best Amphibian photo:
Western Tiger Salamander by dearmyrah: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43554320

Best Insect photo:
Western Honey Bee by Suzanne Dingwell (suzanne11): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43800610

Best Plant photo:
Missouri Foxtail Cactus by nimbusshepherd: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43177705

A few of this year's City Nature Challenge Superstars:
Jared Shorma (blazeclaw)
Cody Limber (codylimber)
Tina Reimer (tlr06754)
Brian O. (Kleric42)
Willem Van Vliet (willem9)
(kellya)
(calba)

Congrats to you all! I (Melanie Hill) will be reaching out to each of you individually either through the iNaturalist messenger OR through email to let you know what your prize is and to ask for your mailing address. If you have any questions, please send me an email at melanie@wild.org.

Thanks to all for participating! We were so impressed with your observations and dedication. Remember that the data you submit to iNaturalist supports the essential work of our land and wildlife experts. Keep the observations going by submitting to year-round projects like the State Parks NatureFinder Project or Boulder County Wildlife Project. We need your eyes and expertise!

From your friends at:
The WILD Foundation, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Denver Audubon, Denver Botanic Gardens, The Nature Conservancy, Metro Denver Nature Alliance

Denver-Boulder citizen scientists, thank you for making the 2020 City Nature Challenge an absolute success!

The results are in, and as of the end of the day on May 3rd, we had:
5,847 total observations, 838 species observed, 443 observers, and 373 identifiers. Of those stats, 5,468 observations and 793 species were verifiable, and 2,960 observations and 423 species were listed as research grade. All thanks to YOU!

Throughout the globe, 41,165 observers from 244 cities collected 814,258 observations of 32,500+ species (including more than 1,300 rare/endangered/threatened species) during the four-day bioblitz!

Check out the infographic below to see some of the other global results, and stand by for more results and interesting finds from the Denver-Boulder challenge. We'll also be awarding prizes to some of our most active participants and for standout observations. More soon!

From your friends at:

Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Denver Audubon, Denver Botanic Gardens, Metro Denver Nature Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and WILD Foundation

Keep the observations coming, Denver-Boulder! We're so impressed with what we're seeing thus far. Thanks to you all for your hard work!

Today is the last day of the City Nature Challenge biobliltz. You have until 11:59pm today (4/27) to document your observations, and until May 3rd at 11:59pm to upload those observations to iNaturalist. Remember that any wild observations taken during the April 24-27 bioblitz within our Denver-Boulder boundary will count! Tomorrow we will move into the identification period- stay tuned as the observations will continue to roll in until the very end.

Visit www.wild.org/naturechallenge for more details about the Denver-Boulder challenge, and let us know if you have any questions. Stay close to home, practice safe social distancing...and have fun!

Today is the first day to get outside and start collecting observations for the City Nature Challenge! From now until April 27th, observations can be made within the Denver-Boulder metro area boundary to go towards our CNC totals. Although its not a competition this year, we still encourage everyone to collect as many photos as possible to help increase our biodiversity data for the metro area!

Although observations must be made by end of the day on April 27th, photos can be uploaded to iNaturalist until May 3rd as long as they were taken during the observation window. After the observation period begins the race to identify as many observations as possible to get the data collected to research grade. This means that at least 3 people confirm each observation as the correct species. Getting the data to research grade makes it useable for scientific and management purposes.

As a reminder, please follow local regulations pertaining to COVID-19 and practice safe social distancing when in outdoor spaces. We encourage people to get to know their own neighborhoods and back yards by staying close to home* instead of traveling to parks and open spaces.

*If you are concerned about revealing the location of a sensitive organism (or where your house is), you can hide the exact location from the public by changing the “geoprivacy” of the observation to “obscured.”

For ideas on how to get out there and participate please visit our website: wild.org/naturechallenge.

With the 2020 Denver-Boulder City Nature Challenge just weeks away, we wanted to give some updates on the current status of the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event from April 24th- May3rd is still taking place however, this year the City Nature Challenge will no longer be a competition between cities but rather a general initiative to get outside and observe nature. We want to embrace the healing power of nature and encourage the collaborative aspect of the CNC. This will allow people to safely document biodiversity in whatever way they can, even from the safety of their own homes if necessary. We urge all participants to carefully follow public health guidelines provided by your local governments, as they are changing in real-time. For more information, please visit our website: wild.org/naturechallenge

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will no longer be hosting or promoting any group activities. We encourage all individual participants to explore nature close to their homes*. If you have trails and open spaces in your neighborhood, that’s great! Please check the status of all parks and open spaces before visiting. Please be respectful of all people and wildlife nearby, follow all social distancing requirements, and abide by local land and facility closures. Please avoid overcrowded areas.

*If you are concerned about revealing the location of a sensitive organism (or where your house is), you can hide the exact location from the public by changing the “geoprivacy” of the observation to “obscured.”