Valuable Pollinator Data Comes From Working Together

Together with a team of ecologists and conservation scientists, entomologist Katy Prudic has big plans for butterflies: Enlisting hikers and nature enthusiasts as volunteers, she wants to collect much-needed field data about the biodiversity, ecology, and health of pollinators from remote backcountry locations.

By teaming with the Montana-based non-profit Adventure Scientists to engage a team of volunteer data collectors, Prudic and her collaborators hope to generate an impressive amount of new information. The resulting dataset will close large gaps in the current understanding of pollinators in remote areas, and will help inform conservation and management efforts. Currently focused on five western states – Washington, California, Montana, Utah and Arizona – the researchers hope to eventually cover many landscapes spanning North America.