BY EILEEN PERSIKE
Editor
An innovative volunteer-based program to gather Wisconsin wildlife data is expanding to include Oneida County this spring. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began its Snapshot Wisconsin project in 2016 with nine counties and is adding Marinette, St. Croix and Oneida counties this spring.

“Snapshot Wisconsin came about as a result of a study that Gov. Walker initiated when he took office,” said DNR research scientist Susan Frett, with the Office of Applied Science. “Several of the recommendations focused on involving the public with wildlife management, increasing citizen involvement and creating better relations between the DNR and the state’s citizens.”

Snapshot Wisconsin
•552 Enrolled Volunteers
•650 Cameras
•9,426,900 Photos

Oneida County is divided into 150 survey blocks, and Frett said they would like to see one trail camera per survey block. Snapshot Wisconsin is seeking volunteers who have a minimum of 10 acres of land to install a trail camera, complete a training workshop and collect and submit photos every three months or so for a minimum of one year. All supplies are provided by the DNR. Nearly 10 million photos have already been submitted for classification.

“It’s a unique opportunity for families, groups and individuals to help monitor wildlife populations,” Frett said. “Volunteers participating in this project will collect crucial information that will be used to make wildlife management decisions across the state.”
Photos collected are placed on Zooniverse, a website where people everywhere can go to view and identify the animals present in the Snapshot Wisconsin photos.

There is more information online, including a link to the application to be a volunteer trail cam host at www.shapshotwisignup.org