Need another reason to go into the A-B Wilderness? How about helping collect data in the backcountry using GIS equipment? Volunteer for one of our “Citizen-Science” trips we have planned for this summer. You will join a small team, headed by a trained Wilderness Leader from the University of Montana’s Wilderness Institute. Together you will backpack into a remote area for five days and collect data on the level of user-impacts and the quality of the Wilderness experience at many of our backcountry sites in the A-B Wilderness.
This is the third summer the ABWF has partnered up with the Wilderness Institute to collect important data for the Custer Gallatin National Forest that helps them with management of the A-B. This year we are focusing our efforts on sites on the Gardiner District around Jardine.
Citizen-Science is a term that describes utilizing untrained, citizen-volunteers with a passion for their wild lands to assist trained scientists in collecting data on a whole host of scientific subjects. To date, we have used volunteers on projects reintroducing native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, studying the fragile glaciers in the high Beartooths, better understanding the extent of disease on threatened whitebark pines, and helping the Forest Service gather data about where in the A-B Wilderness the greatest user impacts are found. Dates have yet to be determined. Trips are 5-days in length and are led by experienced, trained Wilderness Leaders from the Wilderness Institute in Missoula. Group size is limited to 5-6 volunteers, so if you’re interested in this volunteer opportunity, sign up sooner than later. Sign up at the Wilderness Institute website. Dinners are provided. You provide your own breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, and all your own backpacking gear.