Another Candid Camera Project Will Capture Mammals In SNP
By Larry Broadwell
Some years ago, PATC members volunteered to place and service "critter cameras" over a long stretch of the AT corridor. It captured wildlife along much of the trail in SNP and ranged north from there into Maryland. For months, they worked under the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) to gather photos of mammals on the "AT Transect" project. In concert with the US Forest Service and other government agencies, the Smithsonian produced a report on the various mammal species likely to be found along different parts of the trail.
As might have been expected, the project noted the presence of bears, weasels, foxes, and other predators in SNP, along with plenty of deer. Close to developed areas such as Harpers Ferry, squirrels and stray dogs tended to appear more often.
The Front Royal-based SCBI is doing it again between June and November this year, but the approach -- and likely the results -- will be different. As before, volunteer teams will be trained to set and service camera traps, and they will upload photos to SCBI for processing. (In one memorable sequence captured during the Transect, a black bear used a camera to scratch his rump.) Within their assigned sectors, teams will lock cameras onto trees near the AT, collect images, and move the cameras to different locations every two or three weeks.
This time, though, SCBI has both narrowed the territory under study and changed the tools volunteers will use. For the AT Transect, powerful scents were placed before the cameras. They were further equipped with a flash to capture anything moving and warm enough to trigger the camera's detector, day or night. The new project will use neither bait nor flash. Instead of reaching out to PATC and other organizations, SCBI advertised for volunteers only among existing volunteers at the National Zoo.
Through a family connection, at least two PATC members learned of the project and qualified at the eleventh hour. Along with other volunteers, they were scheduled for training in May. They will make initial camera placements in June and continue work into November.
SCBI's project coordinator noted that while recruitment for this year has closed, SCBI plans to run it again next year. As with all federally funded projects, plans are subject to last-minute review.
