(Photo courtesy of CBN)
Discover Your Forest, Sunriver Nature Center and the Deschutes National Forest are sponsoring, BioBlitz, a one day event to count and name animal and plant species within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
On Saturday, May 23 scientists and trained volunteers will lead the BioBlitz with the assistance of citizen scientists from the public. The program will include experts in the fields of botany, ornithology and mammology and is intended to increase public awareness and appreciation of our diverse natural world and allow participants the opportunity to contribute to a scientific study to catalog the wide variety of plant and animal life living in the national monument.
The program will be held at Lava Lands Visitor Center, 58201 South Highway 97, Bend and is open to ages 10 and up. An adult must accompany participants under 18. School groups (10 – 16 yrs) must have one adult leader per every 10 students. A schedule of events is as follows:
• 7am – 10am: Mammals, Birds and Plants
• 11am – 1pm: Reptiles, Amphibians and Plants
• 6pm – 10pm: Mammals and Birds
Participants are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the survey. Survey sites include Benham Falls, Lava Butte, Lava Cast Forest and surrounding areas. Individuals should bring with them a backpack, good hiking shoes, hat, sunscreen, bag lunch, bug repellant, and binoculars.
To register or get more information, contact the Forest Service (541) 383‐4771 or email Karen Gentry, Discover Your Forest Conservation Education Director at kwgentry@fs.fed.us.
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