Calling all wildlife lovers!

The Blue Ridge Parkway is gearing up to launch an expanded study using remote wildlife cameras. Last year, our donors provided funding for 30 cameras. Over the next several years, park staff plan to set up cameras at sites along the entire 469-mile route to assess the distribution of wildlife and look at how human activities affect where the wildlife live and roam. 

You can volunteer to help! The park is looking for 30 to 40 volunteer “Citizen Scientists” in the Asheville area, between Linville Falls and Soco Gap, to get the project started by helping set out and monitor the wildlife cameras. The duties include getting outside three or four times a month and walking/hiking in the rugged terrain along the Blue Ridge Parkway. To reach the camera sites, some off trail travel will be required.  Volunteers will work in groups of two to three people to set out and monitor one or two cameras over the course of the summer. 

To get involved, contact  Wildlife Biologist Tom Davis at G_Tom_Davis@nps.gov or (540) 745-9663.

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