Smile, You’re On Camera: Snapshot Wisconsin Wildlife Photo Project Catches Critters

Researchers across the world rely on curious citizen scientists to be their eyes and ears, collecting data that can help solve some of the biggest questions in science. Citizen scientists can be anyone from any background who wants to volunteer their time to helping the scientific community learn more about the world around us. 

At the Wisconsin DNR, we rely on these volunteers for a number of research projects, including Snapshot Wisconsin.

On this episode, we spoke with Christine Anhalt-Depies, Snapshot Wisconsin Project Coordinator, to learn more about the largest citizen science project we have here in the state. Listen in to learn more about how the data gained from the project is used to help manage wildlife throughout Wisconsin and how you can be a part of it.

Apply to host a trail camera: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Research/ApplyHostTrailCamera
Classify Snapshot Wisconsin photos: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/snapshot-wisconsin
Explore Snapshot Wisconsin for your classroom: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/research/projects/snapshot/intheclassroom.html

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TRANSCRIPT
SARAH HOYE: [00:00:00] From the Wisconsin DNR, this is Wild Wisconsin. Bringing you inside voices on Wisconsin's outdoors.

KATIE GRANT: [00:00:16] Welcome back to another episode of Wild Wisconsin, Off the Record. I'm your host, Katie Grant. Imagine a 10 point buck staring right at you. Or maybe a bobcat and her kittens casually strolling by. A romp of otters playing in the snow. A rare whooping crane stretching out its wings. These are just a few of the amazing moments caught on camera through the DNR Snapshot Wisconsin project. Snapshot Wisconsin is a citizen science program that gets the public involved to help monitor Wisconsin's wildlife. Volunteers host a network of trail cameras that take snapshots of wildlife as they pass by. Volunteers then work to classify the species from their trail cameras with a little help from the public.

The data helps the DNR understand where certain animal populations exist around the state and is used to make important wildlife management decisions. In this episode, we sit down with Christine Anhalt-Depies, DNR's Snapshot Wisconsin Project Coordinator, to talk about the impact of this groundbreaking project and how you can get involved.

All right. Hello Christine, welcome to the show. Uh, you've been here before, but why don't you go ahead and tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do here for the DNR. 

CHRISTINE ANHALT-DEPIES: [00:01:37] Yeah. Hi Katie. Thanks so much for having me again. I'm glad to be here. My name is Christine Anhalt-Depies. I am a Research Scientist uh, within the Office of Applied Science and I coordinate the Snapshot Wisconsin project. 

KATIE GRANT: [00:01:51] So, we're going to get into that a little bit more in a second, but April is Citizen Science month. It's the time where we get to celebrate the volunteers from really all walks of life who get involved in the research that we do by collecting data, analyzing results and really helping us solve some of the biggest mysteries in science. We have projects all over the DNR in many different fields where we utilize the help of everyday residents of Wisconsin. And Snapshot Wisconsin, as you mentioned is just one of those. Can you explain to us what Snapshot Wisconsin is, and kind of what its goal is?

CHRISTINE ANHALT-DEPIES: [00:02:27] So Snapshot Wisconsin is a volunteer-run statewide trail camera network for monitoring wildlife. Its goals are to prov