Community Science

Your observations can assist with research at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

NPS photo / R.WANG

Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument is calling on community scientists to help us document the plants, animals, and insects that can be found in the region. Regardless if you are a beginner or a master naturalist, everyone can participate and help the community learning more about the natural world and help conserve park biodiversity.

Please help us learn more about this ecosystem by participating in these programs:

• eBird is the best place to share your bird lists.
• iNaturalist can be used for all plants and animals and is great if you have photographs. This greatly helps park scientists and resource managers know about the specific timing and location of species of interest to the park. One of the most effective ways to use the iNaturalist app is to document the occurrence of invasive species so that park biologists can develop treatment plans to eradicate them before they have a large negative impact on the park's biodiversity.

These programs have easy to use apps that you can download on your phone and take with you to the field. Remember, there is no cellular service in most of the monument, so try to download everything you need before you arrive.

iNaturalist

1. Download the iNaturalist app on your smartphone, or visit the iNaturalist website on a computer.
2. Create an account.
3. Find Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in the search bar navigation and select "join" to add yourself to the group.
4. Start recording your observations from the monument by uploading a photo or sound. For assistance, see video tutorial on: How to Make an Observation on iNaturalist.

Didn't visit the park this season? You can still participate remotely by logging on and uploading past observations, or by helping identify the observations that other visitors have added.