Wildlife Conservation Canada Project #21597

Restoring Fire, Wolves, and Elk in the Rockies

by Earthwatch Institute

Project Report | Oct 5, 2022
An Expedition Update From Earthwatch

By Heather Wilcox | Director of Annual Giving & Planned Giving

Thanks to the generosity of friends like you, Earthwatch continues to recover from the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty expeditions returned in 2022, and our dedicated scientists welcomed back 640 volunteers throughout the year. This is marked progress over last year, when just 260 volunteers participated on a handful of teams, but still far short of our pre-pandemic levels of 39 expeditions and over 2,100 volunteers. The road ahead to a full recovery is long, but with ongoing support from our global community of donors, volunteers, corporate partners, foundations, scientists, teachers, students, and concerned individuals, we are confident that Earthwatch will get there in the next few years.

Earthwatch takes great care to bring only beneficial, wanted impacts to the regions that host our conservation efforts. Out of great respect and concern for local indigenous communities, Dr. Cristina Eisenberg chose to postpone her research this year due to ongoing worries over potentially exposing high-risk Blackfoot First Nations members to the coronavirus as new groups of volunteers arrived every few weeks. We will work with Dr. Eisenberg to reevaluate the status of this project next spring. In the meantime, Earthwatch will continue to protect threatened North American wildlife and habitats as part of Earthwatch's seven other reopened research expeditions in the United States and Canada:

- Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge
- Climate Change in the Mackenzie Mountains
- The Mysteries of Native Bees in Utah
- Following Forest Owls in the Western U.S.
- Protecting Whooping Cranes and Coastal Habitats in Texas
- Climate Change: Sea to Trees in Acadia National Park
- Tracking Sharks and Rays in Florida

As the health of these precious ecosystems remains under threat from unsustainable resource management, development, pollution, and climate change, every year’s worth of data collected is vital to our complete understanding of the challenges at hand, and our ability to identify the most effective protection and remediation strategies. Although Earthwatch volunteers do contribute financially to the expeditions they participate on, the cost of scientific equipment, permits and licenses, group accommodations, and 24/7 support staff quickly exceeds what we can reasonably ask volunteers to contribute beyond their significant donations of time and labor. Earthwatch must raise over $500,000 annually in order to fully fund our year-round conservation efforts. This is why donors like YOU are so critical to Earthwatch’s success. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to protecting endangered wildlife and ecosystems around the world.

Gratefully,

Your Friends at Earthwatch

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Mar 9, 2022
Earthwatch Research Expeditions Return!

By Heather Wilcox | Director of Annual Giving & Planned Giving

Volunteers take measurements in old growth forest

Thanks to steadfast supporters like you, Earthwatch made significant progress in 2021 towards recovering from the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Last spring and summer, we were able to resume five U.S.-based research expeditions, and in the fall, we began welcoming back volunteers onto several expeditions overseas.

All returning expeditions feature modifications and new protocols to comply with the latest COVID safety guidance and standards established by trusted health and travel authorities such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. State Department, and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as our independent security advisor, On Call International. Additionally, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is now required for all Earthwatch volunteers and participants.

Nations in which we are conducting our conservation efforts continue to impose varying travel, quarantine and vaccination requirements that can be confusing, change suddenly with little notice, and are at times difficult to obey. Earthwatch’s enhanced safety requirements will give our volunteers the best opportunity to safely and easily enter and exit countries where our research is located, and as a result, have expanded the number of suspended programs that we can bring back. Despite ongoing policy and now many economic challenges, roughly 2/3rds of Earthwatch expeditions are actively recruiting volunteers for 2022 teams, and we are working diligently to have the remainder re-opened by the end of the year.

Regarding Restoring Fire, Wolves and Elk in the Rockies, Earthwatch takes great care to bring only beneficial, wanted impacts to the regions that host our conservation efforts. Out of great respect and concern for local indigenous communities, Dr. Eisenberg has chosen to postpone her research for one more year due to ongoing concerns over the potential for exposing Blackfoot First Nations members to the coronavirus as new groups of volunteers arrived every few weeks.

That said, recent contributions to Dr. Eisenberg’s research will still be used to protect threatened North American wildlife and habitats as part of Earthwatch's four other (and possibly more) re-opened research expeditions in the United States and Canada this year:

- Conserving Native Plants and Pollinators in Utah
- Climate Change: Sea to Trees in Acadia National Park
- Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula
- Following Forest Owls in the Western U.S.

Altogether, we have over 150 volunteers signed up to participate in these scientific studies so far, and we can’t wait to send you research updates at the end of the season.

We know that there are many worthy charities that you can support, and we are honored that you chose to invest in Earthwatch scientists and volunteers as they collect data and search for solutions to our most pressing environmental problems. Your support over the last two years has made all the difference for Earthwatch and more than 30 important conservation efforts around the world. We look forward to updating you on the impact of your gifts later this year, and with any luck, finally putting the pandemic behind us!

Stay well! We are almost there!

Gratefully,

Your Friends at Earthwatch

Rugged Pacific northwest landscape

Volunteers search for pollinators in Utah

A Flammulated owl is spotted in a tree cavity

Volunteers take measurements in a forest in Maine

The Milky Way rises in a starry nighttime sky

Links:

North American conservation expeditions returning in 2022

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Sep 7, 2021
Earthwatch Fiscal Year 2021 & COVID-19 Updates

By Heather Wilcox | Director of Annual Giving & Planned Giving

On September 30th, Earthwatch will finish its second fiscal year operating within the confines of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the ongoing restrictions and uncertainty, however, we continue to make slow but steady progress towards getting back to “normal.”

Our staff – many of whom were fully furloughed for most of 2020- are back to working full time. In May, we were thrilled to be able to resume four domestic expeditions, in Maine, Utah, California, and Washington, and starting this month, two projects in Andorra and Italy have re-opened, with several more international teams expected to join them by the end of the year. All of these expeditions are “COVID Ready”, which means that they feature modifications and new protocols to comply with COVID safety guidance and standards established by trusted health and travel authorities such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. State Department, and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as our independent security advisor, On Call International.

Earthwatch will also begin requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for participation on all expeditions beginning September 1st. This important safety measure will give our volunteers the best opportunity to enter countries where our research is located, and as a result, gives Earthwatch the ability to bring back the majority of our suspended expeditions. In 2022, we plan to have 32 projects returning across 21 countries.

We regret to inform you that Dr. Eisenberg’s study is not yet one of them. We are deeply grateful for the support that you have given to Restoring Fire, Wolves, and Elk in the Rockies, and will continue to work to resolve any remaining safety and logistical concerns in hopes of resuming this important conservation effort as soon as possible. Donors like you have helped Earthwatch to survive the worst of the pandemic, and we look forward to the day when we can announce that all expeditions have safely returned to help give endangered species and habitats the protection they deserve!

In the meantime, please visit our website to follow our re-opening progress, explore our other expeditions working to protect wildlife across North America, and learn more about our upcoming 50th anniversary celebration!

Sincerely,

Heather Wilcox
Director of Annual Giving & Planned Giving
978-450-1208
hwilcox@earthwatch.org

Links:

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