Wildlife Monitoring Programs

"After my first outing, I was thoroughly hooked!"
-- Christie Nold, School Programs Coordinator, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vt.

Inspiring and informing habitat protection

There’s no way around it. Conserving wildlife requires far more “boots on the ground” to find and record the evidence needed to protect important habitats.

Keeping Track® Monitoring Programs (KTMP) put those boots on the ground, training citizen volunteers and professionals alike to detect, identify, interpret and record the tracks and other signs of the animals that are critical to local ecological health. As a participant, you’ll also gain valuable skills in identifying habitat types and designing and monitoring study areas, enabling you to document:

  • The presence or absence of sensitive, endangered or other target species
  • Repeated uses of specific areas which could lead to the identification of critical habitat areas and/or travel corridors
  • Positive or negative changes in the status of animals inhabiting an area, and corresponding changes in habitat size and quality
  • The need for both immediate and long-term conservation planning.

Using this documentation, you and other members of your monitoring team will have the information needed to help prevent the destruction of important animal habitats, as well as to make sure your community gets the most from its limited conservation resources. Find out how Keeping Track monitoring teams work -- and then join or start one in your own community.

How Keeping Track Teams Work
Tracking and Conservation Resources