Sometimes a “win” is the fight you don’t have to have. Instead of victories proclaimed from the steps of the courthouse, some wins are the quiet kind which involve not having to go back to court at all.
We evaluated the accuracy of data records generated by citizen scientist participants using iNaturalist in a coverboard sampling scheme, a common method to detect herpetofauna, involving 17 species of amphibians and reptiles. We trained and observed 10 volunteers working over an eight-month period at a study site in Sonoma County, California, USA. A total number of 1,169 observations were successfully uploaded to the iNaturalist database by volunteers including a new locality for Black Salamander. Volunteers were generally successful in collecting and uploading data for verification but had more difficulties detecting smaller, camouflaged salamanders and photographing quick-moving lizards. Errors associated with uploading smartphone data were reduced with volunteer experience.
https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/10.5334/cstp.131/
District launches an app to report sightings of Western pond turtles, other species.
https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/07/12/they-may-be-slow-but-theyre-not-easy-to-find
Manteca effort to retrieve California tiger salamander & western spadefoot toad will save taxpayers $1M plus.
https://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/local-news/city-collects-amphibians/
Close to one thousand Los Angeles Zoo bred mountain yellow-legged frogs and tadpoles (Rana muscosa) will be released into a tributary to Cooper Canyon, located in the Angeles National Forest. Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Los Angeles Zoo, and Forest Service will release the tadpoles Aug. 14 as efforts to save this federally endangered species enter their thirteenth year. This marks the second year tadpoles have been released into Angeles National Forest.
https://scvnews.com/2019/07/30/efforts-to-save-federally-endangered-frogs-tadpoles-continue/
