Montana Natural Heritage Program Wildlife TRACKER
Resource | Wildlife
I wanted to provide a link and encourage you all to take Tracker for a test-drive. Tracker is the most advanced web tool of its kind that we know of (anywhere!).
It provides direct access to the extensive MTNHP databases -- over half a million locational records for Montana species. Anyone can view statewide distributions for vertebrate animals, plant Species of Concern and selected invertebrates (aquatic data is coming too). Records are displayed at a grid-level for the general public; partner agencies have access to detailed data, and we're developing a new module with section-level queries/data aimed at conservation and land use planners, that we hope to release very soon.
Tracker also invites you to keep track of your own observations in full detail. We strongly encourage folks to contribute observations, as it strengthens the statewide databases for everyone. This feature has been a great success, with over 2,500 new observations submitted since Tracker was launched last July!
Here's the link for the newest version, now in a user-testing phase (feedback is welcome): http://mtnhp.org/Tracker2/NHTMap.aspx
Here is just one example of how it can be used: I've never seen a Lewis's woodpecker, so I'm wondering where I could find one around Helena.
- I click on Reports, then Generalized Observations, and select Lewis's woodpecker from the list of birds, then click the [display] button. The map shows me statewide observations. Looks like there's a good cluster around Helena.
- I use the zoom tool (left mouse button) to draw a rectangle around Helena and zoom in.
- On the "Charts & Data" bar below the map, I click "Details" then [Update Report]. I grab the bar and pull it up to show the list of individual sightings in the area shown on the map. Wow - it was reported on Sept 9, 2007 at AshGrove along Prickly Pear Creek -- that's where I walk my dog and birdwatch. It was right under my nose!
- Now I'm wondering about the (American) three-toed woodpecker, another one I want to see. So I choose that species from the list at left, click [display], and check out the listed observations. Holy cow -- there's a 2003 sighting from my own subdivision: in a Ponderosa Pine at 70 Hanging Tree Gulch in Clancy. It probably flew right over our house.
- Now, I'm fired up to enter all the birds I observe this year around in our house!
There are many other ways to search and use this powerful tool. Be sure and click "Map Layers" to familiarize yourself with the "Conservation Easements" as well as "Public Lands" and "Special Designations."
It's an elegant way to access this unique and powerful dataset that the Montana land trusts have worked with NHP to create and maintain. Take a look at the color airphotos and topographic layers too -- this is by far the fastest and easiest way to view those resources on the web.
Please tell others about Tracker, including colleagues, friends and landowners who are interested in wildlife (and maps) and who have observations to contribute.
Note: Tracker only works with a fast internet connection; trying it with a dial-up is a recipe for madness!
Happy Tracking!
Susan Crispin, Director
Montana Natural Heritage Program
PO Box 201800
1515 East Sixth Ave.
Helena, MT 59620-1800
phone: 406-444-3019
fax: 406 444-0581
scrispin@mt.gov
http://mtnhp.org/
