The SNAPSHOT USA project is a collaborative wildlife camera data collection effort to monitor biodiversity and wildlife populations across the United States. It is the only coordinated and standardized wildlife camera trap survey in the US with data from all 50 states, making it very valuable for conservation efforts nationwide.
In the five years since its inception, the project has recorded over 778,000 observations of wild mammals submitted by collaborators from over 150 different projects across all 50 states. The findings include 131 distinct mammal species and 225 bird species, and various reptiles; with the top five most common animals being white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), and coyote (Canis latrans).
CSDP contributed our camera data to this project as well, including the one and only observation of a Gila monster (Heloderma suspectrum) (On pg. 25!), photographed by our DEER camera, monitored by volunteers Terry Minks and Margie O’Hare, west of the Oracle Road wildlife bridge. As they are elusive and not often caught on camera, we are fortunate that this special reptile is now represented in this national scientific report.
The DEER camera is an extra special site in our wildlife monitoring program, currently a fleet of 62 cameras across 4 study areas that help us monitor wildlife movement and species diversity in wildlife linkages across Pima County. The DEER camera is our longest standing camera in all our project areas and was one of the original four cameras placed in 2012 when our wildlife camera monitoring project first began. Similar to the larger SNAPSHOT USA project, our project uses our collection of over 1,244,000 wildlife photos of more than 68 species (and growing!) to provide valuable data for our ongoing advocacy of the importance of wildlife crossings and protecting open spaces in Pima County.
We are also proud that CSDP’s data contributed to the training of SNAPSHOT USA’s Wildlife Insights AI model so that it now correctly recognizes javelina (Dicotyles tajacu). At first, the AI technology couldn’t tell the difference between javelinas and wild boars. (Remember friends – peccaries are not pigs!) It takes about 1,000 confirmed photos of each species to teach the AI model how to make an accurate ID. Our Desert Identifiers had done the work and schooled it soundly.
Thank you to our Desert Monitor and Desert Identifier volunteers for helping make this community science program possible. Without your support, we couldn’t maintain this fleet of wildlife cameras, nor could we process the thousands of images gathered by these cameras on our own. Your efforts and the data we collect together is so important – and we want to emphasize our appreciation for you. The impact you have on wildlife conservation is real and valuable, not just to us, but to the monitoring efforts of wildlife nationwide!