When the snow flies and the temperatures drop, Brian Johnson starts counting the days, weeks and months until he can once again wander into the backcountry of Glacier National Park. From May until October, Johnson spends one or two nights a week camping in the park, gathering data for the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center and its Citizen Science Program.
This year, the National Park Service is again asking the public for help on gathering data on mountain goats, pikas, loons and invasive plants in Glacier. It is also offering daylong classes for those interested in learning more about the program and research methods. The Glacier National Park Conservancy sponsors the program.
“I just wanted to see Glacier Park, and since I’m retired, I wanted to volunteer for something I care about,” Johnson said. “Once I started, I fell in love with it and I think I get more out of it than (the park) does.”
The Citizen Science Program began in 2005 and is led by project coordinator Jami Belt. She said the June and July training dates are a perfect opportunity for people to come to the park and learn about how the data gathered is used to maintain a proper count of various species.
“Once the people are trained, they are official citizen scientists and they can go out and start collecting data,” she said. “It’s good for us to engage people and help educate the public about our resources.”
Six years ago, Johnson’s wife saw a story about the program. She saved the article, knowing her husband was looking for something to occupy his time in retirement. Soon after, Johnson was hiking the trails in Glacier Park. Citizen scientists hike to specific spots in the park where they spend an hour or more watching the landscape and counting animals. Johnson’s favorite is the mountain goat and he estimated that he’s seen more than 1,000. The data determines whether climate change has affected the goat’s population numbers.
Last year, Johnson hiked more than 300 miles in the park and he’s planning on doing even more this year.
“I’ve yet to have a bad trip, even if it rains for three days straight,” he said.
On June 18, 28 and July 3, the park service is hosting a high country science clinic, where people can learn how to observe mountain goat and pika behavior. People can also learn how to spot and identify five different invasive plants with an online training course, available at www.nps.gov/glac/naturescience/ccrlc-citizen-science_weeds.htm. The park service will also be holding its annual weed-pulling day on July 23.
For more information about the program, visit www.nps.gov/glac or call (406) 888-7986.