Snapshot Wisconsin

 A new set of SD cards has found its way into my rotation – along with another trail camera.  I am a Citizen Scientist.  Last weekend I deployed a Bushnell trail camera – courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as part of a larger statewide network of trail cameras to monitor wildlife year-round. 

Called Snapshot Wisconsin this project utilizes volunteers to help identify and count the animals recorded on these trail cameras. 

Crowdsourcing the data of where and when each photo was taken will hopefully lend further understanding of wildlife population distributions across Wisconsin and how these distributions change over time. Snapshot Wisconsin is a consistent mechanism to monitor all types of wildlife throughout the year.      






Snapshot Wisconsin is primarily funded through Pittman-Robertson dollars provided by the Federal government to Wisconsin DNR. Other funding is provided by a grant from the NASA Applied Science Program through the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Other partners include UW-Extension, Adler Planetarium, Zooniverse, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board. 

The cameras are manufactured specially for the project by Bushnell and the settings are pre-programmed to be uniform across all devices. 

I’ve got a one year commitment and with the grid coordinates and compass bearing logged-in the system the camera will remain in one location for the duration.  The photos are encrypted so they’re of no use to anybody if stolen and once the images are made available on my personal MySnapshot profile page only county-level location information is associated with them.  Any images of humans are automatically removed.  Once I decide to exit the program - the camera and equipment are returned to Wisconsin DNR.  


This is a new project for me and one that I’m looking forward to in retirement.  Stay-tuned for more when there is more and if you want to learn more about this initiative – including how to participate - check out this link: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/research/projects/snapshot/