Funding Eyes on the Wild
Folks from around the Midwest have been reaching out to us for advice on setting up their own large-scale trail camera projects, and a common question is about funding. After all, the cameras are expensive to begin with! When you add in the steel security boxes, replacement batteries and SD cards, and staff time to install and maintain the camera grid and deal with the photos, costs go up even more. Where did Eyes on the Wild get the funding to establish the project?
Like a number of similar projects around Minnesota, funding for Eyes on the Wild comes from the state's Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENTRF). Per the State Legislature's website,
In 1988...Minnesota voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing the ENRTF - a constitutionally dedicated fund that originates from a combination of Minnesota State Lottery proceeds and investment income. The purpose of the ENRTF is to provide a long-term, consistent, and stable source of funding for activities that protect, conserve, preserve, and enhance Minnesota's "air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources" for the benefit of current citizens and future generations. Since 1991, the ENRTF has provided approximately $700 million to approximately 1,700 projects around the state.
Researchers, municipalities, non-profits and individuals from around the state are invited to submit proposals in a number of categories each year. These are reviewed by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota's resources (LCCMR). The LCCMR is currently comprised of 17 members: 5 Senators, 5 Representatives, 5 citizens appointed by the governor, 1 citizen appointed by the Senate, and 1 citizen appointed by the House. As a group, the commission decides on a subset of projects to invite to present publicly about their proposal. Based on those presentations, the commission recommends projects to the full legislature for funding. Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, the field station that runs the Eyes on the Wild project, has been fortunate to have many projects funded through this mechanisms over the last few decades: research on plants, animals, human impacts and more.
The funding for Eyes on the Wild - the cameras, staff time (including Dr. Meredith's research projects and contributions), and construction of the citizen science interface - is part of a larger ENTRF project investigating the recolonization of Cedar Creek by gray wolves. The overarching goal is to assess wolf impacts on wildlife, biodiversity, and natural resources, and to provide educational opportunities at the reserve. Images from the cameras provide invaluable insight into what animals live at the reserve, how they interact, where they spend their time over the course of the year, and how species abundances and distributions change as a result of the presence and absence of wolves.
This Thanksgiving, we're feeling thankful for the financial support we've received to pursue this ambitious project! And extra thankful as well to all of our volunteer classifiers who are helping us get through the hundreds of thousands of images generated by our grid. Keep up the great work!
Like a number of similar projects around Minnesota, funding for Eyes on the Wild comes from the state's Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENTRF). Per the State Legislature's website,
In 1988...Minnesota voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing the ENRTF - a constitutionally dedicated fund that originates from a combination of Minnesota State Lottery proceeds and investment income. The purpose of the ENRTF is to provide a long-term, consistent, and stable source of funding for activities that protect, conserve, preserve, and enhance Minnesota's "air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources" for the benefit of current citizens and future generations. Since 1991, the ENRTF has provided approximately $700 million to approximately 1,700 projects around the state.Researchers, municipalities, non-profits and individuals from around the state are invited to submit proposals in a number of categories each year. These are reviewed by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota's resources (LCCMR). The LCCMR is currently comprised of 17 members: 5 Senators, 5 Representatives, 5 citizens appointed by the governor, 1 citizen appointed by the Senate, and 1 citizen appointed by the House. As a group, the commission decides on a subset of projects to invite to present publicly about their proposal. Based on those presentations, the commission recommends projects to the full legislature for funding. Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, the field station that runs the Eyes on the Wild project, has been fortunate to have many projects funded through this mechanisms over the last few decades: research on plants, animals, human impacts and more.
The funding for Eyes on the Wild - the cameras, staff time (including Dr. Meredith's research projects and contributions), and construction of the citizen science interface - is part of a larger ENTRF project investigating the recolonization of Cedar Creek by gray wolves. The overarching goal is to assess wolf impacts on wildlife, biodiversity, and natural resources, and to provide educational opportunities at the reserve. Images from the cameras provide invaluable insight into what animals live at the reserve, how they interact, where they spend their time over the course of the year, and how species abundances and distributions change as a result of the presence and absence of wolves.
This Thanksgiving, we're feeling thankful for the financial support we've received to pursue this ambitious project! And extra thankful as well to all of our volunteer classifiers who are helping us get through the hundreds of thousands of images generated by our grid. Keep up the great work!
If you'd like to make a gift to support this type of research, conservation and education work, you are always welcome to become a member at Cedar Creek! Details are at z.umn.edu/cedarcreekmembership
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