Conservation committee plans wildlife outreach, Jasper Ridge tour and weighs citizen‑science tools

At its meeting the Conservation Committee discussed upcoming outreach and monitoring work, including a proposed tour from 'Jasper Rich,' options for citizen‑science tools to collect wildlife observations, and plans for a Jan. 25 Town Wildlife Awareness afternoon that committee members considered staffing with a table and petition materials.

Chair (S2) said the most important note for the wildlife corridors item was that "Jasper Rich told us that they would give us a tour and share with us their education, their initiatives, their corridor ideas." The Chair asked members for two or three dates and said a Doodle poll would be used to confirm availability; the visit would be limited to eight participants.

Committee members discussed mobile apps and platforms for recording birds, butterflies and plants. Chair (S2) said she met with a birder who demonstrated several apps and observed that "there isn't an app that I know of that would take the data I find about my backyard on birds...and put them into a repository" the committee could use directly. Multiple members mentioned Merlin and iNaturalist by name; one committee member noted that some residents may prefer different apps, and suggested a website front end as a faster way to let people submit observations than building a custom app with cross‑platform support.

A community member who identified himself as Chris Morris (S7) introduced himself as a guest and prospective committee applicant, saying he has lived in the area about 30 years and would like to help if appointed. Several members also reviewed outreach materials: the committee has conservation guideline booklets that could be used at an event, and S2 said she could prepare materials in advance if volunteers are available. Multiple members said they were not available on Jan. 25, so the committee concluded it likely could not staff the table unless more volunteers come forward.

The committee also discussed modest communications items such as a "Tip of the month" and progress on a trapping article that will include resident‑submitted photos. No formal policy action was taken at this meeting on these outreach items; next steps are to circulate scheduling Doodle polls, prepare materials as possible, and for interested residents to apply via the town website if they want to join the committee.