This argument often motivates the general pubic, he says, giving residents a better understanding of where they live while encouraging them to support local land protection efforts. “Once you appreciate what is on a piece of land and once you understand what’s there you are more likely to support protecting it.”

This conservation-minded approach to the bioblitz was put into practice in 2002 when the Field Museum hosted a 24-hour survey in the Calumet area south of downtown Chicago. “Our purpose was to expose the area to the public for what it is,” says Calumet bioblitz coordinator Mary Beth Prondzinski. “Show them that this area does exist and it has gems in it that need to be protected and enhanced. For us, it was about inspiring people to become more interested in stewarding the land and becoming more environmentally conscious.”

Before the event, she says, Calumet was little more than a forgotten brownfield, a former industrial area that included a variety of wetlands, prairie, and woodland ecosystems. The bioblitz brought renewed attention to Calumet; more than 2,200 species were recorded during the event, including a number of endangered and threatened varieties. Today Prondzinski says the area is recognized for its environmental value and is now being reclaimed.

In terms of pure science, a bioblitz serves as a jumping-off point, a snapshot survey offering managers a quick overview of the plants and animals living on their land. They’re often held in parks and other public areas that have never been closely studied, making new discoveries common, and can also lead to further collaboration and research down the road. The Potomac Gorge bioblitz, for example, connected scientists working in similar fields who didn’t previously know each other. “It was kind of a good springboard for future study,” says Flack, “since it got people interested in ideas that they might not have considered before. It was kind of like, ‘now that we know what’s here, we want to do more.’”

Dirty Work
So what can you expect from the bioblitz experience? It really depends on the event. At most bioblitzes, for example, participation is limited to professional researchers and scientists. Dedicated amateur naturalists and other interested parties can sometimes tag along with the pros to watch the collection, but they’re usually relegated to the observer’s role. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. After all, for most people the results are the most interesting part of the bioblitz experience. Yes, it’s fun to stay up all night and tramp around in the wilderness, but it can also be tiresome and repetitive work if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

“You can’t really do a professional bioblitz with non-trained people mixed in,” says Pruitt. “The actual bioblitz is a scientific undertaking and it wouldn’t really be interesting to the general public to sit there and leaf through their plant key to determine what kind of plant they’re looking at. It would just be too time consuming.”

That said, a good bioblitz should incorporate onlookers in other, less hands-on ways. Sharing and cataloging the findings is key, as is explaining what it all means at a post-blitz informational session. People are generally interested and, while they may not have a place in the field, outreach and education is one of the central goals of the bioblitz concept.

Ten years into it, organizers are beginning to push the boundaries. They’re now staging events in urban areas, focusing on specific types of plants and animals, and taking the mass survey idea out to new, unexplored areas. In Vermont, Pfeiffer and Co. have even considered bioblitzing the entire city of Montpelier, the state capital.

“I think it would be great,” adds Pruitt. “It would be a wonderful way to add to our knowledge and appreciation of Montpelier, and would give the residents a better understanding of the city where they live.”

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