<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Hi: Can you please put this press release
out on your listserver? David Inouye is a board member of the USA-NPN,
and in a year, this group will be incorporating the tracking of phenological
cycles of some pollinators into the network. Many thanks -- Catherine</font>
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<br><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><b>News Release</b></font>
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<td width=20%><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">March 3, 2009 </font>
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<td width=40%><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Jake Weltzin </font>
<td width=25%><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">520-401-4932 </font>
<td width=33%><a href=mailto:weltzin@usgs.gov><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><u>weltzin@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
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<td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Abraham Miller-Rushing </font>
<td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">617-875-7847 </font>
<td><a href=mailto:abe@wildlife.org><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><u>abe@wildlife.org</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
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<td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Catherine Puckett </font>
<td><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">352-264-3532 </font>
<td><a href=mailto:cpuckett@usgs.gov><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><u>cpuckett@usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
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<br><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><b>Taking the Pulse of our Planet:
Volunteers Needed to Track Seasonal Signs of Climate Change</b></font>
<br>
<br><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><b>Hear Related Podcast, "Help
Us Keep an Eye on Climate Change," at </b></font><font size=5 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><b>http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/
</b></font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Volunteers across the nation are
being recruited to get outdoors and help track the effects of climate on
seasonal changes in plant and animal behavior.</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">The USA-National Phenology Network
(USA-NPN), a consortium of government, academic and citizen-scientists,
is launching a new national program built on volunteer observations of
flowering, fruiting and other seasonal events. Scientists and resource
managers will use these observations to track effects of climate change
on the Earth's life-support systems.</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">"This program is designed for
people interested in participating in climate change science, not just
reading about it," said USA-NPN Executive Director and U.S. Geological
Survey scientist Jake Weltzin. "We encourage everyone to visit the
</font><a href=http://www.usanpn.org/ target=_blank><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><u>USA
National Phenology Network Web site</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
and then go outside and observe the marvelous cycles of plant and animal
life."<br>
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Phenology is the study of the seasonal cycles of plant and animals, such
as plants sprouting, flowering and fruiting, and animals reproducing, migrating
and hibernating. Changes in these patterns, caused by climate change or
other factors, can significantly affect human economies and health. In
some areas, such changes have already imperiled species, such as in the
disappearance of some wildflowers from near Walden Pond, home of the famed
19th-century naturalist Henry David Thoreau.<br>
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The USA-NPN monitoring program harnesses the power of people and the Internet
to vastly increase the data available to scientists and the public alike,
Weltzin said. The program provides easy-to-use methods to track the life
cycles of nearly 200 species of plants, and will begin monitoring animals
next year.</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Mark D. Schwartz, a professor at
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and chair of the USA-NPN board of
directors, said monitoring changes in seasonal events across large areas
helps researchers forecast the effects of global climate change on plants,
animals, and ecosystems.</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Among other uses, data collected
by USA-NPN will help resource managers predict wildfires and pollen production,
detect and control invasive species, monitor droughts, and assess the vulnerability
of various plant and animal species to climate change.</font>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">The USA-NPN, based at The University
of Arizona in Tucson, is built upon partnerships among citizen scientists,
government agencies, nongovernment organizations, academic researchers,
educators and the public. The rapidly expanding network includes collaborations
among the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, The
University of Arizona, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Wildlife
Society. <u>Project BudBurst</u>, a major partner of the USA-NPN, is launching
its second season of plant phenology monitoring.</font>
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<td><a href=http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/03_02_2009_c2WJb44ay7_03_02_2009_0><img src=cid:_2_0EFD61D40EFD5C400054AC3B8525756F></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><br>
Arizona saguaro will be one of the species looked at by USA-NPN volunteers.
Photo by Bob Szaro, USGS</font>
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<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">USGS provides science for a changing
world. For more information, visit </font><a href=http://www.usgs.gov/><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><u>www.usgs.gov</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">.</font>
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