Spend a day in June or July counting butterflies with other enthusiasts! These annual participatory science events are completed at 450 locations throughout North America, including 7 locations in New Hampshire. Each count covers a 15-mile diameter circle that has been registered with the North American Butterfly Association. A coordinator organizes each count which requires a minimum number of people to participate, so we need you! There are numerous roles one could play to help during a count day, including: navigator to identified monitoring sites, providing identification expertise, photographing species for identification after the event, or recording the data for a group.
Contact a coordinator for the counts identified to make this a part of your summer. All butterfly enthusiasts are welcome, with or without prior experience!
in partnership with Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
Amy Highstrom, amy.highstrom@gmail.com
Heidi Holman, heidi.l.holman@wildlife.nh.gov
in partnership with Tin Mountain Conservation Center
Rick Van de Poll, rickvdp@gmail.com
in partnership with Harris Center for Conservation Education
Brett Thelen, thelen@harriscenter.org
in partnership with NH Audubon
Diane Deluca, ddeluca@nhaududon.org
Baker PondS
George DeWolf, bakerpondsbutterflies@gmail.com
Levi Burford, lbburford@plymouth.edu
Starting a Count Circle
The goal of the NH Butterfly Monitoring Network is to spread information about butterflies to people throughout the state and provide the skills needed for good data collection to inform conservation. An initial number of count circles have been established in recent years with the participation of conservation organizations in each region. To make each count successful, there is a designated coordinator that identifies locations for monitoring, acquires landowner permission to access the sites, creates maps for teams to locate the sites, and manages the data forms and submission after the event. The coordinator collaborates with organizations and people in the region to meet the minimum effort needed for a valid count and to provide a safe and welcoming event for everyone to enjoy. We recommend that you sign up to participate in an established count to observe the flow and attend a Volunteer Guide training (offered annually) to learn tips for best management before considering starting a new count.
If you’re interested in starting a count circle in New Hampshire, reach out to Heidi Holman at heidi.l.holman@wildlife.nh.gov