Seeking ideas for Bioblitz report to property owners/managers

General
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I’m seeking ideas for or examples of reports that can be provided to the owner/manager of a property following a bioblitz. Our events typically produce 4000 observations of 1000 species and involve 15-20 observers. From the perspective of the property owner/manager, what would be valuable to them or appreciated by them? (Yes, that can vary depending on what the property is.)

An iNat Project is available, but I’m wanting to hand over more than just a URL in an email.

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Are there obs of

  • rare or unusual plants
  • something not seen THERE before
  • evidence of a returning population
  • who pollinates that flower

Something anecdote that brings a dry report to life.

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Perhaps asking prior to the BioBlitz what might be expected for a report. Are they looking for general groups of organisms or detail or both? Would they prefer a summary with some photos and be able to dig deeper by visiting the project page? It will also depend on how much time is available for putting together a report beyond what is already posted here.

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There’s always the project slideshow (and somewhere on the forum there’s A discussion of a couple of ways to do this.

Here’s the one for my project Blue, but you can just paste your project ID in to get your own version. It moves, has a few fun stats, and pretty pictures, so could be a nice informal summary for a bioblitz.

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/blue/stats_slideshow

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What I have seen in such situations is a simple text list in hard copy, ordered taxonomically with relevant headings, of the species seen, including at least scientific names, together with the total number of species and perhaps a breakdown of numbers in higher-level taxa (e.g. number of birds, bees, salamanders, etc.). The only problem with this is that there’s no easy way to generate such a list on iNaturalist as far as I know! The “lists” function and project display options seem quite limited. Would be nice to see them enhanced. (You can’t even sort the observation page taxonomically!)

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What is your relationship with the landowners? Did they invite you because they are interested in their wildlife, or were you grudgingly granted permission after you asked if you could hold a bioblitz? For the former, I’d give them the full taxonomic list, and a summary text and photos of the highlights, and very important to explain what the best habitats are and how to maintain them. For less interested owners, it is a matter of judgement. Should you give them an enthusiastic report in the hope of converting them to appreciate their wildlife? Or are they the sort of people/organisation who will use the information to destroy the wildlife so they don’t get pestered in the future by conservationists?

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One of the simplest things nature reserve managers can do is maintain or replant with flowers that serve as foraging sites for oligolectic bees. I have found that, in such cases, if the plant is present, even if there are only four plants, the bees will appear. If the plant is absent, those bees will not be there.

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One can export the observations to an Excel spreadsheet and remove duplicate rows (I just figured out the deduplication part after thinking about your post).

https://www.spreadsheethacker.com/post/mastering-data-deduplication-in-excel

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Definitely not this category. They’re always eager to have us be there. But sometimes it’s state property, private conservation area, or enthusiastic landowner. Each would benefit from a somewhat different report.

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That’s not what I call “easy.” :laughing:

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I wish there was an easy way to do this. With 1000+ species it’s a near impossible task without some kind of automation. I’d like the ability to query GBIF for new county records. I’m sure there’s a complicated way to do that, but beyond my skills (or patience).

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I think it would be great to begin the report with a list of just the rare or endangered species found, because that’s what people will likely be the most excited about having on their land. Maybe with photos or a few interesting facts about each included.

Then follow it with the full list of all species.

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a doc with top ten most observed species, top ten least observed species, and 3 or 5 notable observations (albinism, unique animal interactions, nice photos) then the full list

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Most property owners and managers don’t care about:

Etc.

They care about meaning. What do the results mean for their land, and for their operations? Things like:

  • Is biodiversity going up, or is biodiversity going down?
  • What’s happening with erosion, with soil cover, and with the health of the land? Is it getting better, or is it getting worse?
  • What’s happening with the type of land? Is it prairie that’s turning into forest?
  • What’s happening with fire risk? Is the land more likely to burn, or is the land less likely to burn?
  • What’s happening with water? Are wetlands growing and ephemeral streams running year-round? Is there more water on the land, or is there less water on the land?
  • Are there any species that pose threats to humans, to pets, or to livestock?
  • Are there invasive species that require management?
  • Are there threatened or endangered species that would interfere with development?
  • Where is all this stuff on the map of the property? (provide simple maps that explain everything)

You can use all the species you record to show meaning, as above.

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