Our mission is to open up new ways for the public to participate in collecting data on animal populations—through the collection of photographs of animal footprints in the snow.

To bring this vision to life, we are building new research collaborations and supporting them with new research methods. We’re developing machine learning models to identify an animal from a photo of its footprints. We’re advancing biodiversity modeling to pinpoint locations where we need more data to understand the conservation status of animal populations. And we’re refining data collection methods to find ways to partner with the public in this work.

Data about the natural world is a foundation of nature restoration, wildlife protection, and science-based nature management—and we believe that there is room for everyone to be a part of this mission.