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Hi USA-NPN,
This past month has been tumultuous and difficult for those who stand for science and care about the environment. Many of you have expressed concern about the funding situation at the USA-NPN, given the ongoing federal spending freezes, staff firings, and other changes being implemented by the current presidential administration. While the USA-NPN sits at the University of Arizona and we are employees of the University, our funding comes entirely from federal sources, including the National Science Foundation, US Geological Survey, and multiple agencies under the US Department of Agriculture. And so, while USA-NPN staff positions are not currently threatened, the long-term continuance of the program is vulnerable.
At the moment, we are in good shape; none of our grants have been frozen and we have not received any orders to stop work on any of our projects. We are carrying on with the work we do to enable the collection and use of phenology data and information products. As well, we are thinking carefully about how to improve efficiencies to guard against dips in funding support.
We will do everything in our power to keep Nature's Notebook running and continue to support our observers and partners in these uncertain times. Thank you for your continued efforts as Nature's Notebook observers and partners; this work would not be possible without you!
Sincerely,
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What's new at Nature's Notebook and USA-NPN
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Best wishes to Samantha Brewer | Last month, we bid farewell to Volunteer Engagement Coordinator Samantha Brewer. We are grateful to Samantha for bringing her passion for nature, her love of helping people, and her creative thinking to the USA-NPN for nearly three years. We credit Samantha with the vision of a more engaging, easier-to-use Nature's Notebook app, an app that is currently in development! We hope you will join us in wishing Samantha all the best in her future endeavors. | |
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Phenology Week! March 17-21 | |
March 17-21, 2025 is Phenology Week - a virtual celebration of the seasonal cycles of plants and animals. The purpose of Phenology Week is to celebrate YOU, our Nature's Notebook observers, Local Phenology Programs, and partners! We'll have webinars, awards, daily challenges, observer stories, and more.
We have a webinar scheduled for each day of Phenology Week, including our annual Plantside chat with USA-NPN Director Theresa Crimmins, a Q&A with researchers who have used your data in the past year, and a conversation with the researchers behind some of our Nature's Notebook campaigns.
Sign up for Phenology Week emails »
See what's on the schedule »
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The Nest: Monthly calls for observers | |
Join the Nature's Notebook Nest - bring your questions and observations and chat with USA-NPN staff, fellow observers, and Local Phenology Leaders! These are standing monthly meetings on the first Monday of the month at 12pm PT / 3pm ET. Mark your calendars, next Nest is March 3rd!
Sign up for reminders about the Nest »
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Recent happenings in the field of phenology | |
Are plant and animal species responding differently to climate change? | |
The advance in the timing of spring events is well documented in scientific research. However, changes have not been the same for all species and can even differ among populations of the same species in distinct locations. A team of researchers compiled an extensive dataset of phenology observations from the published literature and from phenology networks including USA-NPN. They estimated whether the average date that a life cycle stage occurs has shifted since 1980, assessed the extent to which those shifts were driven by changes in temperature or precipitation, and explored whether climate change was increasing the likelihood of phenological mismatches for species that occur in the same location.
The authors found that for plants, spring and summer events like leaf out, flowering, and fruiting are occurring earlier than they did 40 years ago, with later stages like flowering and fruit ripening advancing faster than earlier stages. Climate had much weaker effects on the timing of animal activity, which has implications for mismatches in the timing of plants and animals that rely on synchronization of their life cycle stages.
Read the Publication Summary »
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Snowmelt cues caribou migration | |
Lots of mystery surrounds the migration of majestic caribou from northern Canada to the Arctic tundra. New research suggests that snowmelt is an important cue for when to move. This information can help researchers understand the impact that changing snowpack and snowmelt may have on caribou movements and populations.
Learn more »
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Wisdom, age 74, rears another chick | |
Wisdom the albatross laid another egg this season on Midway Atoll NWR. At 74, she is the oldest known bird to lay an egg! Biologists at the refuge believe she has fledged as many as 30 chicks in her lifetime. Congratulations, Wisdom!
Learn more »
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Nature's Notebook Nuggets
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What should I record in winter? | |
In northern states, most plants will not need weekly observations in the middle of winter. However, if your species retains ripe fruit in the winter, you should still report on fruiting phenophases. In southern states, many species may have active flower buds or open flowers that will require normal weekly observations. Get familiar with the seasonal progression of phenophases for your species to predict what’s coming!
Learn more »
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More ways to get involved | |
How did the groundhog do this year? | |
Each year, USA-NPN staff eagerly await the spring prognostication from everyone's favorite rodent...so that we can stack up his prediction to what the science actually says! This year, Phil doesn't seem too far off for much of the country at the moment, though long-term forecasts show warmer weather is likely on the way.
More on Phil's prediction »
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Time for a start of year data check! | |
Winter is a great time to check your data to make sure you entered everything correctly in the prior year. If you use the Nature's Notebook app, check out the Review tab and make sure that you see a green bar at the top that says "User data are up to date." If you collect data on paper datasheets, now is a great time to get everything entered online.
You can also use our visualization tools to look over your data and make sure that nothing stands out as an obvious error:
- Check out the Visualize tab on your Observation Deck. You can customize your calendar to show multiple species and phenophases.
- Follow the link on the bottom right of your Observation Deck to Visualize My Data.
Need to fix something? Watch this video on how to edit your data.
Contact support@usanpn.org with any issues »
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Learning series for K-12 Educators | |
The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) and the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) are partnering to bring together climate researchers, K-12 educators, and climate literacy resources to build a community of leaders to collaborate in a webinar series in March and April.
Learn more about the series »
Register »
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Phenology at Sonoma Botanical Garden | |
In a recent article in KRCB Northern California Public Media, observers at the Sonoma Botanical Garden describe how they collect data on star magnolia, Magnolia stellata, at the Garden, and the value they see in their data collection.
Read the article »
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