Nobody knows a place like the people who live there. And nobody knows that fact better than Tracy Lee—a key player in developing the citizen-science based “Road Watch in the Pass” project. Road Watch, a program of the University of Calgary's Miistakis Institute, uses local knowledge and observation to collect data on where and what kinds of wildlife cross Highway 3 in the area of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.

Tracy first learned the value of local knowledge while working at the Jane Goodall Institute in the forests of Africa. In her four years there, she learned a “world of knowledge” about chimpanzees from African guides who had no formal wildlife or scientific training.

“I gained a real insight into the fact that this kind of local knowledge doesn't get documented,” she said. “There's a huge knowledge base out there that we as scientists haven't tapped into.” When she returned to Canada from Africa, she carried that insight with her, and got involved in some graduate work that coincided with the development of Road Watch. Dr. Michael Quinn, Miistakis research director, took a major role in designing the program of which Tracy is now project manager.

Road Watch participants come from every walk of life, and typically are long-time residents. Most report their sightings via an online mapping tool, while the remainder rely on e-mail or a phone-in hotline. About 70 people use the online tool, with six or seven individuals really driving the data collection.

“The regulars report in as part of their daily routine,” Tracy says, explaining that the most active participants are people who travel to and from work near dawn and dusk, when wildlife are most likely to be moving. Since the program's inception in November 2004, over 3,000 observations have been recorded. Most are reports of mule deer and bighorn sheep, but elk, moose, coyotes, black bears, wolves, mountain goats, cougars, and grizzly bears have also been spotted crossing the road.

One of the things that Tracy appreciates most about Road Watch—even though it sometimes presents a challenge—is the degree to which participants become engaged. Miistakis hosts Road Watch community meetings and events, to both seek and share input and information. Currently, participants who work in the mines over the provincial border in British Columbia are pushing to expand the program into BC, where they see lots of wildlife crossing that portion of Highway 3.

“It's definitely evolving,” says Tracy. “Because it's a relationship between Miistakis and the community, we don't always know where it's going to go. We're trying to foster an environment where we can learn from and engage with each other. That takes time.” It also produces valuable results. The whole point of Road Watch, Tracy says, is not to end up with a report that sits on a shelf, but to produce information that actually feeds into planning and decision making processes because the community is pushing the information forward. “They're the ones that have collected it, they know about it, and they feel confident in using it.”