Adventure Scientists 2019 Annual Report

2019 HIGHLIG H TS

By measuring tree circumference, volunteers for our project combating illegal logging ensure the tree is large enough to collect a small wood sample without damage. Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

WHAT WE DO Adventure Scientists equips scientists at the forefront of their fields with mission-critical data collected by a network of trained volunteers who operate at any scale from anywhere on Earth. This enables scientists to ask broader questions and access a scale not previously possible.

CO VER:

Ryan Barayuga gives a shout-out to science while on a Wild & Scenic River expedition in Utah.

PH OT O: AL EX H ARAU S

TRUST IN SCIENCE

In the US, public confidence that scientists act in the public interest has increased 14 percentage points since 2016–from 21% to 35%.

Compare this to trust in elected officials (4%) or the news media (9%) to act in the public interest. As citizens such as our volunteers learn more about a particular field of science, their trust in that field grows. *Source: Pew Research Center

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

TO OUR FRIENDS & FAMILY The noise can be exhausting, right?

Shouting-match politics and social media disinformation are drowning out the voices that can protect the lives of humans and other living things at a moment when it’s critical to listen.

Scientists can save us. We just need to be able to hear them.

At Adventure Scientists, we amplify our partner scientists’ impact by enabling them to ask bolder questions and break through the noise to share solutions. Too often, the greatest thinkers, at the cutting-edge of their fields, are hindered by a lack of mission-critical support. They struggle to gain the funding, data, and partnerships that otherwise could accelerate solutions and save millions of lives. We solve this problem by amplifying their voices, designing and building projects that ensure access to the impact partners and data they need.

We rely on our volunteers’ innate conviction that if we work together we can build a more just world for all

members of our species as well as the plants and animals with whom we share the planet. These volunteers dedicate considerable time and skills to our effort. They undergo training in scientific protocols to ensure they collect data to exacting standards and spend days or weeks pushing into the wilderness, often in brutal conditions, to get the samples and other data our scientific partners need.

Let’s raise our voices together to stand for science, innovation, and for the people who can lead us toward a hopeful future. Now, that sounds beautiful.

GREGG TREINISH Executive Director

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CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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EXPANDED SERVICES

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ACTIVE PROJECTS

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CURRENT PROJECT: TIMBER

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CURRENT PROJECT: WILDLIFE & CYCLING

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CURRENT PROJECT: POLLINATORS

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CURRENT PROJECT: SAGUARO

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CURRENT PROJECT: LIVING LAKES CANADA

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PAST PROJECTS

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PROJECT IMPACT UPDATE: PIKA

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PROJECT IMPACT UPDATE: PACIFIC MARTEN

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PROJECT IMPACT UPDATE: MICROPLASTICS

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DEI INITIATIVE

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SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

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DATA REQUESTS

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DATA USER SPOTLIGHTS

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PROJECT PREVIEW: WILD & SCENIC RIVER HEALTH

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BOARD AND ADVISORS

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MEET OUR TEAM

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FINANCIALS

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DONORS

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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Ultrarunners Craig Lloyd and Sarah McCloskey burn through the miles en route to check wolverine camera traps. Uinta Mountains, Utah.

P H OT O: G ARRET S MI T H

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

AN ARRAY OF SERVICES TO

ACCELERATE SCIENCE Our approach gets scientists field collection support where, when, and how they need it most. We offer services that let scientists focus on the science while we eliminate the barriers between them and the impact they’re working to achieve.

Project Design and Feasibility engages data end-users who will utilize the data to create change, determines the appropriate scale of data collection, and spells out the logistics required for execution.

Volunteer Recruiting and Screening allows our scientific partners to access our volunteer network at any scale, anywhere.

Project Build includes creating customized online volunteer trainings, configuring data collection apps, sourcing technology and equipment, and securing relationships with relevant labs and permitting agencies.

Project Management ensures that our scientific partners get the data they need. Our project management team ensures that each and every volunteer is set up for success.

If you are, or know of, a scientist who needs field data for data-limited science critical to environmental and human health, we invite you to reach out. It’s our mission to help.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

PUBLIC ACCESS TO SCIENCE

More than half of Americans say they trust data findings more if the study data is openly available to the public.

We open-source our data whenever doing so doesn’t pose a risk to vulnerable species or ecosystems. *Source: Pew Research Center

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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USING TREE CHEMISTRY TO

STOP TIMBER THEFT AND RESTORE FORESTS You’ve purchased illegal wood, even if you’ve tried not to.

by matching the data we collect to the illegal wood they seize.

As much as 30% of wood sold around the world is illegally logged. In Peru, 80% of trees cut down are illegally harvested; in Myanmar, the figure is 85%. The United States is by far the world’s largest importer of wood products.

Having successfully collected samples of bigleaf maple, we moved onto the next three species: coast redwood, the world’s tallest tree; western redcedar, one of the most ubiquitous trees in the lumber industry; and yellowcedar, a tree revered by First Nations peoples that is suffering due to illegal logging and climate change.

Illegal logging is profitable on American soil as well. A single oldgrowth cedar can sell for $20,000.

Forest rangers increasingly discover newly-cut stumps on public lands.

Homeowners have even found cherished trees hacked down in their backyards.

In 2018, we launched our Timber Tracking project to combat timber theft by establishing genetic and chemical databases of trees. The databases enable law enforcement officials to prosecute timber thieves

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The databases can also be used to respond to climate change. Our partners at Save the Redwoods are using samples we collected to identify genes that increase resilience in forests affected by climate change.

This project helps protect forests that are crucial to biodiversity and allow consumers to trust that the products they buy are supporting a sustainable future.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

ILLEGAL HARVEST Almost two-thirds of wood products sold at major US retailers are fraudulently or incorrectly labeled.* Look around you at all the products made of wood. The majority likely came from stolen trees.

* Wiedenhoeft, Alex. C. et. al. Fraud and misrepresentation in retail forest products exceeds U.S. forensic wood science capacity. PLOS One, Public Library of Science, 25 July 2019.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

PH O T O: L I E F ES T ES

Want to hit the trail to protect forests? To find out where you can volunteer, visit: ADVENTURESCIENTISTS.ORG/TIMBER

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SCIENTIST SPOTLIGHT:

RICH CRONN RES EARCH G E NE T I C IS T, U S FO RE S T S E RVIC E

By partnering with Adventure Scientists, the US Forest Service has been able to expand their tree forensics work to more species, not only to protect forests within the US but to create a model that can help combat illegal logging around the world.

“I have been doing this work for over two decades and I have never seen a dataset like this.”

“This is insanely cool,” declared US Forest Service research geneticist Rich Cronn.

“We really have compelling information that can help prosecutors succeed.”

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Tree samples from coast redwood help scientists protect the species from both illegal logging and climate change.

P H OT O: D AMON T I G H E

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Volunteer adventurer Claire Dibble built the frame of her kayak out of responsibly-sourced western redcedar.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:

CLAIRE DIBBLE Canadian writer and artist Claire Dibble paddled a handmade kayak 750 miles from the Columbia River’s source to sea, collecting western redcedar samples as part of her work on the project. “I became a treehugger, if I wasn’t officially one before,” Claire said. “I would seek out mature cedars, and then hug each one as I wrapped a tape measure around the trunk to record circumference. I also collected leaf, core, and cone samples. I hope to have more opportunities to contribute and not just consume.”

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CYCLING FOR

WILDLIFE AND HUMAN LIVES Motor vehicle accidents with wildlife injure up to 29,000 people and kill approximately 365 million animals in the US each year. Without large-scale data about wildlife crossing hotpots, highway and wildlife officials are struggling to put the brakes on these collisions.

Our headquarters in the state of Montana, with its iconic national parks and abundance of wildlife, has proven to be an ideal place to set the standard for collecting wildlife crossing data. Road cyclists detect wild animal sightings and roadkill better than people in cars since they

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see and smell more by traveling at slower speeds yet can still cover large distances.

This past fall, cyclists began recording sightings of both living and dead wildlife. Montana state wildlife and transportation officials will use the data to plan ways to reduce accidents through a variety of mitigation techniques.

The work can be scaled up to save lives in other wildlife hotspots. We’ve already launched a global effort that open-sources data cyclists collect anywhere on Earth.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

ROAD WARRIORS One million animals are killed each day on US roads. In just one day on our 2019 pilot ride, 27 teams observed 277 animals.

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT: SIMONS FOUNDATION

The Simons Foundation, dedicated to advancing the frontiers of mathematics and the basic sciences, has provided support for Adventure Scientists since 2016. “Adventure Scientists proves that science is truly for everyone–and that even outdoor athletes can play a role in the research process,” explains John Tracey, Simons Foundation Project Associate for Science. “We’re proud to support their efforts to demystify what it means to participate in science.”

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PH OT O : C O NOR O’BRIAN 24

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:

EMILY HAMMEL Emily Hammel (left) was leading a teen biking trip across the country in 2013 when their group was struck by a driver distracted by texting. One of her students, 18-year-old Merritt Levitan, was killed. At the time, Emily didn’t know if she could face biking again. Now she rides regularly for TextLess Live More, an awareness campaign about distracted driving created by Merritt’s friends and family.

Emily always looks for ways to make her cycle trips meaningful. As an Adventure Scientists volunteer, Emily and her friends Conor O’Brien and Matt Duncan rode up to the 10,000-foot-plus crest of Beartooth Highway near Red Lodge, MT. The trio made data collection part of a week-long bike tour on the anniversary of Merritt’s passing. “It felt like our journey had a bigger purpose,” Emily says. “We were not only getting to be outside in that beautiful environment, but supporting scientists and research committed to preserving that environment for all its users — bikers and wildlife included.”

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P H OT O: K Y LE M OON PHO T O : CONOR O’BRIAN 26

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

P H OT O : K Y LE M OON

Itching to ride? You can saddle up for any of a number of ride periods through 2022. Apply at: ADVENTURESCIENTISTS.ORG/ WILDLIFE-CONNECTIVITY

P H OT O: MAG G I C R OT T Y

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CLIMBING MOUNTAINS FOR

POLLINATORS AND BIODIVERSITY We expect climate change to create drastic, even catastrophic, shifts in natural ecosystems. The start of those shifts may be subtle and easy to miss. How will we recognize that climate change has begun changing ecosystems? A unique group of animals can offer valuable insight: pollinators. Butterflies, bees, moths, and other pollinators are sensitive to changes in temperature, in rain and snow, and in what plants are available.

Pollinator biodiversity is a window into the health of the ecosystem. Yet the majority of research on wild pollinators relies on data collected within two miles of a paved road. That leaves vast swaths of landscape a mystery.

Enter Adventure Scientists’ volunteers.

To uncover the pollinator biodiversity in remote ecosystems, Adventure Scientists broke out the butterfly nets and mobilized hikers and bikers to foray into high elevations around the West. Volunteers captured the insects, photographed them using smartphones, and

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uploaded that information to an app called iNaturalist, where artificial intelligence-driven algorithms identify species. These IDs are then verified by independent experts. Volunteers also recorded data about the host plants on which the butterflies rely.

Researchers are currently analyzing our data for changes in pollinator ranges and concentrations across the western United States. Early results indicate that many species are seeing dramatic declines in distribution and overall numbers since 2000.

Entomologist Katy Prudic and her team at the University of Arizona are using information on species declines to build an app that will show managers exactly where climate change is hitting pollinators hard. The app will help forest managers and other officials make on-the-ground decisions such as where to allow logging, where prescribed burns can help forest health, the need for native plant species restoration, or where invasive species removal is critical.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

IN NEED OF A LIFT Up to 40% of all pollinator species have declined globally in the face of climate change, habitat destruction, disease, and pesticides.

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BUTTERFLIES

SPECIES

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

ON THE WING Data collected by Adventure Scientists’ volunteers helps build maps that managers and citizens can use to predict butterfly species’ declines.

BUTTERFLY OBSERVATIONS

BY BIOLOGICAL FAMILY

Metalmarks (Riodinidae)

Other (Other Species)

Whites (Pieridae)

Skippers (Hesperiidae)

Blues (Lycaenidae)

Swallowtails/ Parnasssians (Papilionidae)

Brush-Foot (Nymphalidae)

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SCIENTIST SPOTLIGHT:

KATY PRUDIC AS S IS TAN T P RO F E S SO R , UNIVERS I T Y O F ARI Z O N A

Partnering with Adventure Scientists helped pollinator expert Katy Prudic obtain key data on butterfly diversity, ecology, and health across large swaths of wilderness. That data can be used to better protect species and ecosystems.

“Without the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm of citizen scientists across the western US, this wouldn’t be possible, certainly on this time scale.”

“It feels great to have an interactive way to identify problems”, she says, “and start to actively help natural resource managers make data-informed decisions about conserving butterflies and other pollinators.”

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

A frittilary butterfly takes a break on milkweed flowers.

P H OT O: BRYAN C OUNT S

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:

PATRICK THEOBALD Patrick Theobald and his wife Lindsay Renner are avid backpackers and have collected data on pollinators every year of the project, which has inspired them to showcase their passion at home: “We xeriscaped our front yard and planted native plants to encourage pollinators,” he says.

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Hidden waterfalls are an extra perk of hiking to collect water samples on a Wild and Scenic stretch of Oregon’s Willamette River.

PHOTO: ERIC D E B O R D

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT: ANTHONY LEE

“Our family invests in Adventure Scientists because our kids understand better than we do that science drives conservation.

They know that conservation will keep us out in the forests, on the mountains, and in rivers and oceans that we love so much.”

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SCOURING THE DESERT TO

PROTECT SAGUAROS A 200-year-old saguaro cactus has lived through a lot, but never the kind of climate change now gripping America’s desert Southwest. For thirty years, National Park Service scientists have been tracking how this iconic species is responding to an increasingly hot and dry climate.

Adventure Scientists contributed to the Service’s once-a-decade census

by recruiting and screening volunteers capable of accessing the most remote, difficult terrain in Saguaro National Park. Our volunteer adventurers trekked through prickly, steep rattlesnake country to reach distant stands of saguaros. Their efforts gave park managers a comprehensive saguaro inventory and data to better understand the health of the species in a changing world.

Compared to our typical volunteers, [Adventure Scientists’ volunteers] were excellent in the field, good on their feet, and very fast learners.

We got a tremendous amount of work done [in areas] that I had been reluctant to bring other groups to.

This group of volunteers did it easily.

DON SWANN - BIOLOGIST, SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

A saguaro census volunteer measures a baby saguaro cactus.

P HOTO: KEVEN S IE G E R T

Volunteers spread out to spot saguaros large and small.

P H OT O: K EVEN S IEGER T

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PARTNERING TO

PROTECT LAKES The Columbia River sends more water into the Pacific Ocean than any other river in the Americas. This water sustains the Pacific Northwest’s cities.

Population growth and climate change challenges managers who are trying to forecast water availability and quality across a vast watershed.

Living Lakes Canada oversees multiple efforts to understand water quality and availability in the Columbia River Basin. They partnered with us to scale up their data collection.

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In the summer and fall of 2019, Adventure Scientists recruited volunteers to bolster data collection on mountain lakes in British Columbia, which allowed the group to significantly increase their data collection efforts in the watershed under challenging conditions. Armed with this information, Living Lakes Canada is working with provincial government agencies, First Nations, water users, communities, and advocates to more effectively manage water resources throughout the Columbia Basin as we move into a water-scarce future.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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ACTIVE PROJECT 2011-2015

PIKAS IN PERIL From 2011 to 2015, more than 200 Adventure Scientists volunteers hiked and climbed to gather data on pikas, tiny rabbit relatives that live in cold, high places around the world and risk extinction as the planet warms. The work was part of a decades-long global research effort to help researchers understand how climate change is impacting alpine environments.

food and safe havens, to ensure that pikas and other species can weather a changing climate.

PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Adventure Scientists joined ecologist Dr. Erik Beever and dozens of coauthors in a paper published in Nature Climate Change in October 2019. The study shows that pika populations’ response to changing climate is more strongly influenced by the availability of resources they encounter than by the genetics of individuals.

This surprising finding means climate-adaptation management and conservation actions may find greater success by focusing on local conditions, such as availability of

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Smith, A.B., Beever, E.A., Kessler, A.E. et al. Alternatives to genetic affinity as a context for within-species response to climate. Nat. Clim. Chang. 9, 787–794 (2019).

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

ACTIVE PROJECT 2013-2014

TRACKING PACIFIC MARTENS PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Moriarty, K.B., Morozumi, C.N., Howell, B.L. et al. Status of Pacific Martens (Martes caurina) on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Northwest Science, Vol. 93, No. 2, 122–136 (2019).

Howell, B. et al. Interagency Pacific Marten (Martes caurina) Distribution Study On the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Final Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species (ISSSSP) Report for the Field Seasons of Jun 30–Oct 4, 2017, and May 1–Oct 31, 2018.

During the winters of 2013 and 2014, Adventure Scientists helped the US Forest Service study the Pacific marten, a species that had seemingly vanished from the deep forest of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Adventure Scientists’ volunteers monitored remote camera stations on the Olympic Peninsula to understand if martens had disappeared from the area.

As a result of our work together, USFS wildlife biologist Betsy Howell was able to secure funding for additional research. Those efforts have paid off.

Three martens were spotted, the first in 25 years, during 2015 and 2016, Howell and her colleagues reported in a September 2019 report in Northwest Science. Thirteen more sightings have added to the tally since then.

The data has helped fill major gaps in researchers’ understanding of coastal Pacific marten populations, how they may differ from inland populations, and how to better protect them.

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ACTIVE PROJECT 2015-2017

WANT TO GAUGE YOUR COMMUNITY’S MICROPLASTICS PROBLEM? FOLLOW OUR LEAD. They’re in beer, honey, and fish.

They’re in the most remote reaches of the oceans, the water you drink, and in you.

spearheaded a multi-year study of one of the tributaries of America’s largest watershed, the Missouri-Mississippi river system.

Microplastics are tiny, man-made plastic particles that shed from clothing, break down from larger plastics, or get washed down the drain from cosmetics and toiletries. They soak up and release toxic chemicals that may cause serious harm.

We have now open-sourced both the dataset and a toolkit so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can track microplastics in their own community.

Our volunteers amassed the largest known dataset of microplastics, from every continent and ocean on Earth. In the freshwater realm, we

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Since its 2018 release, our microplastics toolkit has been downloaded by more than 600 users, from university researchers in the Peruvian Andes to policymakers in Swaziland to middle schoolers in Australia.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Protocols include detailed instructions on how to collect water samples without introducing microplastics in the process.

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT: MIIR

The drinkware company MiiR, a certified B-Corp, gives away a portion of its annual revenue to sustainable methods of empowerment, including Adventure Scientists. “MiiR is incredibly proud to be working with Adventure Scientists,” says Charlie Clark, MiiR’s Director of Impact. “The model of empowering the public to use their own agency to drive positive change is what drew us to the organization, and the passion and commitment of the staff is what hooked us. Partnering with Adventure Scientists has allowed us to tell a meaningful, relevant story in our pursuit of using business for good.”

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Every one of the 69 water samples that Puget Soundkeeper Alliance volunteers collected in their study contained microplastics. Puget Sound, Washington.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

TOOLKIT USER SPOTLIGHT:

ANNA BACHMANN Anna Bachmann, Healthy Watershed Program Manager for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance says, “Puget Soundkeeper used the toolkit to learn from Adventure Scientists’ experience and see how our volunteer citizen-science program compares.”

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SCIENCE-INFORMED POLICY

60% of American adults believe scientists should take an active role in policy debates.

Governments, NGOs, and community leaders worldwide use our scientific data to inform policy decisions that have lasting impact. *Source: Pew Research Center

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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COMMITTING TO EQUITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL Advancing the needs of human and environmental health cannot be done without amplifying all voices needed for that work.

Adventure Scientists recognizes that the commitment to equity and justice is a critical part of our mission. We function at the intersection of two spheres—scientific research and outdoor adventure—that have long been rooted in oppression. Both historically and presently exclude Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), and others with marginalized identities from full participation. This oppression hobbles our work.

In 2019, we took steps toward meaningful, lasting, and systemic change.

Adventure Scientists created a committee with representatives from each of our teams dedicated to the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We solicited feedback from community groups focused on racial equity, as well as personal connections and colleagues who are members of marginalized groups and asked what potential barriers to inclusion they see in our hiring process, website, partnerships, and volunteer opportunities. We are using the feedback these individuals provided to strengthen our organization.

We started to forge connections with tribal entities on whose land our volunteers collect data. We’ve also begun the process of reaching out to affinity groups in the outdoor recreation sphere such as Latino Outdoors, Outdoor Afro, Earthtone OutsideMT, and others.

Adventure Scientists’ leadership is also expanding our board search process to recruit potential members who will bring diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives to the work.

We recognize that equity and justice work is challenging. Adventure Scientists is at the beginning of our journey as an organization and we look forward to doing our part to end systemic racism.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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RECENT SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Moriarty, Katie M., et al. “Status of Pacific Martens (Martes caurina) on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington.” Vol. 93, No. 2, Northwest Science, 25 Sept. 2019.

Smith, Adam B., et al. “Alternatives to Genetic Affinity as a Context for within-Species Response to Climate.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 23 Sept. 2019.

Rasmussen, Lisa M. “When Citizens Do Science: Stories from Labs, Garages, and Beyond.” Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, Vol. 9 No. 1, 2019, p. 1-4. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/nib.2019.0001.

Prudic, Kathleen L., et al. “Creating the Urban Farmer’s Almanac with Citizen Science Data.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 11 Sept. 2019.

Connolly, C.T., et al. “Watershed Slope as a Predictor of Fluvial Dissolved Organic Matter and Nitrate Concentrations across Geographical Space and Catchment Size in the Arctic.” Environmental Research Letters, IOP Publishing, 9 Oct. 2018.

Barrows, Abigail P.W., et al. “Marine Environment Microfiber Contamination: Global Patterns and the Diversity of Microparticle Origins.” Environmental Pollution, Elsevier, 26 Feb. 2018.

Barrows, Abigail P.W., et al. “A Watershed-Scale, Citizen Science Approach to Quantifying Microplastic Concentration in a Mixed LandUse River.” Water Research, Pergamon, 8 Oct. 2018.

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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DATA REQUESTS 8 4 R E QUE S T S F R O M 16 CO UN T R IE S

We open-source our data wherever doing so doesn’t compromise the safety of the resource, to extend the impact of our scientific research and put quality science in the hands of community leaders, policymakers, and citizens.

In 2019, we fielded data requests from: Austria, Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, USA

COUNTRY WITH DATA REQUEST

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

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“The dataset that I received [from Adventure Scientists] exceeded all my expectations.”

– JR VIADO

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Cr e

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R” Viado do “J har lde Hi

Artist rendering of microplastics suspended in water

DATA USER SPOTLIGHT:

HILDEHARDO “JR” VIADO Hildehardo “JR” Viardo, has lived a life defined by service–as a youth volunteer in his community, as a US Army officer, and in a career working to improve wastewater infrastructure around the world. Now, he is working to serve humanity by reducing microplastics.

At the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, he is developing a dataset of microplastics “hot zones” around the globe. “I

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believe the information is critical to the environmental health of our planet,” he says. Relying on others for data collection can be tricky — “I am always hesitant about receiving secondary data – my apprehension is based on the premise of whether or not the set will include all the information that is needed in order to perform a comprehensive analysis.”

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

JONATHAN CHAN At a student art show at the City University’s School of Creative Media in Hong Kong, Jonathan Chan’s “Look Through Plastic” proved one of most popular pieces in the exhibition. Chan had spent weeks collecting plastic straws from food carts in the city, embedding them in a map of the world from the 1960s—the era when plastic use soared. Chan then used our microplastics data to place each straw on the location of a water sample, with straw lengths representing differing microplastics concentrations. Through

Credit: Jonathan C han

DATA USER SPOTLIGHT:

each straw, viewers can see a video of a sunlit blue water behind. “Many people were standing in front, either looking through the straws or discussing the plastics issues in the world,” he says. “This work reminded them that microplastics are a big issue. It was a great opportunity to show that around the world we all have the same environmental problems.”

DATA USER SPOTLIGHT:

KELLY WRIGHT While taking a scuba diving class, Kelly Wright learned about connections between inland rivers, mountains, and cities and the health of the ocean. Now she works hard to protect those connections by leading her state’s chapter of the Inland Ocean Coalition, a nonprofit project that advocates for land-to-sea stewardship.

Wright leveraged our global microplastics

data to propose a single-use plastic bag ban to her local city council in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “I spoke of 50% of freshwater samples having evidence of microplastics, which also included glacial lakes,” she says. The council is currently deliberating the idea and Wright is hopeful that the data will have some real-world impact for her community, and through that, the global ocean’s health.

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PROJECT PREVIEW: GAINING THE FIRST FULL VIEW

WILD AND SCENIC RIVER HEALTH One in ten Americans gets their drinking water from the more than 13,000 miles of rivers in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

These rivers are home to diverse aquatic species, provide recreation opportunities, and carry the lifeblood of ecosystems.

Yet according to a 2018 assessment, 44% of those river miles have known water quality problems, and a further 38% lack any water quality data.

The report urged action, saying, “protection of our most special rivers does not end at designation.”

However, the sheer number of river miles and the fact that multiple agencies oversee these rivers creates a unique management challenge.

Fortunately, this is where Adventure Scientists thrives. We partnered with the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service in an unprecedented effort to

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collect water quality data across the Wild and Scenic system.

The project relies on kayakers, rafters, hikers, and other adventurers able to access the rivers. Our volunteers collect data on habitat, including aquatic vegetation and surrounding land use. They carry probes that can measure water’s dissolved oxygen content, pH, temperature and other factors that affect fish, amphibians, mammals, and the many other organisms that make the river their home. Partner labs analyze water samples for dissolved salts, other chemicals, and potential contaminants like heavy metals. State and federal agencies then use the data to inform how they manage these waterways.

The first volunteers will venture into the field in the summer of 2020.

Through 2023, Adventure Scientists’ volunteers will collect critical data to support the management of these most valuable waterways.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

ANATOMY OF RIVER SAMPLING One adventurer’s planned data collection expedition involves rafting 100 miles of the Wild & Scenic Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, measuring water quality in six places and returning with water samples.

MILE 100 - CACHE BAR

STODDARD BAR - MILE 90

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82% of designated Wild and Scenic Rivers have unassessed, unknown, or impaired water quality.

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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT:

STEVE CHESTERTON USF S N AT IONAL PROGRAM M A N AGER, W ILD A N D SCENIC RIVER S

To ensure consistent, high-quality data collected from across the 11,000-mile Wild and Scenic River system, US Forest Service national program manager Steve Chesterton partnered with Adventure Scientists.

“Accurate, up-to-date water quality data is critical to understanding conditions and informing management efforts to protect and enhance Wild and Scenic rivers.”

He says that partnerships with organizations like Adventure Scientists and volunteer engagement “are essential to implementing successful shared stewardship approaches and increasing river-related awareness across the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.”

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

To properly measure potential pollutants in the water, samples must be kept cold from the moment of collection until they are analyzed at the lab. Clark’s Fork River, Wyoming.

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BOARD AND ADVISORS

2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Page Dabney, Kate Wing, Heana Chung, Gregg Treinish, Jim Young, Mike Herring

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Jon Bowermaster, Christy Chin, Celine Cousteau, Alan Eustace, Sy Kaufman, Anthony Lee, Steve McCormick, Frazier Miller, Gib Myers, Bill Unger

SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Enric Sala, Dr. Lauren Oakes, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, Dr. Tim McDermott

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2019 HIGHLIGHTS

MEET THE TEAM

KATIE CHRISTIANSEN Associate Director of Project Creation

ANNE RUSSELL GREGORY Development Associate

“This year, we formed Adventure Scientists’ first Equity, Inclusion and Justice (EIJ) committee. We got to work doing what curious adventurers and scientists do best: collecting data. I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far, and am so excited that into the future, Adventure Scientists will be part of the movement for equity and inclusion in science and in the outdoors.”

JENÉLLE DOWLING Scientific Director

“Over ciders at our Missoula event, I chatted with volunteers about their experiences on our Wildlife Connectivity project.

This was my first time meeting any of our volunteers, putting faces to the names. They shared their stories, including the early snow that greeted Montana in October, and I was able to see how the adventure in their hearts drove them to be people who collect data for Adventure Scientists.”

JORDAN GARRETT Project Coordinator

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MERRILL HALLETT Associate Director of Development

MARCUS PEARSON Director of Project Creation

RICKY JONES

ANDREW HOWLEY

JESSIE KAY

Technology Manager

Director of Communications

Project Coordinator

KATYA KOEPSEL

AISLING FORCE

GREGG TREINISH

Project Assistant

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“Montana’s Shields River valley is one of my favorite places on Earth, for the jagged mountain peaks, winding river, and undulating grasses. Riding my bike through that valley put into perspective the sheer quantity of wild animals that also call it home and play a life-or-death game daily to move from the mountains to the river. Knowing that the information I collected could help make one of my favorite places safer for wildlife and people made me feel hopeful that we can create unstoppable momentum toward a change for the better.”

Project Creation Manager

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Executive Director

“I expected to be slightly grossed out by the roadkill on my Wildlife Connectivity cycling trips, and instead I found it fascinating. I uncovered my inner Sherlock, trying to unravel why a snake or a bird was struck by a car at that location. Now, on my regular rides, I find myself scanning the roadsides for these miniature CSI moments.”

MAX LITTLEFIELD

JESSICA SMOROWSKI

Project Coordinator

Administrative Manager

JENNIFER SHOEMAKER Director of Operations

“We held a field day for Bozeman-area pollinators volunteers in lush wildflower meadows, including a competition of “Butterfly Bingo.” I loved the experience of watching volunteers running through wildflowers, chasing butterflies and exclaiming when they caught and released a butterfly on the Bingo card.

The competition was fierce!”

MICHELLE TOSHACK Senior Manager of Volunteer Experience

MEET THE TEAM

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FINANCIALS Other Revenue 1% Grants 4% In-Kind Contributions 4% Sponsorships

10% 67%

Fee for Service

15%

INCOME Contributions and pledges

$938,059

Fee for Service

$212,895

Sponsorships

$135,816

In-Kind Contributions

$49,536

Grants

$49,000

Other Revenue Total

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$9,513 $1,394,819

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Contributions and Pledges

General and Administrative

10%

Fundraising

70%

20%

Program

EXPENSES Program

$841,614

Fundraising

$240,768

General and Administrative

$121,535

Total

$1,203,917

END OF YEAR SUMMARY Beginning 2019 Net Assets Change in N et Assets End 2019 Net Assets

$1,455,027 $190,902 $1,645,929

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DONORS $100,000+

$5,000 – $9,999

Simons Foundation

Butler Family Foundation

High Meadows Foundation

Croakies

William H. Donner Foundation

Eaglemere Foundation George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Foundation

$25,000 - $99,999

Google

Cornell Douglas Foundation

Heana Chung

Eustace-Kwan Charitable Fund

Kaufman Family Fund

Gib and Susan Myers

Lindblad Maritime Enterprises

John Clifford and Katrina Lake

Mike and Lisa Herring

MiiR

Magpi

Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz

Outdoor Prolink

Scott and Karen Amero Family Fund

PIKA

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

Page Dabney and Sheri Blackwood Vanguard Charitable: Drs. Hearee Chung

$10,000 – $24,999

and Clifford Keith Beck

Anthony and Jennifer Lee Family Fund

Houston Family Foundation

Ashoka

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Bill Unger

$1,000 – $4,999

CLIF Bar Family Foundation

Alpacka Raft

Epicurus Fund

Amatics CPA Group

HerRay Foundation

Berg Movers

Lindmor Fund

CLIF Bar and Company

Maria Vecchiotti

Denny Thorley

Nichols Family Fund

ESRI

Outdoor Research

Garry Weber

Patagonia

Grendel Burrell

Peak Design

Kate Wing and Doug Obegi

SeaVees

Marcie Rothman

Susan and George Matelich

Network for Good

The Dorothy Jordan Chadwick Fund

Nora and Chris Hohenlohe

Tomchin Family Foundation

Pam and Rich Scott

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Paskho

Thule Group

Peter Welles

Trish and Tim Preheim

Ronna and Alan Treinish

Urs Hölzle and Dr. Geeske Joel

Schmidt Marine Technology Partners

Whitney Metzger and Gregg Treinish

TechSoup

YETI

Terry and Sue Stiffler Tim and Jill Sherry

<$100

Wisetail

Alex, Mal, and Sloane Dabney AmazonSmile

$100 – $999

Amy Bowser

Anne Russell Gregory and Ben Scrimshaw

Andres Durstenfeld

Ari, Darren, and Lazer Leva

Andrew and Korena Howley

Benevity Community Impact Fund

Ashlyn Wedde

Brandy Hartley

D.A. Davidson

Bridger Brewing

Daniel Leavell

Jim and Carole Young

Ellen Whalen

Denali Venture Philanthropy

Hayley and John Gregory

Diana Bhaktul

Jaime Jacob

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

Jill Garrett

Elissa Brown and Graham Charles

Julian Dann

Eric Meer

Kassi Miller

Expedition Engineering

Laurel Harkness

Gail Ott and Rich Gregory

Laurie Schlueb

Greg Arnold

Leah and Nathaniel Shoaff

Hal Cohen

Letty Stupers

Jack Magullian

Mary Emily Bussey

James Walseth

Mary Margaret Jenkins

Jane and Gene Kay

Mary Pickall

Kaki and Kent Grubbs

Merrill and John Hallett

Katy Prudic and Jeff Oliver

Michael and Gina Freed

Leslie Taylor

Molly O’Connor

Lisa Ceremsak and Stace Lindsay

Montucky Cold Snacks

National Geographic Society

Nannette Goyer

Noa Bruhis

Nichole, Ryan, Daphne, and Brooks Meeks

Patterson Enterprises Inc

Porter Storey

Quixote Expeditions

Richard Sigman

Rochester Area Community Foundation

Steve Westhead

Jane and Robert Rutman

Susie Mathre

Shray Family Fund

Teton Middle School

Stephen Smoot

Tom Bosché

Sue Hjalmarsson

Wendy Rowe

Terri Luchsinger

Wendy Yun

The Douglass Foundation

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D E SI G N E D B Y T OW N S E N D C OL L E C T I V E

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