Wildlife Monitoring Project at the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary

SUNY New Paltz senior, Gia Gunn, spent the spring semester interning with WVLT as part of her Geography Seminar Course. As part of their internship, Gia set up several game cameras in WVLT’s Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary to monitor and help us protect wildlife within the sanctuary.

Gia setting up a camera away from the public trails

Cameras were set up off trails to avoid capturing humans and domestic animals, and focus on the wildlife within the sanctuary. Her final report will be included in our land use management plan and help us better understand how to protect the habitat of the wildlife we host.

Five cameras were deployed over seven locations through the course of the semester. Two of the cameras had been moved to get a more well-rounded habitat analysis.

While Gia’s focus was to capture images of the non-bird species to add to the extensive bird list we already have for the sanctuary, birds were also captured on the cameras so their habitat was also reviewed.

Some of the highlights of her report include Coyote and Red Fox, two species caught on the same camera and not often found together since they do not usually den in the same area, indicating that one was likely passing through and not denning nearby. The sanctuary houses both Mink and Fishers as both were seen multiple times on the cameras and have slightly different habitat requirements with the Fisher preferring forests with high canopy cover and mink preferring to live near water.

Both off leash dogs and a domestic cat were observed on the game cameras, indicating we still have a lot to do to increase awareness on the native species and the hazards that domestic animals can cause to wildlife. Both dogs and cats can chase, injure, or kill native wildlife and their scent in off trail areas can disrupt natural behaviors.

Together we can help protect the wildlife within the sanctuary and provide an enjoyable human experience.

We need your support for the ongoing maintenance of the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary- keeping the trails open and safe costs money. Please consider making a donation today. 

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