Snapshot NY is a collaborative project between the NYSDEC, Cornell University, and volunteers from across NYS! Anyone can become a citizen scientist and be a part of Snapshot NY! Our project works on a grid-based system where volunteers can select the grid cell where they live to survey for wildlife using trail cameras.

Create a Snapshot NY account here, sign up for a grid cell and request a camera loan if you need one (limited availability). Download the app onto your smartphone to record important information about your trail camera deployment, and use the website account portal to submit images. Please refer to our protocols on the resources page for full instructions.

Do these things and you'll be on your way to being a part of wildlife research when you take Snapshot NY with you outdoors! 

Absolutely! Snapshot NY is interested in where people do not see wildlife too! If you spend time outdoors anywhere in New York State and have legal access to set up a trail cam on private land, then you can be a citizen scientist for Snapshot NY. Snapshot NY is for outdoor and nature enthusiasts who are interested in seeing what wildlife is in their area! You can also help by spreading the word to your friends, neighbors, and community members.

If you don’t have access to private lands - that’s okay! You can still participate by setting up a camera at your nearest state forest or wildlife management area. Indicate in your application that you want to place a camera on public lands, and a Snapshot NY team member will be in contact with more instructions.

This project is a collaboration between Cornell University, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC, the state agency that manages wildlife in New York), and the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (NYCFWRU). The NYCFWRU is a partnership between the US Geological Survey, the NYSDEC, and Cornell University. 

See our about page to meet the team members and our resources page to contact us.

Snapshot NY collects data on the presence and absence of mammals and other wildlife through "detection/non-detection data".  Detection data refers to when an animal was detected and a photo taken by a trail camera. Non-detection refers to when the camera was functioning, but the species was not detected. 

Snapshot NY also needs to know where and when citizen scientists collect this information. This is why it is important to enter an accurate location, date and time for your camera deployments. Questions like "The height of your camera" and "What is the brand of the camera" allow researchers to look at the data in different ways. 

There are a lot of different cameras on the market, and the technology keeps improving. Cameras typically range between $100- $700, especially after including accessories (batteries, SD memory cards, cable locks, metal boxes). For participating in Snapshot NY, we do not recommend you use a camera under ~$60 as the image quality significantly decreases. Most lines of cameras excel at a few features, so it's important to know what you want from a camera. In our New York research, we find that Browning cameras are a fair compromise between price, function, and quality. Some things to take into consideration are the trigger speed, range of detection, and if you want it to have WiFi or Cell Service capabilities. If you chose to participate in Snapshot NY and would like to purchase a Browning camera, contact us at snapshotny@cornell.edu to receive information about discounted rates!