Snapshot NY is a participatory science project designed to help monitor wildlife populations in New York State by collecting trail camera images and associated data from volunteers. Snapshot NY (formerly iSeeMammals) began with a focus targeting black bears in 2016 and collected data from trail cameras, hikes, and observations of live bears and sign. It was revised in 2023 to collect only camera data but for all mammal species that can be surveyed by trail cameras.

The purpose of the project is to collect data using participatory science to study the occupancy and abundance of wildlife across New York State. The data from Snapshot NY will supplement datasets that researchers are collecting such as data from statewide camera surveys, genetic data, harvest data, and other types of population surveys. These data will go into models to estimate population size, distribution, occupancy, and population trends. This will help researchers and wildlife managers better understand how wildlife populations are changing across the state.

We hope that participatory science can be a sustainable, long-term method for helping to monitor wildlife populations in New York.

Anyone can become a participatory scientist and be a part of Snapshot NY. Create a Snapshot NY account here, sign up to survey a grid cell, request a camera loan if you need one, and download the app onto your smartphone. Use the website and the smartphone app to submit data. 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 work is a collaboration between Cornell University and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC, the state agency that manages wildlife in New York).

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

Go to the Log in Page, and you will find a "Forgot your Password?" link to retrieve your password. You can directly access that here.

Location information is necessary for mapping. Data, including contact information and GPS points are kept in confidence and Snapshot NY respects the privacy of its volunteers.  Locations of fixed cameras will not be shared with non-researchers.

We understand and respect your privacy. Therefore, while we need exact GPS locations to accurately estimate the occurrence and distribution of wildlife, results will only be reported at a coarse spatial level, such as county or regional. The data are held in a secure database, and used and accessed only by the researchers. Account information and GPS locations will never be shared with other parties. Please read our privacy policy here.

Snapshot NY collects data on the presence and absence of mammals, 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 volunteers collect this information. This is why it is important to enter an accurate location and time for your cameras. 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). 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!

Depending on the model of your camera and lock box, there will be small holes or slots for both the strap and the security cable. The holes for the security cable are usually in the front of the lock box, while slots for the straps are usually on the back of the lock box.

Some models of camera and lock box use pad locks. The hole for the pad lock is usually on the front of the lock box or at the top on the side. You can download our protocols on the resources page, which provide images of how to use the lock boxes.

If you are not able to click on the “upload” button next to your deployment, it is most likely because you have not clicked “swap SD card” or “stop camera.”

Every time you go to retrieve the SD card from your camera, you must hit “Swap SD card” in the app. This ensures that your photos are associated with the correct date, time, and location that the camera was set out. If you have a cellular camera, please see the FAQ below for instructions.

Once you click the “swap SD card” button, the upload button next to the appropriate deployment should become available. Swapping the SD card will automatically continue the deployment for you, and create a new time period.

You should only hit “stop camera” if you are no longer participating or if you are moving the camera to a new location.

Yes! You can still participate with Snapshot NY. Many cellular camera models also have SD slots. This is the preferable method for obtaining photos. We have found that transmitting images via apps or email compresses the images, which is not ideal.

If your cellular camera does not take SD cards, you will need to follow the protocol as if you had a camera with an SD card. If photos get sent to your phone, you will have to get them from your phone to a computer to upload them, since you cannot upload photos through the app.

Upload your photos on a regular interval (~every 2 weeks) and use the “swap SD card” function in the app. Essentially, you will “pretend” you are swapping out an SD card. We need this recorded so that every set (upload) of photos is associated with the correct deployment date/time and end date/time.

Yes, you can move your camera to a new location, as long as it is still within your grid cell.

To move your camera, go into the app and select “stop camera” under your deployments. This will end that deployment for that location.

Move your camera, and go through the same set-up process you did the first time (create new deployment found under “My Grid Cells”). This makes sure the app records your new location (GPS coordinates for the camera).

Often trail cameras will automatically create “subfolders” once it goes over a certain number of photos taken (usually 999). There should be one main (parent) folder with multiple subfolders within.

The Snapshot NY account portal only accepts ONE folder per upload, so you will need to select the parent folder that has the smaller folders within. The cameras generally name the parent folder “DCIM.”

If you accidentally uploaded only one of the subfolders, email us at snapshotny@cornell.edu and we will assist you.

Currently, we are only accepting ONE camera per grid cell. The grid cells are 30 sq km, which is based off average home range sizes for mammals in New York. We want to spread out our sampling effort to get the most even coverage across the state. Also, we are collecting detection/non-detection data, which means we are recording whether or not a given species is present in that grid cell or not. Having additional cameras in the same grid cell would not provide additional information for this study design.

If you have multiple cameras on your property, you can select one to designate as your “Snapshot NY camera.” After deploying your camera for a minimum of 2 months, you may stop that camera and start a new deployment for a different camera (different location) if you wish.

Please make sure you are only uploading photos from your one camera to the associated deployment.

YES! Please upload all photos captured on your SD card, even ones without wildlife in them. Sometimes cameras will take many images of vegetation. That is okay, still upload those. If you are experiencing difficulties uploading due to your file size, please contact us.

We need the full set of images to properly record detection/non-detection data. This information is important for later analysis of the images. Please see “What kind of data does Snapshot NY collect” for more details.

Snapshot NY will never release images of humans captured on camera. See our privacy policy for more information.

The Snapshot NY app is an important step in the process. When setting out your camera, you will use the app to record important information about the camera and it’s placement.

The app also will automatically create a pin of your location on a map. This allows us to record the precise coordinates for where the camera is located. It will also automatically record the date and time that you deploy your camera (which is why you need to use the app on site when you set up your camera for the first time). If you record your information in the app after you have already set your camera out, the date/time will be incorrect. If this is the case, please email snapshotny@cornell.edu so we can edit your deployment.

Without recording this information in the app, we have no way of knowing your camera model, where you placed the camera, and when you placed it. All of this information is important for later analysis of the photos you upload.

Some trail camera brands are cellular, and send photos directly to your phone. Most trail cameras are not, and instead require the use of SD cards to record images. All of our loan cameras use SD cards. Mobile phones are not able to read SD cards (unless you have a specific adaptor to do so). This is why you cannot upload photos through the app, as the majority of cameras use SD cards.

Even if you do have a cellular camera, we ask that you upload photos through the website account portal. Phone service can be inconsistent, which may interfere with the upload process, especially with large numbers of photos often recorded by trail cameras. Steady internet connection (via Wi-Fi or ethernet) is required to upload the photos through our website.

Unfortunately no, we cannot accept videos through the account portal, for a few reasons. First, videos are much larger than images, which can lead to data storage issues. Videos also do not record the same information that images do. We measure something called “detection probability” which is the likelihood that an animal present within a camera’s detection zone is actually detected (i.e., triggers and is recorded) by the camera during a given sampling occasion. This metric will vary between images and videos, so we cannot analyze videos in the same way that we do images.

Additionally, we cannot accept “screenshots” from videos to use as images. Screen shots do not contain the same metadata (information about the image) as an image in it’s original format.

If you have videos you would like to share with us to use for social media and outreach, you can upload them here: https://cornell.app.box.com/f/cd7c160af7e94a15a0045ca9803876bf

When an SD card is inserted into a Mac, the computer automatically creates hidden system files. Some trail cameras do not recognize these files and may respond by reformatting the card, overwriting files, or hiding images when the card is placed back in the camera. This can make it appear as though photos were erased.

To prevent this:

• Always format SD cards in the trail camera, not on your computer

• Do not delete photos from the SD card using a Mac

• Always eject the SD card properly before removing it

• Use 32 GB or smaller, name-brand SD cards

• Consider using a Mac utility (e.g., BlueHarvest) that blocks hidden system files

If you think photos were lost, do not reformat the card—images are often recoverable. Contact the Snapshot NY team for help.

Saving the images on your computer so you can look at them later:

1.  On your computer, open up the “file explorer.”

2. Navigate to your computer drive on the left-hand side of your file explorer. Select “This PC” and then “Windows (C:)”

3. Create a folder to store your images. Right click in the blank space and select “New” to create a new folder.

4. Rename the folder something like “Snapshot NY pics” for example.

5. You can rename a folder by slow clicking on it twice or selecting the “Rename” button that looks like this:

6. Create subfolders within the “Snapshot NY pics” folder.

7. Right click to select “New” to create a new folder.

8. Name these subfolders by month (May 2026, June 2026 etc.)

9. Navigate to the SD card drive (on the left-hand side of the file explorer window) and click on that. The first thing you should see is a folder called “DCIM.”

10. Right click once on the DCIM folder and select “copy.”

11. Navigate back to your “Snapshot NY pics” folder and then the subfolder for the current month.

12. Right click anywhere in this screen and select “paste” (This will put the DCIM folder of images into your saved folder of pictures).

13. The folder of images is now on your computer!

Deleting images off of the SD card:

1. Open your file explorer.

2. Navigate to the SD card (on the left-hand side) and click on it once.

3. Click on the DCIM folder once so that it is highlighted.

4. Click the “trash can” icon to delete.

5. Select yes, that you are sure you would like to delete them.

6. Eject your SD card. It is now clear and you can put it back in the camera.