MountainNature.com works with your Research Program
MountainNature.com values its relationship with researchers and scientists. Our goal is to create an online community where conservationists, naturalists and scientists can meet, collaborate and work towards the common goal of protecting our mountain landscape. We want to bring many different stakeholders together. While most conservation groups, research projects, and other organizations will want to maintain their own site, MountainNature.com is designed to work as a conduit, bringing amateurs and professionals together.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What's in it for you as researchers?
As scientists, you must balance the ability to collect data with the ever
increasing cost of conducting research. A single radio collar costs
thousands of dollars in monitoring costs. We cannot provide direct
funding, but we can offer access to a user base of dedicated outdoors
people, naturalists, conservationists and birders. Our sightings database
will allow you to access the combined experiences of this large group.
We may be able to assist in raising money indirectly. For instance, if someone were to record a sighting or search the field guide for the gray wolf, MountainNature.com could perhaps integrate a link to adopt a wolf. This is only one possibility, but through such partnerships, we can all benefit.
How do researchers access MountainNature.com data?
MountainNature.com needs to balance the privacy concerns of its users with
the needs of our research partners. In order to receive data from
MountainNature.com, you must first apply using our online research
application. We will process your application, and upon approval, work with you to make the data as relevant as possible. If you have
specific data requirements, we may also (within reason) be able to add
additional tracking fields to our sightings forms. For instance, if you needed
to know about specific observable behaviors, we could add a field to our form
for this purpose. In most cases, we will design password protected
reports customized to your unique requirements, and viewable only by you. In other cases, users will
fill in forms which will be forwarded to you as they submit them.
What does it cost?
We currently do not charge non-profit research programs for access to data
reports. There may be a one-time fee if extensive customization is required to
make the data compatible with your system. Most systems though can import comma
delimited data or excel spreadsheets, so we can usually find a workable
cost-free system. We do charge corporate researchers a nominal fee for access to
our sightings data.
We also ask that MountainNature.com be allowed to publish your photographs or research results (not exclusively), to add value for our users.
What about the Access to Information Act?
Before a record is made available to outside sources, the person recording
that sighting must first choose to make it public. We need to balance the
privacy of our users with the needs of researchers, so we always give our users
the right to opt out and keep their records private. In addition, before they
can record sightings, they must register with MountainNature.com and agree to
the terms of usage of the sightings database.
What's in if for MountainNature.com?
We are not a large, well financed corporation, but a small, independently
owned company. This has both good and bad aspects. While we cannot pour money
into this site in an attempt to be everything to everyone, we also do not have
the large profit expectations of a large corporation. We make our money through product sales and personal
guiding service.