Citizen science is becoming a popular approach to undertake scientific research and conduct ecological and wildlife monitoring.

It is a method that provides an efficient way to engage local communities in environmental issues while also allowing for cost-efficient collection and analysis of data that can span over large spatial and temporal scales. Sheep Mountain Alliance, the Telluride Institute’s Watershed Education Program, and Mountain Studies Institute initiated a citizen-science wildlife monitoring project along the Telluride Valley Floor in 2020 focused on a large charismatic species, elk, along with other wildlife. This project serves two purposes; (1) educating and engaging students and members of the community on wildlife and ecological topics related to the Valley Floor and (2) providing the Telluride Open Space Commission with data that will supplement current wildlife monitoring efforts and inform future management decisions.