Wildlife on the Move in Cornwall

Where the Wild Things Are: Documenting Cornwall’s Habitat Connectivity Blocks (2023-2025)

The Conservation Commission’s inventory of the town’s connected landscape linkages is well underway! Our goal is to identify and map where the town’s forests, shrub-lands, wetlands, stream and river beds provide contiguous, protective cover for the town’s wide-ranging wildlife species (think: bobcat) as they move long distances in search of food and safe shelter.

Wildlife ecologist, Sophie Mazowita, is overseeing the completion of this project. Phase I entailed consolidating existing wildlife data, conducting community interviews and a public presentation, and preparing a preliminary habitat connectivity map. We are now in Phase II (Full Year ’24-Spr ’25), documenting wildlife presence in these connectivity blocks via field cameras, site visits, and tracking. Last January Sophie led tracking workshops for volunteers and other interested residents. The snow wasn’t around long in Cornwall, prompting Inventory volunteers, again under Sophie’s leadership, to set out a bevy of trail cameras, operating 24/7, in locations throughout the town. Residents are also invited to send their sightings and wildlife pictures, which will be added to our project data. In Phase III (Summer ’25), the results of the inventory will be shared in a Final Report that describes Cornwall’s most important habitat areas by vegetation, topography, natural features, and wildlife presence. This information will be shared at a public meeting.

Get Involved!

The Conservation Commission invites residents to share their sightings (reports or pictures) of the project’s “species of interest” with us: Black Bear, Bobcat, Coyote, Fisher, Fox, River Otter, Mink, and Moose. Please contact Mary Dodge, mdodge@middlebury.edu

Cameras in action!

Wildlife pictures can tell us a lot about the animals who use these sites. Here are some of our favorite photos from 2020-2023.

Mystery photo! What animal is this?

Getting your own camera

If you have never used a trail camera, the Conservation Commission can share tips on finding a good one online and guide you through the first steps in learning how to use it.

Camera Trapping Guide by Janet Pesaturo is an excellent resource for photography techniques as well as photos and information on each animal’s physical characteristics, tracks, diet, scat, habitat, breeding, as well as specific camera-setting tips.

For one-hour talk about trail cameras, in which Pesaturo discusses how trail cameras work and how to set them up, go here.

For further information about this project or to participate in it, contact Conservation Commission member Mary Dodge.