09/03/2026
For America’s 250th birthday, the Smithsonian Institute set out to resurvey wildlife along the Lewis and Clark Trail via camera traps with the help of various collaborators. Willapa National Wildlife Refuge was one of the last stops of the resurvey project, and we were excited to participate! 📸
From mid-May to mid-July, camera traps were deployed in our old growth and second growth forests in the southern parts of Willapa Bay. More than 20,000 images were taken. Thanks to machine learning technology trained to analyze camera trap data, sorting through all of these images was simple.
Now for the exciting part: What species of wildlife did we catch on camera? 📸🦌🐻🐿️
Most notable were the endless images of Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, and black bear. In some locations, the American robin was the star of the show. Coyotes also made quite a few appearances, though they always seemed relatively camera shy, dashing away quickly as soon as the camera was triggered. North American porcupines, squirrels, and other small rodents were also captured dashing through the frame (not the porcupines, though, they took their sweet time). Last, but certainly not least, were the few, but very beautiful, images of bobcats.
Though an official analysis of the wildlife captured on camera is still underway, it’s safe to say that the Refuge has a diverse array of wildlife all of which create the healthy ecosystem that we see today.
Check out the links in the comments to learn more about this fascinating project!
Photos: USFWS
