Backyard Discoveries is a field tested program that builds upon our natural curiosity about the world around us. Backyard Discoveries offers you different ways to participate in the exciting ecosystem discoveries unfolding in your own big "backyard": the BLM's Campbell Tract.

With the help of community members, educators, scientists, and other volunteers like you, new bits of ecological information are added to our knowledge about the Campbell Tract area. Imagine how exciting it would be to observe wolf activity in the area, or perhaps find a new type of plant or insect, or help explore the habitat around a salmon spawning site!

Backyard Discoveries has something for everyone. People of all ages and interests can learn more about the nearby natural world by taking part in the following activities:

A Midsummer Night's Science Series: Professionals from our community share their skills and experiences as we learn about the natural history and uniqueness of different organisms and ecosystems. Participate in hands-on activities, assist with ongoing studies, and explore the Campbell Tract's wild areas.

Field Experience Educational Packs: Discover for yourself the wonders of the natural world using educational packs designed to introduce basic field techniques. Explore the health and inhabitants of Campbell Creek using the Water Quality Pack, or investigate insects and their relatives with the Invertebrate Pack. The packs are self-instructive, require no prior experience, and are available to use free of charge. A great activity to do with family and friends.

Ongoing Ecosystem Studies: Participate in one or more of the ongoing surveys and help gather the information needed to care for our public lands. Training is provided for each of the following studies:

Water Quality Monitoring Program: A concerted effort to monitor a portion of Campbell Creek and protect salmon spawning habitat.

Insect Survey: An ongoing inventory of Campbell Tract insects involving field collecting and specimen preservation.

Vegetation Survey: A plant inventory and vegetation mapping project with additional focus on identifying the occurrence of non-native plant species on Campbell Tract.

Spring Point Bird Count: An inventory of the seasonal breeding songbird populations which inhabit the Campbell Tract area.

Campbell Creek Science Center Library and Collections: Spend time looking through some of the natural history material in the library, or browse through the developing ecosystem database. Examine some of the plants and lichens in the expanding herbarium, study the insects preserved in the growing collection, or ask about other specimens available.

Other ecosystem monitoring activities affiliated with the Backyard Discoveries Program offer additional ways to participate and learn in the natural setting of Campbell Tract. Ask Backyard Discoveries staff for more information on the following:

-National Weather Service weather station
-US Geological Survey stream flow station
-Animal sighting and sign recordings
-Lichen surveys
-Mushroom surveys
-Migratory bird banding
-Fourth of July butterfly count
-Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Survey
-Cultural Resources Survey

Future activities are planned and include such exciting topics as a survey of small mammals, air quality monitoring, and ecosystem monitoring education programs designed for the internet and rural Alaska.

So come and experience one or more of the exciting Backyard Discoveries activities and just imagine what may be waiting for you to discover once you begin your explorations!

The BLM Campbell Tract is a 730-acre parcel of public land located on the east side of Anchorage, Alaska. The Tract is surrounded on three sides by Far North Bicentennial Park, a 4,670-acre municipal park which itself borders the 500,000-acre Chugach State Park. Campbell Creek flows to the northeast and Little Campbell Creek runs through the southern tip of the Tract.

Campbell Tract contains bogs, creeks, forests and other habitats and is home to a many kinds of wildlife including moose, brown and black bears, wolves, lynx, marten, salmon and many bird species.

Additionally, the Tract contains an administrative complex, a gravel airstrip and the Campbell Creek Science Center. There are also trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding, skijoring and dog mushing.

The Backyard Discoveries program is coordinated from the Campbell Creek Science Center, a 10,500 square-foot facility that houses a classroom, dining room, greenhouse, library and caretaker's quarters.

The Center conducts outdoor science educational programs and serves as a regional resource for related activities. It is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Alaska Natural History Association in cooperation with many partners including the Anchorage School District and several state and federal agencies.

The Backyard Discoveries program was created originally with funding by the Bureau of Land Management's Field Incentive Award Program. The program has received further financial support, equipment, expertise or volunteer assistance from:

• Alaska Airlines
  
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game
  
• Alaska Native Plant Society
  
• Alaska Pacific University
  
• National Bank of Alaska
  
• National Weather Service
  
• Service High School
  
• U.S. Geological Survey
  
• University of Alaska Anchorage
  
• University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Alaska Cooperative Extension Service
  

Interested in getting involved with the Backyard Discoveries Program? Please contact us!

A Volunteer-Based
Ecosystem Monitoring Program
At The Campbell Tract