Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks recently installed the 19th of 50 radio towers planned statewide.
It’s part of a global effort to install the Motus network, a wildlife tracking system with an increasing number of stations across North America.
FWP Motus coordinator John Kuntz says unlike other tracking technology, the network spans thousands of miles and tags are small enough to attach to birds, bats or even insects. Citizen scientists, conservation groups and biologists use it to collect data about wildlife.
“And that’s the beauty of it,” said Kuntz. “It’s this massive collaborative network. Anyone who has the time and money to put up a station can buy into it and be part of the network, be part of the research.”
The marijuana tax initiative is funding FWP’s efforts to roll out the Motus stations. Kuntz says he installed the 19th radio tower at Freezeout Lake, north of Helena. FWP is hoping to gather more data about Wilson’s Phalarope, a shorebird threatened by declining water levels at their saline lake habitats.
He says he hopes to install the next four stations this month between Whitehall and Lima.
