Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Western Snowy Plover
Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus
Photo © Brent Plater
Home >> Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Big Year?
- What is the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- How do I participate in the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- If I sign-up, do I need to participate for the entire year?
- Does it cost anything to participate in the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- Are there prizes for winning the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- What are the rules for the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- Will endangered species be harmed by the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- Which species are included in the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
- Where is the GGNRA?
- Isn't species "X" extirpated (locally lost) from the GGNRA?
- Why isn't conservation action item "X" conducted inside the GGNRA?
- Who is behind the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
What is a Big Year?
A "Big Year" is a competitive event where people race to see the most species in a specified geographic area in a specific year. The term was coined by competitive birders and gained popular acclaim through the best-selling book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik. The Big Year chronicles the biggest year of them all: the North American Big Year, where individuals race to see as many birds as possible within North America.
There are many variations on the theme: some alter the time frame (Big Day, Big Month, etc.) while others alter the geographic area (County Big Year, State Big Year, etc.) and some alter both.
What is the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is similar to other big year competitions, but it is unique in several ways. First, it focuses only on endangered species. Second, it expands the big year beyond birds to all endangered flora and fauna. Third, in this big year, participants not only compete to see the most species, but also to complete actions that help the species recover. Fourth, the geographic area of focus is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, our nation's great urban national park experiment.
How do I participate in the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
Participating in the Endangered Species Big Year is easy:
First, sign-up for the Big Year on the web.
Second, review the endangered species you will be looking for, and find out how you can help them recover. You can download a checklist of the species and action items after you sign up.
Third, check out the Endangered Species Big Year Calendar page to find out when and how you can see these species in the GGNRA or participate in conservation actions scheduled. You may also explore the GGNRA on your own to complete your checklist.
Fourth, as you see species and take action items, check them off your checklist and then submit your completed items to the Big Year organizers on-line.
Fifth, if you like, you can interact with this web site and other Big Year competitors: you may comment about each species and conservation action item on each species' page, and you can also find out about the latest sightings and share information with other competitors by joining the Big Year List-Serv.
If I sign-up, do I need to participate for the entire year?
You do not need to participate for the entire year. You may participate as much or as little as you like. You can explore the GGNRA on your own with your checklist; you can come out on one trip or participate in one action item; or you can try and complete the entire checklist within the year.
Does it cost anything to participate in the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is a free event. There is no charge to participate or to come on any Big Year trip. Completing some of the conservation action items may require spending funds, depending on how you try to complete them. However, anyone is welcome to contribute to the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year by volunteering time or donating funds.
Are there prizes for winning the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
There are prizes for participating and for winning the GGNRA Endangered Species Big year: the person who sees and helps save the most species by the end of 2008 will win a $500 gift certificate to REI or Eagle Optics, winner's choice! Second place will receive a $250 gift certificate to REI or Eagle Optics.
Anyone who finds a new population of an endangered species in the GGNRA or rediscovers a species that is presumed extirpated from the park will, of course, be met with great appreciation and acclaim!
What are the rules of the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
There are several rules for the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year:
1. The competition runs from January 1, 2008, 12:00:00 a.m. to January 31, 2008, 11:59:59 p.m. All sightings and action items must be completed within that time.
2. You and/or the species must be within the GGNRA's legislative boundary when you see a species to check it off your GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year list. However, if both you and the species are outside the legislative boundary when you see it, you may not count that sighting towards your GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year.
3. You may not substitute conservation action items. Although there are many ways to help endangered species, no substitutions are allowed for the inaugural edition of the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year. If you have suggestions for future conservation action items, you may e-mail them to Brent Plater.
4. All participants must agree to comply with the Endangered Species Big Year’s Ethical Principles. No exceptions.
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year runs on the honor system. No one will be looking over your shoulder to make sure you fill out your checklist accurately, but highly unusual sightings may be subject to verification.
Will endangered species be harmed by the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is working closely with the GGNRA's Natural Resources Staff to ensure that all trips and conservation action items are safe for people and wildlife alike. While there is always some risk involved with helping people see and save endangered species, every possible precaution has been taken to ensure that the Big Year is safe. In addition, all Big Year participants must abide by the Endangered Species Big Year’s Ethical Principles. No exceptions.
Which species are included in the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
Only species protected as endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act are part of the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year. The Endangered Species Act defines "species" to include "any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species or vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature."
Presence in the GGNRA is determined by the National Park Service based on recovery plans, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents, historical records, and recent surveys.
Where is the GGNRA?
The GGNRA has an expansive legislative boundary that is larger than you may imagine. It includes lands in three California counties: San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties. Within these three counties, the GGNRA includes lands that the GGNRA directly manages, such as Mori Point, Ocean Beach, & the Marin Headlands; lands that the GGNRA has contractual relationships with other land owners, such as the San Francisco Watershed lands in San Mateo County; lands that the GGNRA owns adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore that Point Reyes manages on behalf of the GGNRA; and lands such as Angel Island that the GGNRA doesn't currently own but simply has been given the right to purchase by Congress. Even a portion of Edgewood County Park in San Mateo County is within the GGNRA's legislative boundary.
Isn't species "X" extirpated from the GGNRA?
Declaring a species extirpated from the GGNRA is difficult to do, because there is a possibility that a rare species escapes detection. Some species that are part of the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year may be extirpated from the GGNRA, but scientists are not ready to declare this yet definitively. It may also be that scientists believe that although the species is currently extirpated from the GGNRA, it is likely to return to the GGNRA under the right conditions. You may be the lucky person to rediscover one of these species in the Park.
Why isn't conservation action item "X" conducted inside the GGNRA?
Some conservation action items are designed to be completed outside of the GGNRA. This is so because these items are important for species recovery as a whole, which will ultimately benefit the species' populations within the GGNRA. For example, restoration opportunities for some species are outside the GGNRA's legislative boundary, but they are likely to benefit the species' populations within the GGNRA. Similarly, action items that require you to contact public officials are likely to ultimately benefit the species' populations within the GGNRA.
Who is behind the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year?
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is a project of several non-profit organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Nature in the City, the Sierra Club's Wildlife and Endangered Species Committee, the San Francisco Zoo, Golden Gate Audubon Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, San Francisco Nature Education, the Xerces Society, the San Francisco Naturalist Society, & the Yerba Buena Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Brent Plater is the Director of the 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year.
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