The Central Division has decided to turn its efforts towards an Atlassing project. Two levels of coverage have been discussed.
The first involves a small number (5 per state) of non-randomly chosen sites (or counties) that have a history of amphibian monitoring and, ideally, long-term protection. At first glance, this may not seem to fit the traditional definition of Atlassing. However, if the fieldwork is carried out correctly, this type of coordinated effort is similar to the "large-block" Atlassing that has been carried out so successfully in Massachusetts and Ontario, only at a smaller scale. Of course, the inferences that can be drawn from investigations at a few widely scattered "long-term plots" are correspondingly narrower in scope. The main advantages to this level of Atlassing are: we can get it up and running in a much shorter time, there are already people out there who are eager to get a long-term study going, and we can use it as a model for larger-scale projects. Eighteen potential areas were identified at the 1994 Central Division meeting.
The second type of project would be the more traditional coverage where the area of concern (the Central Division in this case) is divided into large blocks (counties or degree blocks) and each is searched over a period of years. The main difference between this and the first level in that the entire area of concern is covered rather than a non-randomly selected set of sub-samples.
With either level of Atlassing there are certain issues that must be considered. First, quantification of effort, or how to control for differences in effort and skill level among the various field personnel both among sites and between time intervals. Second, will volunteers be included. Third, what are the requirements for validation of a record (photograph, recording, etc.). No clear solutions to these problems were identified but the group agreed that these were among the issues that must be dealt with before any Atlassing project could be launched. Our first step is to identify a project leader for Atlassing in the Central Division. This person would start by establishing a committee of interested Central Division members. The committee would collect information on the issues outlined above by establishing communication with other groups who are either currently engaged in or are considering Atlassing.
If you are interested in the job of Atlassing Project Leader or would like to be on the committee, please contact the Central Division Coordinator, Chris Phillips.