Michelle Blanchard wondered about the Cornell Nest Box Network...

> participation fee of $20 ($15 for renewal years) covers the cost of
> project materials and data processing.
>>
> This is unfortunate....why is there a fee?

Of course, I don't speak for the program (wish I could), but the comparison of
CNBN to NatureMapping (NM) isn't really fair. First, CNBN provides educational
material to participants, who also receive an excellent newsletter on the nest
box program, Project Feederwatch, and the other citizen-science programs
coordinated at the Cornell Lab of O.

Second, the CNBN program is well staffed. If participants have questions, they
have a quick way to get answers. There's a growing network of volunteer
"ambassadors" in the program that can provide local assistance in establishing
and keeping nest boxes. And high-end ornithologists help to guide the program
methodically.

Third, results from CLO projects are analyzed and written up for the
ornithological literature. Mass participation helps the CLO research staff to
identify and answer questions that otherwise would be impossible to tackle.

None of this slights NatureMapping, I hope, which may eventually become
established as something more than what it is. NM comes from a different place,
which is primarily documenting presence of species (birds, mammals, reptiles,
amphibians,...) at a rough resolution. It's participants receive little
training and are not promised a great deal in return. It is open to criticism,
I believe, for its semiscientific approach. And it is not really "free"
entirely, as training sessions, data entry software, and educational materials
all have prices attached.

CLO's fee serves as described above, and likely acts as a filter; if someone
pays $20 to be involved in something, they are more likely to be serious about
it than if they get in for "free."

Compare the web sites for NatureMapping and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to
get a feel for the potential interactivity of each...
--
Scott Richardson
Olympia, Washington
salix at halcyon.com