'Floating Laboratory' centerpiece of BioBlitz 2009, a 24-hour race to count Mississippi River's plants and animals beginning Friday, June 12

Contacts: Nina Shepherd, Bell Museum, (612) 624-7389
Mark Cassutt, University News Service, (612) 624-8038

The Jonathan Padelford Riverboat will serve as the “floating laboratory” for this year’s BioBlitz, a 24-hour race to inventory the plants and animals of the Mississippi River Valley on Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13.

This year’s BioBlitz will take place in one of Minnesota’s five national parks—the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), a 72 mile-long national park that stretches from Dayton to Hastings, running through the downtown areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The event, coordinated by the University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History, is free and open to the public.

Every year BioBlitz attracts hundreds of families and scientists from around the state who use sonar detectors, bug lights, live traps and laptops to count and chronicle an area’s flora and fauna. Volunteers of all ages work alongside biologists to collect plants and insects, and live-trap animals, which are identified before being released. Collection stations and inventory “leader boards” will be set up on the decks of the Padelford, which will be docked at Crosby Farm Park, the BioBliz base-camp.

Also on hand will be legions of National Park Service rangers and wildlife guides from the Bell Museum, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and St. Paul Parks for free, guided tours of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

This year’s BioBlitz will feature a Saturday morning birding cruise aboard the Padelford as it makes its way to dock at base-camp. The cruise leaves St. Paul’s Harriet Island at 8:30 a.m. and arrives at Crosby Farm Park two hours later. Tickets are $15 and shuttle service is included. The cruise is sponsored by the Padelford Packet Boat Company, National Park Service and Mississippi River Fund.

BioBlitz, which changes location each year, aims to increase the public’s awareness of an area’s biological diversity. It also offers a chance for the public to work with scientists and provides an environmental benchmark for natural resources managers of Minnesota’s environment. The event is co-sponsored by the National Park Service and Mississippi River Fund. For a complete schedule of BioBlitz 2009 activities, go to www.bellmuseum.org/bioblitz  The Bell Museum is part of the university’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences.