Scientists from across the country have come to Yellowstone National Park this weekend for the park's first-ever BioBlitz. Visitors are invited to visit with researchers on Saturday afternoon, August 29th and find out about what they learned. Those results could be pretty impressive.

The event has been described as "a modern day Lewis and Clark exploration," and it could very well make some important discoveries in Yellowstone. Scientists participating in the BioBlitz point out that it's not necessary to venture to the far side of our planet to unearth important new information—and perhaps even discover some new entirely species.

So...what's a BioBlitz, and why is it being held in one of the world's best-known national parks? According to information from the park and event organizers:

A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of scientists, community members and students find and identify as many local species as possible.

Some of the first BioBlitz events were organized by Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson, who led an effort to catalog organisms around Walden Pond in the 1990s, and the team of Sam Droege of the U.S. Geological Survey and Dan Roddy from the NPS. They put together a similar event in 1996 at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens National Park in Washington, D.C.
A great thing about the BioBlitz concept is explained on a USGS website:

The name and concept of the BioBlitz is not registered, not copyrighted, not trademarked, and not a government thing. It's just an idea that can be used, adapted, and modified by any group, who should freely use the name BioBlitz for their own purposes.

Similar events have been conducted in many states and other countries during the past decade. One of the most highly-publicized was in New York’s Central Park where over 800 different species were documented.

This weekend's BioBlitz will be the first such activity in Yellowstone National Park, and organizers point out that although some natural inhabitants in the park, such as bears, have been studied rather extensively, little is known about many others. The focus of this weekend's project will include insects, bats, birds and plants, and organizers feel there's a good chance they'll discover some new species.

Participants in the Yellowstone event are donating their time; most will stay in a dormitory facility or camp. Funding is being provided by grants from the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University in Bozeman, the National Park Service, Yellowstone Park Foundation, Canon, Yellowstone Association, Sonoran Institute and the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.

A list of disciplines involved in the project may require you to refresh your memory about the various "ologies." Participants will include ichthyologists, ornithologists, mammalogists, entomologists, herpetologists and botanists.

Although the actual field work won't be open to the public—these folks have a lot to do in a short period of time—visitors are invited to meet and talk with scientists in the “Discovery Field Lab” from 12 noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 29.

That event will be held in front of the Albright Visitor Center in the Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park. Adults and children are invited to stop by to learn more about the animals and plants that were discovered. Educational programs on Yellowstone National Park natural history and specific survey techniques employed by the scientists will be available.

It's expected to take about six months to compile a report detailing what's learned during the event. That information will then be entered into the park's database.

I suspect if Lewis and Clark were still around today, they'd heartily approve of the idea.