Do you love snow? Do you hike, snowmobile, or ski during the winter months? Do you get out in the woods in the backyard or the backcountry during winter? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you might be interested in the Community Snow Observations (CSO) project (https://communitysnowobs.org/).

Join ACT and Sarah Sallade, an AMC NH Chapter Ski Leader and Community Snow Observations Ambassador, to learn how our New Hampshire winters are changing.

Sarah will address how we can contribute to a greater understanding of snowpack depth and changes across the northeast region throughout the winter.

Talk Description:
Community Snow Observations is a project that is run out of the University of Oregon, with a science team that collaborates with a lot of other scientists and ambassadors across the country and around the world. The primary goal of the project is to increase snowpack depth data collection across the landscape so that we have enough data to feed into computer models that can then predict microscale changes in snowpack throughout the season and over the years. This kind of data is needed to understand a variety of topics scientists are interested in, including when and where water is available in the spring and summer months, how climate change is impacting snow cover, how snow depth and extent changes are impacting flora and fauna at different elevations from mountain tops down to the valleys.

While we have many weather stations that can measure precipitation data including snow, these stations are at fixed points in the landscape. The CSO project instead asks snow “users” including snowmobilers, backcountry skiers, snowshoers, and winter hikers to measure snow depth while they are out recreating. When the project started, data collection focused on what was beyond the everyday activities of most people, but as the project has continued, science researchers in New England from AMC, the University of New Hampshire, and beyond have found that more data is better, even if it is on local walking trails and open land (forests, meadows, etc.) behind your own home, as long as it is collected correctly. This means that any person or group can measure snowpack depth data in their community. This means you can measure on a solo tour, when out with your family, or even if you are leading a trip!

About Sarah:
Sarah Sallade is an ambassador for CSO, an ecologist, an educator, and an AMC NH Chapter volunteer ski leader. She lives in Littleton, NH and is excited to share this project which couldn’t be easier, and it is a great way to have a meaningful impact on the outdoor community while you're out having fun.

This program is free to all participants, but registration is required to attend. You can register here.

What: Community Snow Observation
When: Monday, March 10th
What Time: 6:00-7:00pm
Where: Franconia Town Hall

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