2025 Panthertown Bioblitz

It’s Friends of Panthertown’s 20th anniversary and to celebrate Friends of Panthertown is hosting Panthertown’s first-ever Bioblitz in the spring of 2025, a month-long event that will focus on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. The primary goal of a Bioblitz is to get an overall count of the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms that live in
Panthertown. The last documented list of plants in Panthertown was taken in 2004 by Dan Pattillo and Gary Kaufman. Their list contains rare, unique plants, some of which are only found in two areas of the world. This bioblitz will update, add on, and inform this initial list, giving the U.S. Forest Service, Friends of Panthertown, and the public a fuller understanding of who and what lives in Panthertown.

Friends of Panthertown had a Specialists’ Summit hosted by Southwestern Community College to kick off the Bioblitz on January 23rd, 2025, privately. This allowed hike leaders, specialists, board members, partners, and friends to meet one another, learn about Panthertown, and discuss where and when their hikes will occur. From April 22nd to May 17th, Friends of Panthertown will have two to three weekly hikes, most focusing on different topics.

Each hike will be led by a specialist, ranging from mycologists to geologists and botanists, and each participant will be involved in the data collection of each hike. On May 17th, there will be a celebration at the Village Green in Cashiers to conclude the bioblitz and share collected data.

For more information and to RSVP visit: BioBlitz – Friends of Panthertown