Overview
- Voting for Fat Marmot Week opened on Aug. 24 and runs through Aug. 28, with eight individually marked yellow-bellied marmots competing in a bracket and winners to be announced at the end of August.
- Researchers reported the largest die-off in the Marmot Project’s six-decade record, with about 60 of 160 monitored marmots surviving a winter that had statewide snowpack at roughly 22 percent of the 1991–2020 median by April 1.
- Scientists say the lack of insulating snow likely forced hibernating marmots to burn extra energy and face longer exposure to predators, reducing survival during their multi-month true hibernation.
- RMBL has turned to unconventional fundraising to fill funding gaps, using a PG-only OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms that raised several thousand dollars and a supporter-created meme cryptocurrency that generated roughly $100,000 in value for the project.
- The Marmot Project, begun in 1962, provides rare long-term data on alpine ecosystem health, and the campaign aims to boost public awareness and steady funding so researchers can continue monitoring climate-driven changes.