Where to
Blitz the Gap

Species group

Goali

Where the scores come from. Higher priority = a spot where a new sighting adds more to what we know. Canada-wide, on a 0.25° (~25 km) grid.

Nationally the real signals are under-sampling (“Discover the most species”), climate-coverage (“Cover every habitat”) and recent forest loss (“Sample before it’s lost”). Computed from real data (iNaturalist density + CHELSA climate + Hansen forest loss); travel time is real too.
Find species at risk is now real: COSEWIC/SARA assessments (CAN-SAR) mapped to iNaturalist/GBIF occurrences — at-risk-species richness per cell (assessed species only). Freshest gaps is now real too: iNaturalist recent (last 5 yr) vs all-time density — cells well-recorded historically but quiet lately.
The original B.C. pilot had all five axes from real iNat history; the national rollout has four of five real and is filling in the last (rare species).
“All biodiversity” is iNaturalist’s total observation density across all taxa; pick a single group to focus — 10 are available, from plants & insects to fishes, fungi & molluscs.

A planning aid, not ground truth — please obscure sensitive species and respect Indigenous data sovereignty. How Blitz the Gap works →

Your trip

Start: Vancouver · tap the map to move it.

Time 5h

More options

Max travel each way

Worth the drive

Drops mostly-driving trips. Round trip = there and back (both legs counted). Default: field time ≥ half your round-trip drive; pick "Any" for long hauls.

Prefer low-carbon trips

Rank by impact per kg of travel CO₂.

Also show species around my start

Map style

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well-sampledbiggest gaps

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Each goal is scored 0–1 per cell; your slider weights combine them, then cells are ranked against each other and shown as impact 0–100 (a percentile — 100 = top-priority cell shown). Hover a cell to see which goals drive it.

Full methodology & data — trace every number →

How it works: Blitz the Gap is a Canada-wide bioblitz — head to a high-priority spot, record what you see on iNaturalist, and your research-grade sightings flow into the 2026 project, filling the map's gaps. Blitz the Gap is led by the Pollock Lab at McGill University; this is a work-in-progress companion tool, not an official project page.

Nationally, the robust priority signal is under-sampling (iNaturalist density) + climate coverage (CHELSA); rarity and freshness are now real (rarity = COSEWIC/SARA species at risk via CAN-SAR + GBIF; freshness = iNaturalist recent vs all-time density). Drive/cycle/walk routes from OSRM (FOSSGIS); travel time from Weiss 2018. Driving CO₂ ≈ 0.18 kg/km; cycling/walking zero. A planning aid — obscure sensitive-species locations and respect Indigenous data-sovereignty before any public release.

This map spans many Indigenous territories — see whose at native-land.ca, and seek consent before recording on their lands.

Where toBlitz the Gap

Where to
Blitz the Gap