(Group) Bluff Creek Project
The Bluff Creek Project is an open-source volunteer project initially formed to locate the original Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film site. It consists of several project contributors who volunteer their time and gas money to complete the mountains of field work needed to confirm the site's location. We have been researching the area formally on foot since 2009 and most of us much longer. Recently, during the summer of 2011, we successfully located the original film site and completed a detailed survey of the surviving monuments and trees. This survey has been an enormous contribution to the Bigfoot research community and can now be used to exact dimensional data from the film and make accurate measurement of the creature's pathway and size.
Trail camera survey:
The trail camera project was launched in July of 2012, and successfully raised enough money to purchase four high-end trail cameras. We committed all of our personal trail cameras to the project as well, for a total of nine cameras installed at the site for the winter of 2012-2013. The cameras were installed in late October 2012 on the 45th anniversary of the film. The cameras spent seven months in total down at the film site, capturing the movements of Bluff Creek's inhabitants. We had a few camera failures, but all of the newly purchased cameras performed flawlessly.
We have learned many lessons and fought several battles to pull off the project. We captured hundreds of videos of bears, deer, and a cougar.
Our perspective:
We intend this trail camera survey to be an open-source project, where all media and data is published immediately after collection for all the world to see. The main problem with similar camera projects is that all media and data is subject to strict non-disclosure agreements and stipulations. This is to protect any cash value associated with a potential Bigfoot image or video. We believe as a team that the commercialization of such a project is fundamentally unscientific. As a premise for the camera project we will practice full transparency during the entirety of the project. All videos and photos of any note will be published immediately after they are collected. They will be offered freely on the internet for non-commercial use for anyone who wants to use them for their own research. Any commercial use of the videos that results in a cash profit will be invested back into the Bluff Creek Project for use in the next season’s efforts.
While the subject of Bigfoot is quite controversial, it is still an enigma that captures the interest of people worldwide. The possible existence of such a creature is highly debated and subjected to constant skepticism from all sides. It is our opinion that if Bigfoot exists it is a physical, biological animal, and not paranormal in nature. Any animal that is real can be photographed and caught on video. Modern trail cameras are very high resolution and can take clear HD video of any animal that triggers the sensor. Such cameras have proven to be a valuable asset to any biological study of rare animals.
Contributors making donations covering whole cameras will have the option of receiving back the used camera unit. It is, however, encouraged that you contribute the camera to next year’s project. Any leftover cameras and materials will be put to use for the next overwinter season. There is little chance of the cameras being found but they are sometimes damaged by bears and exposure.
We also will be accepting physical donations of equipment and gear. Please contact one of the members of the project if you have some equipment to offer. We could use old trail cameras, audio recorders, night-vision, binoculars, video cameras, etc. We do not expect an image of a Bigfoot creature as a result of this project (though that would be great!). We do however expect lots of HD video of local wildlife including bears, deer, elk, and cougar.
