Updated November 8, 2023

The Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11, 2023; we have revised COVID-19 guidelines accordingly. Unless a leader requires it, we no longer require participants to be vaccinated to attend trips. However, we request that field trip participants continue to take sensible precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, including the following:

• Please stay home if you have a fever or any symptoms of respiratory illness or if you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last five days.
• Please respect other participants’ choices to practice social distancing, wear a mask, or refrain from sharing binoculars, scopes, food, and drink.
• When sharing a car, please discuss the masking protocol with all other riders in the vehicle before the trip.
• Individual trip leaders may require participants to adhere to additional COVID-19 precautions, such as mask-wearing or requiring participants to be vaccinated. These requirements will appear in the trip’s online description.
• We reserve the right to amend these protocols should the safety guidance warrant it.