"My
animal track and sign skills have improved in leaps and bounds this year...and
it's a unique delight to be able to wander the landscape with a group
of people just as excited as I am about scat, chews, and other signs of
wild creatures that are invisible or unintelligible to most of my other
friends."
-Roy Ashton
How do you become a skilled tracker?

The
Wildlife Tracking Intensive provides in-depth training in the art and
science of wildlife tracking for both beginner and advanced students.
Visiting a diversity of habitats from the coastal dunes of Oregon to the
high deserts of eastern Washington, participants have the opportunity
to study and track a great variety of wildlife species.
From snow tracking elusive lynx, bobcat, and cougar in the Cascade Mountains
to trailing mink, otter, and bear along riparian sandbars in the Puget
Sound, this wildlife tracking course is packed with adventure, challenge,
and quality instruction.
Based on Wilderness Awareness School's
Six Arts of Tracking curriculum,
this rigorous course trains participants in the many components of animal
tracking including:
- Identification of
animal track and sign for keying out species and individuals
- Interpretation
of gaits and other behaviors from track patterns
- Aging and event
sequencing to place activities in time
- Ecological tracking
to enable you to predict wildlife activity
- Trailing and backtracking
procedures for finding animals
- Observation techniques
that help you locate and see more wildlife
Facilitated
by highly experienced trackers, David Moskowitz, and
Jenn Wolfe, the Wildlife Tracking Intensive meets
for ten field-based weekends between September and June and utilizes
many of the best tracking locations in the Pacific Northwest as our
classroom.
Small class size allows us to develop a strong sense of community and
camaraderie, and accelerates the learning process. While wildlife tracking
is the focus of the course, an overview of human tracking applications
is covered as well.
What Graduates Will Learn
Graduates of this tracking course will come away with:
- Strong technical skills in the art and science of wildlife tracking
- A greater knowledge of place and ability to read the landscape
- Experience with the scientific, educational, and recreational applications
of tracking
The Wildlife Tracking Intensive is
designed to allow people with busy lives to participate.
Each of the ten weekends begins on Saturday morning, and concludes in
the mid afternoon on Sunday, including an evening session on Saturday
night. About half of the weekends take place in the Puget Sound region
of Washington State, while the rest occur in various locations throughout
Washington and Oregon.
Through
informative presentations, field exercises, and guided independent study,
participants in the Wildlife Tracking Intensive gain a unique combination
of field experience and technical skills.
Guest instructors, well known experts in the field of tracking, join
one of the weekends in each of the fall, winter, and spring seasons
to complement the depth of this training and expose students to various
applications of tracking skills. See guest instructors
biographies below.
To meet the needs of both beginning
and advanced students, the Wildlife Tracking Intensive
has two distinct paths of study that run concurrently. Each path is
geared towards the different experience levels and although both sections
of the class share field locations, instructors frequently guide each
group in different lectures and activities.
Wildlife
Tracking Intensive Primary Path of Study
The primary path of study covers animal tracking fundamentals and essentials
and is designed for students with little or no previous tracking experience.
This level is ideal for those who are new to the field of tracking or
have previously participated in a weekend or weeklong tracking class.
Covering a broad range of skills and applications, you will develop a
strong foundation and thorough base of knowledge in tracking.
Some focus topics covered in the primary path include:
- Essential tracking terminology to build your vocabulary and understanding
- Overview of the Six Arts of Tracking to give you a holistic view
of the field
- Clear print identification for accurate species determinations
- Gait interpretation for distinguishing speed and direction
- Track aging, effects of weather, and substrate study to answer the
question "when?"
- Larders and lacks, understanding seasonal food sources and shelter
requirements
- Track by track trailing and tracking sticks to train your eyes to
see subtle signs
- Taxonomy and natural history of mammals to understand biological
influences
- Journaling techniques that build your visual search images
Wildlife
Tracking Intensive Advanced Path of Study
The advanced path is designed for students who have a significant amount
of previous tracking experience. The advanced path is ideal for those
who have completed the Tracking Intensive's primary path, Wilderness Awareness
School's Residential Program, or have an equivalent depth of experience
with tracking.
This path begins with a review of intermediate skills and then focuses
on highly technical aspects of tracking.
Some focus topics covered in the advanced path include:
Technical
tracking terminology used in advanced resources
- Animal track morphology to determine sex, age, and individuals
- Differentiating tracks of difficult species, including small mammals
and birds
- Interpreting dominance, health, and various behaviors from distinctive
characteristics
- Scientific documentation methods for biological research
- Predicting wildlife activity and concentrations using topographic
maps and aerial photos
- Bone identification and carcass analysis for determining cause
and time of death
- Efficient trailing techniques for quickly locating humans and wildlife
- Event sequencing for complex tracking scenarios
Independent Research Projects
Each participant in the Advanced path develops a research project which
will be carried out throughout the class year under the guidance of one
of the core staff for the Tracking Intensive. Projects from this year’s
students include naturalist, scientific, educational, and artistic focuses.
Students have the opportunity to blend their projects with ongoing research
projects such as the
Cascade
Wildlife Monitoring Project.
Field
Evaluation
Near the conclusion of the year, students from both the primary and advanced
paths have the opportunity to have their skill level evaluated in a rigorous
field test. For students in the advanced path, this evaluation will
be performed by
CyberTracker
International (space is also available for interested students in
the Primary Path).
The purpose of this wildlife tracking evaluation is for you to be able
to recognize and celebrate your growth, know your strengths and weaknesses,
and bring greater credibility to your tracking skills. Evaluation is
a common method utilized to certify competent practitioners within a
field to establish credibility and aid in gaining employment.
As trackers become more involved in wildlife monitoring and research,
it is important to test and certify observer reliability.
Wilderness Awareness School's Wildlife Tracking Intensive is pleased
to be hosting a CyberTracker Conservation Tracker Evaluation facilitated
by renown author and certified evaluator Mark Elbroch.
CyberTracker Conservation Tracker Evaluations stand on their own outside
every school and every curriculum, and thus evaluations are open to
anyone with interest. For more information on the CyberTracker Conservation
Tracker Evaluation visit CyberTracker.org
and WildlifeTrackers.com.
Graduates
Graduates of this tracking course receive a certificate of completion
and come away with a skill set equally applicable in wildlife sciences,
environmental education, or personal exploration in the natural world.
After a year in the Tracking Intensive you will certainly never look at
the ground the same way again.
The Tracking Intensive at a Glance
Tuition: $2750; includes all instruction and course materials.
Tuition includes a $650 non-refundable deposit to secure your enrollment
in the course, and then the balance is due in 3 quarterly payments of
$700.
Scholarships are available.
Duration: Ten weekends (one weekend each month from September
to June). 2008-2009 dates: 9/13-14; 10/11-10/12, 11/8-11/9; 12/13-12/14;
1/10-1/11; 2/14-2/15; 3/14-3/15; 4/4-4/5; 5/2-5/3; and 5/30-5/31.
Location: Pacific Northwest, 50% at various sites within
the Puget Sound region of Washington State, 50% at locations further afield
in Washington and Oregon.
Enrollment: Limited to 16 participants total between
primary and advanced paths of study.
Instructors: David Moskowitz, and Jenn Wolfe, as well
as guest instructors Susan Morse and Casey McFarland.
See
biographies below.
To Register
Call the office at 425-788-1301 to register and secure your deposit. The
2007-2008 course filled with a waiting list, so be sure to register early!
NOTE: If you plan to apply for a scholarship, please submit a scholarship
application along when you register for the Tracking Intensive
(download
a Scholarship
Application in PDF format, complete it and mail it in).
For More Information
If you have additional questions about the Wildlife Tracking Intensive,
or would like a color brochure about the course, please use our
info
request form.
Instructor Biographies
David
Moskowitz is our lead
Wildlife
Tracking Programs Instructor and the project manager for the
Cascade
Wildlife Monitoring Project. He joined Wilderness Awareness School
in 2005, bringing with him over a decade of experience teaching outdoor
and environmental education throughout the United States including at
Outward Bound and the North Cascades Institute. David is a skilled field
researcher and has been involved with forest carnivore research and wildlife
monitoring in the Cascades for many years as well as avian research in
the Puget Sound area.
He holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies through Prescott
College with an emphasis on Field Ecology and Wildlife Tracking. David
is an active member of the International Society of Professional Trackers
and has given many talks and presentations on wildlife and tracking
based on his years of field work and teaching. He holds professional
certifications in wildlife tracking, wilderness medicine, avalanche
safety and sits on the Board of Directors for Rite of Passage Journeys
where he is the chairman of the Safety Committee. His writings on wilderness
skills, environmental education, natural history and tracking have appeared
in numerous regional and national publications including Green Teacher,
Wilderness Way, and the Wilderness Education Association
Journal. Along with tracking wild animals, mountaineering, environmental
activism and photography are several of his passions.
Jenn
Wolfe has trained with Jon Young and Wilderness Awareness School
since 1995 in the arts of animal tracking, mentoring and naturalist
training skills, as well as completing a 9-month Wildlife Tracking Apprenticeship
course with Jon Young and Mark Elbroch in California.
Jenn has been a Lead Instructor for 6 years on Adult
Expeditions, tracking animals in the wilds of Idaho’s backcountry
as well as working with adults locally through Tracking
Club, tracking intensives and other adult courses in the Puget Sound
Area for 12 years. She has been a public school teacher in Seattle since
1989 with a BA in Education and a BFA in Art. Along with her love for
tracking and the natural world, Jenn also loves to create works of art
and play with her two year-old granddaughter.
2008-2009
Wildlife Tracking Intensive
Guest Instructor Biographies
Susan
Morse is a nationally recognized naturalist and habitat specialist
with thirty years of experience tracking and interpreting wildlife uses
of habitat. She is an active member of the Western Forest Carnivores Committee
and Northeast Carnivore Conservation Working Group and has focused her
research activities on cougar, bobcat, black bear, and Canada lynx. Sue
was the recipient in 2001 of the Franklin Fairbanks Award for her lifelong
creative and dedicated service to enriching the awareness and understanding
of the natural world among the residents of New England.
Susan founded Keeping Track in 1994 and developed her procedures and
techniques on six square miles of wild country surrounding her home,
'Wolfrun', in Jericho, Vermont. Susan has served as co-coordinator and
primary teacher for the Fort Huachuca Track Count in Arizona, a pioneering
effort to teach citizens to utilize track counts as a monitoring tool.
There she tested her idea for Keeping Track with other carnivore biologists,
in particular Harley Shaw. Wolf Run now serves as one of Keeping Track's
training sites, while its administrative office is in Huntington, Vermont.
Sue leads Keeping Track's volunteer training programs and oversees development
of their training curriculum. Read
more about Susan Morse on Keeping Track's website.
Casey
McFarland is a graduate of the Wilderness
Awareness Residential Program, as well as our apprenticeships in
tracking and mentoring. Casey is a Wildlife Tracking Instructor with
our annual Summer
Wolf Tracking Expedition to backcountry Idaho, and he served as
a core instructor with the Residential Program for several years. Last
year, Casey had the honor of being one of the first 3 people to obtain
a 100% score on the North American Track and Sign Evaluation through
CyberTracker Conservation, and was awarded a North American Track and
Sign Specialist Certificate.
2007-2008 Tracking Intensive
Guest Instructor Biographies
Jim
Halfpenny, PhD is a highly respected tracker, scientist and educator
with a background in mammalogy and ecology. He is the author of over a
dozen books and videos, including
A Field Guide To Mammal Tracking
in North America,
Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild,
Snow
Tracking, several different
Scats & Tracks regional
series,
Discovering Yellowstone Wolves, and most recently,
Yellowstone
Bears in the Wild (2007).
Since 1961, Jim has taught outdoor education and environmental programs
for state, federal, and private organizations. His writing, photographs,
and classes have been featured in
The New York Times, Outside Magazine, Backpacker,
Sierra, Field and Stream, Natural History,
and many other publications. Jim has conducted research and led expeditions
to the four corners of the world including both polar regions. He has
been tracking since 1957 and teaching tracking since 1969. Read
Dr. Jim Halfpenny's complete wildlife tracking biography on his 'A Naturalist's
World' website
Rob
Speiden is a senior wildlife tracking instructor for Natural
Awareness Tracking School in Christiansburg, Virginia. Tracking humans
through Search and Rescue work was a start for Rob to get interested
in tracking all animals, and he has trained with many tracking schools
around the country including Paul Rezendes' Nature Programs, Charles
Worsham's Nature and Vision School, Wilderness Awareness School, Jim
Halfpenny and others. Decades of outdoor experience, professional seminars
and a strong desire to share with others come together in Rob’s
teaching. He was recently certified as a Level II Track and Sign Interpreter
by CyberTracker Conservation. Read
Rob Speiden's complete biography on his 'Natural Awareness Tracking
School' website
More information
Calendar
Scholarship Information