Upcoming Workshops, Certifications, & Free Outings

Join us for a casual walk in the woods to learn about the tracks and sign that animals leave behind. All experience levels welcome. Learn more here.

When: Saturday Oct 24th, 10:00 - 1:00

Where: Beaver Lodge Fishing Access ‍ - North of Red Lodge

Email for more details: Mark@CambiumEcological.com

No November outing

Join us for a day in the snow learning about animal identification and behavior! As the ground gets blanketed, the nightly stories that animals write become much easier for us to interpret.

You’ll learn the process of observing animal tracks and sign, and asking the right questions to help lead you to the identification of the maker.

We’ll discuss footprints, animal behavior, movement and gait analysis, and maybe even do some trailing!

When: Saturday, Jan 30th — 11:00 - 3:00

Where: Red Lodge Area - Site TBD

Cost: $80 - Class size limited to 8 students

Email for more details: Mark@BlueWaterGIS.com

Tracks & Sign of Birds — One-Day Field Course - We will explore bird tracks & sign in the legendary Skagit valley, a mecca for wintering and migrating birds on the Washington coast. We’ll move across the landscape while interpreting a wide variety of bird tracks & sign, including footprints, kill sites (feathers and bones), feeding sign, pellets, scats, and more. We’ll help you round out your holistic skills of both birding and tracking by giving you insights into often overlooked behaviors of birds, and the signs they leave behind.

When: Sat Feb 6th & Sun, Feb 7th 8:30 - 3:30 (two separate classes, but you can sign up for both!)

Where: Skagit Valley, WA (north of Seattle)

Cost: $225

Email for more details: Mark@BlueWaterGIS.com

Course will be co-led by Kevin O’Malley of South Sound Nature School. Full course description and sign up here.

Location: Red Lodge, MT

Instructor: Mark Thompson

Cost: $225

Dates TBD - email if interested

At a Trailing Workshop, every participant takes a turn as lead tracker. The goal is to follow an animal’s tracks to locate it on the landscape, guide the group to approach and observe it, and, finally, to exit the area without alerting the animal to any human presence.

We teach participants how to follow tracks, recognize and interpret tracks & sign, anticipate where the trail is going, read the trail for danger, interpret the ecological context of the trail, and approach the animal, if the occasion arises.

Location: Red Lodge, MT

Instructor: Mark Thompson

Cost: $225

Dates TBD - email if interested

This is a new approach to a wildlife tracking workshop that will help you find wildlife tracks in the field. This combines Trailing and Track & Sign and helps to hone in your ecological tracking skills.

This 2-day CyberTracker certification will be held in the Beartooth Mountains and the sage steppe foothills of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Location: Red Lodge, MT

Evaluator: TBD

Cost: $375

Dates TBD - email if interested

This 2-day CyberTracker certification will be held in the river systems and forests in the Nooksack and Skagit watersheds.

Location: Bellingham, WA

Evaluator: Marcus Reynerson

Cost: $375

Dates TBD - email if interested

The skill of tracking culminates in the ability to follow a trail and see an animal without it noticing you. If you’re interested in discovering or honing this skillset, contact me to discuss how to build a custom curriculum to suit your needs.

Learn how to find and interpret bear track and sign, and how to distinguish Grizzly and Black Bears. We’ll also discuss general disturbance and awareness on trails, and how woodsmanship skills can help keep you AND the bears safe. A few free bear sprays will also be available in a raffle for participants!

Cost: TBD

When: TBD

Where: TBD