This seminar will take a deep look into Yellowstone wolves and the individual life stories. Other topics would include the natural history of Yellowstone flora and fauna, today’s pack dynamics, the role of wolves and other species in the Yellowstone ecosystem, and current management practices….

Spring is in the air in Yellowstone! The snow is beginning to melt, the hills are turning to a million shades of green, and the babies are making their debut! We will spend our days looking for bear cubs as they explore their new world…

This is a combination classroom and field course aimed at increasing understanding and appreciation for bears (especially grizzlies) in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem–their biology, their ecological role and interrelations with other species in the ecosystem (including humans), the long and evolving history of their management,…

After the spring thaw, Yellowstone blossoms with new life everywhere. Green paints its way up the hillside as wildflowers decorate the landscape. Buzzing insects return and the songs of birds stir the morning air. Babies are everywhere. From the darling, red bison calves, to the…

The north entrance of Yellowstone is a complex geologic area. Glaciers from the Gallatin range, the Yellowstone ice cap, and the Beartooth plateau interacted in this area during the last Ice Age creating glacial landforms and periodic glacial outburst floods. In addition to the glacial…

Tectonic trout, Boiling bacteria, Caldera Communities, and Northern Range niches…In this seminar we’ll explore the ecosystems that are in equilibrium with the awesome geologic setting of one of the world’s largest volcanoes, with its life- sustaining and life-threatening heat flow and its expansive high-altitude plateau….

How did Thomas Moran begin his memorable paintings in Yellowstone? By using some of the same essential and time-tested drawing techniques that you’ll learn in this class to capture the essence of the Yellowstone landscape. You’ll be introduced to these techniques during an indoor session,…

Follow in the footsteps of Thomas Moran by learning to paint outdoors at some of the same locations that inspired the famous Yellowstone artist. Through classroom opportunities and field sessions you’ll practice incorporating the sensory experience of being outdoors to convey temperatures, sights, sounds, lighting,…

Join three long-time Yellowstone backcountry explorers with a combined 130+ years of backpacking experience in Yellowstone in all seasons for instruction on skills related to appropriate gear, navigation with map and compass, backpacking techniques, camp cooking, safe travel in bear country, and overall, how to…

Jump into the bus for three full days of exploring the most amazing roadside geology in the world: Yellowstone, Earth’s largest active volcano. You’ll examine rocks formed in continental collisions billions of years ago, ponder the forces that buried forests, and follow glaciers that covered…

We will highlight our ongoing research into the raven’s world with field tours, participation in observation and tagging of ravens, and discussion of our findings. As scientists, we meet the natural world with rigorous curiosity and enthusiastic wonder, perspectives we try to instill in our…

Our Fly Fishing for Beginners course will provide an excellent opportunity to learn new skills while experiencing the breathtaking beauty and wildlife of Yellowstone National Park. After leading this course since 2015, my best memories have come, not from the fish people have caught, but…

Flitting among the bluebirds and bison, from mud puddles to lupine, butterflies abound in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—several species of which can found here and few other places on Earth. We will explore as many of the nearly 135 species living in Yellowstone as possible…

Archaeological, paleontological, and genetic evidence has demonstrated that humans have a closer and more ancient history with gray wolves (and, ultimately, domestic dogs) than any other animal species on the planet. Gray wolves are likely to have started to self-domesticate themselves somewhere in Eurasia more…

In this seminar we will explore the exciting story of Yellowstone’s beloved evolutionary cousins: gray wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans). While fossils suggest that these two species diverged over a million years ago, more recent genetic analyses suggest that that this divergence may…

Join Yellowstone Forever for a trail running adventure in Yellowstone National Park. While cruising scenic ridgelines and dropping into remote canyons, you’ll see rarely visited areas of the park and leave only footprints on the landscape. Enjoy wildlife watching, searching for tracks and signs, and…

Yellowstone is home to more than 1,000 plant species from tiny flowers to towering trees. Join this lecture and field-based course and learn basic techniques to identify native flowers, shrubs, trees and lichens. We will begin by discussing the evolution and anatomy of plants then…

Yellowstone’s ice cap, which was a kilometer thick at its maximum, left a uniquely accessible glaciated landscape in its wake. In this field seminar, we will see and hike the glacial features of Yellowstone. Yellowstone ice flowed into the Paradise Valley from the Beartooth Plateau;…

There is no better outdoor classroom than the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems in the world. Yellowstone’s wealth of natural and cultural diversity includes the largest concentration of hydrothermal features, 10,000+ years of vast human history, an abundance…

Yellowstone is home to nearly 300 bird species from American white pelicans to mountain bluebirds. In this seminar we will spend time in the classroom and in the field learning how to identify birds by sight and by sound using a variety of techniques. We…

Join us for three days hiking in the wilds of Yellowstone! Along the trail, we will provide in-depth knowledge and experience about all aspects of the park, from wildlife to geology to history. We welcome participants to share their stories as well! The goal of…

This course will explore how wolves affect ecosystems in significant, and sometimes unexpected, ways. We will concentrate on how wolves have affected other animals like elk, bison, and beavers, as well as often forgotten water-loving plants. Yellowstone has changed dramatically over the last 150 years,…

We will spend all three days venturing off into the backcountry of YNP. The hikes will be ten to fifteen miles from start to finish. Instruction will include any necessary fly-fishing skill requests, wilderness safety and environmental stewardship. Fly tying will be available as time…

Field Journaling in Yellowstone by creating pages within a sketchbook/journal is a perfect way to slow down and really absorb an experience. This class is for all artistic levels. I will be sharing some of my favorite field journaling activities as we explore approaches for…

The bison rut is one of our favorite wildlife events in all the world. Big males compete for breeding rights with the females. Testosterone, musth, and adrenaline hang thick in the dusty summer air. Sunsets are late and are absolutely mesmerizing in their haze and…

Yellowstone is famous for so many great reasons – the geothermal features, abundant wildlife, and notoriety as the world’s first National Park to name a few. However, very few know of the park’s other unique attribute – its amazing night sky. Nighttime holds a special…

Yellowstone National Park is world-renown for its wildlife and for having the most intact carnivore assemblages in the United States, but it pales in comparison to its faunal diversity in the evolutionary past. Join us in this 5-day seminar as we trace the evolutionary, archaeological,…

Among the major outstanding questions facing humanity is how life originated on Earth and whether we are alone in this universe. Hot springs and their microbial inhabitants provide unique insight into both of these intriguing questions. This field seminar will introduce participants to the Yellowstone…

Centered around Yellowstone National Park, the course will relate Crow Indian Mythology through music, songs, stories, and poetry. The elements of the course will be related to sites in Yellowstone National Park in particular and is designed to give uninhibited access to Crow Indian Culture…

Join us for three days hiking in the wilds of Yellowstone! Along the trail, we will provide in-depth knowledge and experience about all aspects of the park, from wildlife to geology to history. We welcome participants to share their stories as well! The goal of…

The extreme floods of 2022 in Yellowstone showed much of their greatest power and effects in northeastern Yellowstone, the location of this field course. Such a rare event raises a number of intriguing questions: Have floods of this extraordinary magnitude occurred in the recent past,…

Yellowstone National Park is one of the premier fly-fishing destinations in the United States, if not the world. There are places where you can catch more and bigger trout, but nowhere else can you catch native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in company of the full complement…

Mother nature rarely shouts, she almost always speaks in a whisper. Are you listening? Want to know that a coyote has just passed by or that a hawk is about to arrive? If so, you will want to explore the ways to read the nuances…

Transcontinental railroad service to the American West in the late nineteenth-century made visiting Yellowstone feasible for travelers from around the globe. Tourism boomed as thousands of visitors alighted from the train and boarded brightly colored stage coaches (1883-1916) or touring cars (1917-1950s) and embarked on…

It’s a raptor time of year! Starting with a brief classroom session, the class will focus on raptor identification and ecology. Then you’ll spend the day in Hayden Valley and other Yellowstone valleys watching for raptors (birds of prey) flying overhead on their journeys south….

There is no better outdoor classroom than the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems in the world. Yellowstone’s wealth of natural and cultural diversity includes the largest concentration of hydrothermal features, 10,000+ years of vast human history, an abundance…

The elk rut is an incredible wildlife event. Males bugle constantly, a sound that signals the arrival of autumn in the Rocky Mountains. Giant, absolutely beautiful bull elk compete for breeding rights with the females. Their courtship style is a harem style, and the males…

Is your camera one of your best friends? Do you want to learn more about wildlife and how to tell their stories? Do you want to take your photography to the next level? Then come join us and learn while you shoot with fellow enthusiasts…

If you work or recreate in the outdoors or in other austere environments where access to medical care is delayed or communication is unreliable, our Wilderness First Responder course is for you. It is the industry standard for professional guides, trip leaders, search and rescue…