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Wolves & Willows

Wolves & Willows

$802.50
Dates:
August 3 - 5
Location:
Lamar Buffalo Ranch
Meals Included?:
No
Instructors:
Brenna Cassidy, Ph.D. student
Audience Type:
Adult
Program Type:
Field Seminars
Program Subject:
Ecology, Natural History, Wildlife
(Activity Scale)
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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, and the last 30 years have been fascinating for both visitors and scientists as wolves have settled back into their role as top predators. We will have short classroom discussions and take field trips into the park to see these animals and changes for ourselves, including a trip to the historic Rose Creek wolf acclimation pen. Also prepare to get up early to look for wolf pups on their first journeys away from the den and the dramatic bison rut at sunrise!

About the instructor

Brenna Cassidy was born and raised in northern Illinois where her curiosity for the natural world grew in the forests and tall grass prairies. She completed a degree in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and spent summers during her undergraduate degree in northern Wisconsin and Yellowstone National Park. After graduating in 2012, she moved back to Yellowstone and worked on multiple projects studying birds, cougars, and wolves and spent five years seasonally migrating between the Bird Program and Wolf Project. Her PhD research focuses on the survival and reproduction of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. While not working, she can be found trying her hand at most art forms and outdoor activities.

Download Program Information:

Willows and Wolves Course Letter

More Information:

Lodging | Audience Descriptions

We are continually updating and refining our COVID-19 mitigation measures to ensure the health and safety our guests, staff and volunteers. Read our COVID-19 guidelines for program participants.

SUMMER ACTIVITY LEVEL SCALE

  • Be prepared to hike up to 1 mile per day, comfortably, through relatively flat terrain on maintained trails.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 3 miles per day, comfortably, with elevation gains up to 600 feet. Some off-trail hiking possible.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 5 miles per day, comfortably, with occasional elevation gains up to 1000 feet in undulating terrain.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 8 miles per day, at a brisk pace, comfortably, with climbs up to 1500 feet on dirt trails. Loose rocks, uneven footing, and off-trail hiking are possible. Good coordination is recommended.
  • Be prepared for brisk aerobic, destination-oriented hiking up to 12 miles a day. You should be physically conditioned to do these hikes comfortably. Elevation changes up to 2000 feet on dirt trails or off-trail. Loose rock, uneven footing, steep hillside traverses, and stream crossings are possible. Good coordination is required.

WINTER ACTIVITY LEVEL SCALE

  • Leisurely hikes up to 1 mile per day through relatively flat terrain on maintained or snow-packed trails.
  • Hikes on snow-packed trails, or snowshoe or ski trips, up to 3 miles per day with climbs up to 250 feet.
  • Brisk hiking, snowshoeing, or skiing up to 5 miles per day with climbs up to 500 feet, including some trail-breaking in snow.
  • Brisk aerobic snowshoeing or skiing up to 8 miles per day with climbs up to 1000 feet; or steep, rugged, off-trail skiing or snowshoeing—including breaking trail in variable snow conditions.
  • Brisk aerobic snowshoeing or skiing up to 12 miles per day with climbs up to 1500 feet; or steep, rugged, off-trail skiing or snowshoeing—including breaking trail in variable snow conditions.