DATES: JUNE 30 – JULY 3, 2025
TUITION & LODGING: $1,386
LOCATION: LAMAR BUFFALO RANCH
GROUP SIZE: 12
ACTIVITY LEVEL: 2
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Scientists meet the natural world with rigorous curiosity and enthusiastic wonder, perspectives they try to instill in students. Class participants will learn firsthand about raven language, ecology, evolution, and behavior, emphasizing how this engaging species lives among wolves and exploits people. This is an ancient and ever-evolving relationship that started in the Pleistocene and remains strong today. The connection of ravens to wolves is a dramatic example of a scavenger-predator relationship. The human-raven connection is similar but more complex as our cultures are tightly intertwined. Students will experience these connections during the challenging winter season by observing the many tagged raven pairs from Tower Junction to Cooke City as they interact with wolf packs at kill sites and humans throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Currently, raven populations are expanding, and some managers propose lethal control to bolster declining populations of sage-grouse, shorebirds, and desert tortoises. Participants will confront this issue with an excursion to Gardiner that emphasizes a sustainable conservation approach: working with diverse stakeholders to reduce subsidies fueling raven population growth. In addition to field studies, participants will discuss how ravens and wolves have inspired Yellowstone and the Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures and contrast this with today’s relationship. Finally, participants will consider past tribal injustices (why the Absaroka people were misnamed “Crow”) and current practices involving ravens (the spring bison hunt is a major social event for ravens as well as the Nez Perce and other NW tribes).
DAY 1
WELCOME & ORIENTATION
The program starts with an evening orientation. Participants will get to know one another and be introduced to the program. Throughout the evening, the itinerary and seminar key concepts will be discussed, as well as what to expect to pack for the field each day.
DAY 2
Nesting Behavior of Ravens:
The students will join the instructors as they visit several active raven nests in Yellowstone. Students will learn how raven parents select nest sites, care for and communicate with their young, and defend territory from intruders. There will also be an introductory set of lectures about raven ecology, behavior, and evolution, capped off with a showing of a recent raven film.
DAY 3
Foraging Ecology of Ravens:
Students will follow ravens’ flight paths as they search for food within and beyond the park’s boundaries. They will also explore ravens’ associations with wolves and people. Lectures from NPS biologists will provide context for ongoing wolf and bird research within the park.
DAY 4
Raven Research:
Students will participate in attempts to capture and tag ravens as part of the ongoing study of raven movement ecology in Yellowstone. They will also engage in short hikes to determine the fate of nearby raven nesting attempts.
DAY 5
CHECKOUT & DEPARTURE
Dates & Times: The program begins at 7:00 PM on Monday, June 30, 2025 and goes through 5:00 PM on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
Lodging Check-in & Check-out: Lodging check-in begins at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 30, 2025, and lodging check-out is at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, July 4, 2025.
Meals: This course is not catered. Participants will need to bring their own food; lunch should be able to travel in the field.
ACTIVITY LEVEL 2
- Be prepared to hike up to 3 miles per day, comfortably, with elevation gains up to 600 feet. Some off-trail hiking possible.
- For more information about our activity levels, please visit our Activity Level webpage here.
- Most activities will take place at elevations between 7,200 to 8,000 feet. Participants residing at lower elevations may want to arrive a day early to adjust to the altitude.
- To learn more about how specific medical conditions can be affected by Yellowstone’s environment and our activities, please visit our site page on health information.
- All field activities will be conducted as a group. If members of the group cannot participate in the day’s activities, they need to let the educator know in advance.
- To participate in this program, each participant must fill out and sign a health questionnaire and assumption of risk waiver. These forms must be completed and returned at least 30 days prior to the program start date.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
- Heinrich, B. (1999). Mind of the raven. Ciffstreet Books.
Whom to Contact: For any questions, concerns, or additional information please contact the following:
Program itinerary, health forms, payment, and general program questions please contact Yellowstone Forever at [email protected] or 406-848-2400 extension 3
Road updates, park conditions, and general park information please contact Yellowstone National Park Service at https://www.nps.gov/yell/contacts.htm
If running late for a program, please contact 406-641-2185.
General Information: For general information about the facilities, preparation for classes, what to expect, cancellation policies, and more, please see the Lamar-Based Field Seminars – General Information document.
To review the cancellation policy for this program, please visit our webpage which outlines cancellation policies by program type here.
BOOK THIS FIELD SEMINAR NOW
Colleen Marzluff, M.S. & John Marzluff, Ph.D.
John Marzluff, Ph.D.
John Marzluff is a professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington. Marzluff’s early research focused on the social behavior and ecology of Jays and ravens. His current interest is bringing a behavioral approach to pressing conservation issues, and blending biology, conservation, and anthropology to understand the co-evolution of human and animal cultures. Marzluff’s research has been featured in National Geographic, Audubon, Science, and Birding publications, and PBS Nature, NOVA, Bill Nye Saves the World, and Animal Planet. His recent books, Welcome to Subirdia, and In Search of Meadowlarks, suggest ways in which people can steward the splendid array of biological diversity in settled and agricultural lands.
Colleen Marzluff, M.S.
Colleen Marzluff completed her bachelor’s degree at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in 1982. She returned to her native southwest to study biology at Northern Arizona University, where she completed a master’s thesis on the feeding ecology of Abert’s squirrels. After completing her degree, she worked with Dr. Russell Balda as a technician in his Avian Cognition Lab. Today, she is involved in several local organizations, and to keep her animal behavior skills sharp, she participates in pet therapy, agility, and herding.
