Yellowstone Association Institute Press Releases

Yellowstone Association Institute Press Releases Index

JANUARY CLASSES AT THE YELLOWSTONE ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE

November 21, 2006

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK – The Yellowstone Association Institute still has space available in courses ranging from understanding avalanche conditions to learning to observe and track wildlife including wolves and bison. All of the courses meet at the Lamar Valley Buffalo Ranch with field trips to nearby areas within Yellowstone National Park or in the mountains above Cooke City.

Level 1 Avalanche Safety (January 12-15, $300). Participants will learn to be safer in the winter backcountry by understanding what causes avalanches, when those conditions exist, and how to assess them. Through classroom sessions and two field days in the mountains above Cooke City, they will learn snow science, avalanche hazard assessment, and search and rescue techniques.

Yellowstone’s Wolves (January 17-19, $195). Participants will experience the story of Yellowstone’s wolves in the heart of wolf country, the Lamar Valley. It’s a complex, rich, and dynamic tale woven of wolf ecology, biology, and management. Students will look for wolves at sunrise and sunset, spend classroom time focusing on wolf science and management, and go into the field to decipher wolf tracks and interpret wolf ecology.

Basic Snow Tracking (January 19-21, $195). The Yellowstone winter landscape provides a blank page for animals to write their story with prints in the snow. Participants will earn to decipher these stories from an expert tracker in prime wildlife habitat: Yellowstone’s Northern Range. They will gather the basic tools for identifying tracks and understanding the behavior of the animals that left them.

The Buffalo Story (January 26-28, $180). An American icon and its history and management come together only in one place: The Lamar Buffalo Ranch of Yellowstone National Park. Here, reintroduced bison joined the remnants of the once thundering great herds to build the strong, healthy herds grazing Yellowstone’s valleys today. Participants will join the park’s bison ecologist at this historic site. They’ll study bison behavior, biology, and ecology through roadside observation and snowshoe treks to explore bison habitat.

The Institute is a nonprofit field school operated by the National Park’s official educational partner, the Yellowstone Association. The Institute offers a variety of courses in ecology, wilderness skills, and natural history year-round in Yellowstone National Park.

To enroll in this or another field seminar, or to request a catalog that includes a full description of all summer and fall courses, please contact the Yellowstone Association Institute at PO Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 307-344-2294. Complete information is also available at www.YellowstoneAssociation.org.