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Midwest Wildlife Tracking Intensive

The Midwest Wildlife Tracking Intensive provides in-depth training in the art and science of wildlife tracking for students of various backgrounds and experience. Visiting a variety of locations and habitats around the lower Midwest in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, participants will have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of wildlife and ecology while honing their skill set in wildlife tracking. This program will be appropriate for both the wildlife and environmental professional as well as the amateur everyday naturalist. The program will culminate with a CyberTracker Track and Sign Certification and an opportunity for participants to present on a project or an idea they are interested in creating or implementing in their community in the field of wildlife tracking

 

 

 

Program Objectives

Through presentations, field instruction, peer learning, and independent study, participants will gain a combination of field experience and technical skills. Students will walk away with:

  • A greater knowledge of place, increased ability to read the landscape, and a stronger sense of belonging in the natural world.
  • Strong technical skills in the art and science of wildlife tracking that translates across the continent in a variety of ecosystems.
  • A rich context and understanding of the different ways wildlife tracking is being applied across the globe and resources to explore these upon course completion.

Whether you are a professional in the environmental sciences, conservation, or education, or simply an amateur nature lover, this program will provide you with a rich educational experience in a rigorous yet fun and easygoing way with a group of eager learners and inspired naturalists.

Course Calendar

All class days are from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm. Four weekends will have Saturday evening sessions 6-8 pm

  • Introductory Weekend – Indianapolis, IN – 8/30-31/2025 (Saturday Evening Session)
    • Creating the learning community and course overview
    • Fundamentals of wildlife tracking and key frameworks for learning
    • Track morphology
    • Nature observation, awareness, and movement techniques
    • Field assessment and project orientation

*Please note this weekend also doubles as a Introduction to Wildlife Tracking for the general public

  • Gaits, Track Patterns, and Locomotion – Indiana Sand Dunes, North IN – 10/11-12/2025
    • Track morphology
    • Track pattern assessment
    • Gaits and animal locomotion analysis
  • Sign Tracking, Ecological Tracking, and Applied Tracking – Louisville, KY – 11/8-9/2025 (Saturday Evening Session)
    • Sign tracking fundamentals
    • Wildlife relationships with landscapes
    • Applications of professional wildlife tracking 
  • Mammal Skulls and Bird Feathers – Pataskala, OH – 12/13-14/2025 (Saturday Evening Session)
    • Mammal taxonomy
    • Mammal skull anatomy, physiology and Identification
    • Bird natural history and concepts of Bird Language
    • Feather anatomy and Identification
    • Project check-ins
  • Wildlife Trailing Fundamentals – Breathitt County, KY – 1/24-25/2026 (this location is subject to change)
    • Trailing techniques and field practice
    • Elk natural history
    • Ecological and predictive tracking concepts
    • Observation and movement practices
  • CyberTracker Certification and Course Wrap up – Indianapolis, IN – 2/27/2026 – 3/1/2026 (Saturday Evening Session)
    • Track and Sign evaluation and certification
    • Celebration, reflections on the year, and next steps

 

Out-of-Class Opportunities

Students will receive suggested readings, exercises, and journaling and research assignments to pursue at their own pace during the weeks between each class session. These assignments will complement and enrich the material we will cover each weekend. There will also be two optional zoom sessions throughout the course on a variety of topics, with dates TBD.

 

Instructors

This program will have three very skilled naturalists, trackers and educators as your instructors. CyberTracker evaluator Marcus Reynerson will serve as the lead instructor along with Track and Sign Specialist Sandy Reed of Original Wisdom and Matt Shull of White Pine Wilderness Academy. We will also have several guest instructors visit throughout the program. 

 

We will only be taking ten participants as we value a small class size allowing us to develop rapport and close-knit learning community over the course of our 6 months together.

White Pine is grateful for the Wilderness Awareness School in Washington State who, with their myriad of skilled and experienced staff, has been a pioneering entity in spreading and cultivating these skills and making them accessible to many people over the last three decades. This program is modeled on their program in the Pacific Northwest.

Instructors

Marcus Reynerson

Lead Instructor

Sandy Reed

Program Coordinator, Instructor

Matt Shull

Instructor