Events
Trailing Practice: Sun, Jun 27
 9:00 am - 12:00 pm We will gather at the parking lot at the corner of Alta Vista Dr and Stuber Rd: Reservoir Woods Park 1901 Alta Vista Dr Roseville, MN 55113 This
is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. There are minimal
amenities at Reservoir Woods. No drinking fountains and a single port-a-potty.
Please bring appropriate gear and dress for several hours outdoors in
whatever weather we may have that day. We
will meet at 9:00 in the parking lot. We will head out on the trail
shortly after 9:00 and return to the parking lot by 12:00 pm. If you
need to reach us the day of the outing, please call Kirsten's cell phone
at 651-785-4650. Please note that once we are trailing, our phones will be on
vibrate and we could easily miss an incoming call.
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CyberTracker Evaluations
These
two-day long Master Classes in track and sign interpretation are led by
some of the finest wildlife tracking instructors in North America. These evaluations are one of the best ways to
speed up your learning process, advance your skills, and help you
gauge your current level of expertise as a tracker. No prior training is required to participate. On
Labor Day weekend, we will host a Standard Track & Sign Evaluation.
Standard evaluations are ideal for all levels of trackers, from novice
to professional. Questions range from the clearest and most familiar
tracks and sign of common animals all the way to obscure sign, partial
prints, and the tracks of small or rare species. The evaluator debriefs
each question, making sure all the participant don't just know the
answer, but understand exactly why that is the answer. The evaluation
will be led by Marcus Reynerson. Cost $275 Marcus has also offered to run a second evaluation on September 2-3. If there is enough interest, we will go ahead and add this second set of dates. The first evaluation is currently filled, with a short waiting list. Please contact us if you are interested in participating (in either set of dates) and we will do our best to give everyone an opportunity to take part. Next Memorial Day weekend, we will host Minnesota's first ever Specialist Evaluation. Specialist
Evaluations are designed with experienced trackers in mind. Questions
focus on the tracks of small or rare species, partial footprints, and
indistinct tracks and sign that may require considerable experience to
identify. The evaluation is led by two instructors, offering
participants more evaluator contact and exposure to an even greater
depth of knowledge and perspectives. For the experienced tracker, there
is simply no better opportunity to move your skills forward than a
Specialist Evaluation. Casey McFarland will be the external evaluator. Cost: $375 Registration is open the 2022 Specialist Evaluation. To register, Contact Us and submit a full payment to Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project.
You are registered for an evaluation when we receive your payment.
Because of up-front the costs associated with hosting evaluators,
registrations are transferable but not refundable. If you are unable to
attend an evaluation you have registered for, we may only be able to
offer a refund if we can fill your spot. Mail payment to Jonathan Poppele 846 Clear Ave St. Paul, MN 55106   Marcus Reynerson
is engaged in telling stories that bring to life the complexity of the
ways humans are currently living in the 21st century. He was the
Associate Producer of the conservation documentary Last Stand: The Vanishing Caribou Rainforest and a contributing author for Caribou Rainforest
by Braided River Press. Born in south Louisiana and raised in Kentucky,
Marcus currently lives in the Snoqualmie Valley in Washington State,
just east of Seattle where he is the Lead Instructor for an
internationally renowned environmental leadership program for adults at
the Wilderness Awareness School. Evaluations
will be held in and around Ft. Snelling State Park. Located in a
metropolitan are of over 1 million people, Ft. Snelling boasts
remarkable wildlife activity and diversity. The Minnesota Wildlife
Tracking Project hosts our monthly Tracking Club at Ft. Snelling, and
have recorded the tracks and sign of over 20 species of mammals there
including otter, mink, weasel, skunk, fox, opossum, and at least four
species of tree climbing squirrels. |
June Tracking Club: Standing Still
 Sunday, June 20 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather at the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 The word "solstice" is Latin for "sun stands still" and refers to the points on the horizon where the sun rises and sets. For a few days around the solstice, the locations of sunrise and sunset slow their northern progression to a standstill before moving south again. The solstice marks the beginning of astronomical summer, when many animal begin to slow their rhythms down from the frenetic pace of spring. We will plan to do the same--taking a cue from the sun by slowing our movement across the landscape to take a long look at the tracks and sing we encounter. This is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. Please bring appropriate footwear and dress for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. We
will gather at 9:00 outside of the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:15 and return to the visitor center to wrap-up and share. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call or text Jon's cell phone at
612-388-4700. Note that cell reception is poor in much of the park, and calls do not always come through. You need a State Park pass to drive to the Visitor Center. The parking lot at the Historic Fort is closed for construction.
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May Tracking Club: A Full Fledged Gathering
 Sunday, May 16 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather outside the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 The trees are leafing out, the canopy is filling in, and early nesters are beginning to fledge. With spring in full swing, let's gather at Ft. Snelling and see what kinds of tracks and signs the local denizens are leaving behind. This is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. Please bring appropriate footwear and dress for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. We
will gather at 9:00 outside of the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:15 and return to the visitor center to wrap-up and share. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call or text Jon's cell phone at
612-388-4700. Note that cell reception is poor in much of the park, and calls do not always come through. Important NotesWe will continue to encourage masks and social distancing during our gatherings, but will begin to follow the "two out of three" guideline outlined here by the New York Times. Please have a mask available and plan to wear it at any time you are less than six feet away from anyone outside your household. When maintaining social distance (blackbirds are great at teaching social distance), feel free to remove your mask.
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Trailing Practice: Sat, May 15
 Please wear a mask and plan to maintain spatial distancing of a
bit over one deer's length. If we are successful, we may again be able to use
actual deer to check this. 9:00 am - 12:00 pm We will gather at the parking lot at the corner of Alta Vista Dr and Stuber Rd: Reservoir Woods Park 1901 Alta Vista Dr Roseville, MN 55113This
is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. There are no
amenities at Reservoir Woods. No bathrooms, no drinking fountains.
Please bring appropriate gear and dress for several hours outdoors in
whatever weather we may have that day. We
will meet at 9:00 in the parking lot. We will head out on the trail
shortly after 9:00 and return to the parking lot by 12:00 pm. If you
need to reach us the day of the outing, please call Kirsten's cell phone
at 651-785-4650. Please note that once we are trailing, our phones will be on
vibrate and we could easily miss an incoming call.
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Trailing Practice: Sun, Apr 25
 Please
wear a mask and plan to maintain spatial distancing of a bit over one
deer's length. We are often able to get quite close to the deer at Ft. Snelling, so we may be able to check this first hand. Sunday, April 25 9:00 am - 12:00 pm We will gather in the parking lot south of the Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center: Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center Fort Snelling State Trail St Paul, MN 55111 This
is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. With COVID, the
Visitor Center is not open and there are limited amenities: Outdoor
biffy, no drinking fountains. Please bring appropriate gear and dress
for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. Please also take precautions for ticks,
as we expect to follow deer trails through prime tick habitat. Ticks
are active all year and we have friends who have contracted Lyme disease
in Minnesota in January. We
will meet at 9:00 in the parking lot. We will head out on the trail
shortly after 9:00 and return to the parking lot by 12:00 pm. If you
need to reach us the day of the outing, please call Kirsten's cell phone at 651-785-4650. Please note that once we are trailing, our phones will be on vibrate and we could easily miss an incoming call. You
need a State Park pass to drive to the Visitor Center. The parking lot
at the Historic Fort Snelling visitor center is currently closed for
construction.
Click Here for Directions: |
Tracking Club: April Showers
 Sunday, April 18 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather outside the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 The snow is gone, but recent rain showers have left us with lots of great mud to capture tracks. Migratory
songbirds are returning from the Neotropics. Frogs are singing in vernal
pools. Trees are beginning to leaf out. And muskrats and beavers are busy marking the shorelines along the rivers. It's time to get out
and explore this changing of the season. This is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. Please bring appropriate footwear and dress for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. We
will gather at 9:00 outside of the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:15 and return to the visitor center to wrap-up and share. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call or text Jon's cell phone at
612-388-4700. Note that cell reception is poor in much of the park, and calls do not always come through. Important NotesPlease wear a mask and plan
to maintain a distance of roughly one deer length from those outside of your household.
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March Tracking Club: Signs of Spring
 Sunday, March 21 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather outside the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 Spring is coming a bit early this year in the Northland. Record high temperatures in early March have erased our snowpack and brought out the smells of early spring. We will likely get a few more snowfalls before the trees leaf out, but deep winter appears to be behind us. How are the animals shifting their behavior with this warming weather? Have the woodchuck come out of hibernation? Are
the deer finding early spring growth to feed on? We will head out onto the landscape and look for signs of spring. We
will gather at 9:00 outside of the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:15 and return to the visitor center to wrap-up and share. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call or text Jon's cell phone at
612-388-4700. Note that cell reception is poor in much of the park, and calls do not always come through. Important NotesPlease wear a mask and plan
to maintain a distance of roughly one deer length from those outside of your household.
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Trailing Practice: Sun, Mar 14
 Trailing
practice returns Ft. Snelling this month. We are getting into shoulder season for trailing. The matted leaf litter of early spring can offer some of the best substrate for finding and following fresh trails. Old snow or hard frozen ground, on the other hand, can make identifying fresh trails extremely difficult. But no matter what the substrate, we usually catch sight of some deer at Ft. Snelling and have a chance to watch their behavior. Or, as the case may be, have some deer watch our behavior. Please
wear a mask and plan to maintain spatial distancing of a bit over one
deer's length. We are often able to get quite close to the deer at Ft. Snelling, so we may be able to check this first hand. Sunday, March 14 9:00 am - 12:00 pm We will gather in the parking lot south of the Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center: Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center Fort Snelling State Trail St Paul, MN 55111 This
is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. With COVID, the
Visitor Center is not open and there are limited amenities: Outdoor
biffy, no drinking fountains. Please bring appropriate gear and dress
for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. Please also take precautions for ticks,
as we expect to follow deer trails through prime tick habitat. Ticks
are active all year and we have friends who have contracted Lyme disease
in Minnesota in January. We
will meet at 9:00 in the parking lot. We will head out on the trail
shortly after 9:00 and return to the parking lot by 12:00 pm. If you
need to reach us the day of the outing, please call Kirsten's cell phone at 651-785-4650. Please note that once we are trailing, our phones will be on vibrate and we could easily miss an incoming call. You
need a State Park pass to drive to the Visitor Center. The parking lot
at the Historic Fort Snelling visitor center is currently closed for
construction.
Click Here for Directions: |
February Tracking Club: Otter go Tracking
 Sunday, February 21 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather outside the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 North American River Otters are just plain fun to track. That they are also good indicator of the health of an aquatic ecosystem. Since 2009, the National Park Service has been conducting track and sign surveys along the Mississippi River to study our metro area otter populations. For the past couple of years, we have been sharing our sightings of otter track and sign with the National Park Service through our iNaturalist project, the Minnesota Metro Otter Survey. Come join us as we search the shores of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers for signs of these inquisitive aquatic members of the weasel family, and learn to distinguish their tracks and sign from those of other animals. This is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. Please bring appropriate footwear and dress for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. We
will gather at 9:00 outside of the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:15 and return to the visitor center to wrap-up and share. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call or text Jon's cell phone at
612-388-4700. Note that cell reception is poor in much of the park, and calls do not always come through. Important NotesPlease wear a mask and plan
to maintain a distance of roughly two otter lengths from those outside of your household.
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