Join us for the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project's next Practice Assessment

March 28-29, 2026

Various locations in and around the Twin Cities Metro

Facilitated by Jonathan Poppele, Maria Wesserle & Bill Kass

Sliding Tuition: $100 - $150

Applications are due by January 18, 2026

Apply Here

This two-day long, CyberTracker style, "mock evaluation" offers a low-cost, low-pressure opportunity for participants to get a taste of a CyberTracker certification, practice for a future certification, and get feedback on their progress in track and sign interpretation. We encourage everyone who is interested to apply.

If you have never participated in a CyberTracker Certification, you may wish to read this description and this FAQ on the Tracker Certification North America website. This Practice Assessment is NOT a CyberTracker Certification, and participants will not receive any type of certificate. This is a practice opportunity. Participants can expect an immersive two-day experience, detailed feedback, and a sense of how they may perform on a CyberTracker Certification should they take one.

Similar to a CyberTracker Certification, the Practice Assessment will take place at one or more locations in and around the Twin Cities Metro Area and will run from approximately 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday and 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Sunday.

Registration is limited to 10 participants. We will select applicants whose participation we believe will advance the club's mission to promote the art and science of wildlife tracking. We are interested in applicants who are new to the CyberTracker teaching and assessment style; as well as those actively involved with the club.

Participants who do exceptionally well on the Practice Assessment will be offered a scholarship for a future CyberTracker Certification.

To apply for a spot in the Practice Assessment, please fill out this form. For full consideration, please complete this application by January 18. We will begin accepting applicants and sending confirmations the following week. We will continue to review applications on a rolling basis after January 18 until the certification is filled.

Tuition will be due two weeks after you receive confirmation. This program is offered on a sliding tuition scale of $100 - $150. Note that no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Jonathan Poppele holds CyberTracker Track & Sign Specialist certificates in Southern California and Central Minnesota. He is the founder of the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project and author of Animal Tracks of the Midwest and Bird Tracks: A Guide to 55 North American Species. Jon has participated in 27 CyberTracker Track & Sign Certifications with eleven different evaluators across two continents.

Maria Wesserle is a forager and wildlife tracker from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has spent over 10 years organizing and teaching nature programs in the Upper Midwest. Through her business Four Season Foraging, she offers foraging and tracking workshops, creating spaces where people can learn to interact with urban and rural environments in meaningful and sustainable ways. She holds a Professional Track & Sign certification from CyberTracker North America.

Bill Kass holds a CyberTracker Track & Sign Professional certification and Tracker Level II in the US.  He also has Tracker Certifications in Kenya and South Africa and has tracked animals in Canada, Poland, and the UK.  He has spent time with the Master Trackers of the Kalahari, observing first-hand the incredible skills of San people that led to the development of the CyberTracker evaluation system. Outside of combing the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis, Bill spends a lot of time in Northern Minnesota and Colorado looking for signs of wolf, moose, bear, elk, and mountain lions.