Join Swan Valley Connections and Montana Wilderness Associaiton for an introduction to winter ecology, and wildlife tracking and sign interpretation. This family friendly outing welcomes both wildlife tracking connoisseurs and beginners, as there’s always something to learn from the evidence animals leave behind. We will begin the day with a brief indoor presentation covering animal track identification 101. We’ll then consolidate into vehicles and venture to our field site. For the rest of the afternoon we’ll snowshoe around the Swan Valley bottom, learning about winter wildlife habitat needs, animal behavior, and adaptations through tracks and sign interpretation. We’ll break midday for lunch in the field and return to the Condon Work Center by 2:30pm.

Please bring lunch, water, and adequate clothing to be outdoors for the day. This is a FREE outing that is open to the public. Children with genuine interest are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Snowshoes are required, please bring snowshoes if you have them. MWA has a few pairs to loan out, so if you don’t have a pair, let us know at registration so we can bring a pair for you.

The group will meet at the Condon Work Center (located at Swan Valley Connections building at 6887 Highway 83, at Mile Marker 42.9 on MT Highway 83.) at 11am on Saturday, January 27. We will carpool from there, and plan to be back at the cars around 2:30 pm or so.

Registration is required for this hike. Please register by contacting Sara: (406) 754-3137, sara@svconnections.org. More information on this hike and our other winter offerings can be found at wildmontana.org/walks.