When it rains, it pours: Wildlife Field Techniques inaugural class
Participants in the inaugural Wildlife Field Techniques course were instructed to arrive prepared for anything, as the course would run rain-or-shine. The course, hosted at Skalitude Retreat in the foothills above Carlton, WA, would teach students the basic skills required to conduct wildlife field work over the course of four days. Students eagerly packed their rain jackets and traveled from across the mountain west to learn with Home Range, where daily lessons covered data collection principles, track and sign interpretation, remote wildlife cameras, telemetry, and field necropsy for wildlife mortality investigations. Little did they know how much they would be needing their rain jackets! The weekend began with an afternoon of introductions, discussion of the skills and attributes necessary to be an effective field biologist, and a lesson in field data collection techniques. The day’s lesson was followed by an evening around the bonfire with guest Kent Woodruff, a retired biologist w