Workshops & Field Trips

* Discovering the Wonders of the Fungal Kingdom
Led by Kathy Richmond, GYC Board Member, Amateur Mycologist
We will take an all day hike and discuss any/all mushrooms that we find. We will discuss the role of mushrooms, the various types both edible and poisonous, and the role cilmate change may have on these treasures of the fungal kingdom. This will be a moderate six mile hike, but, we will be going fairly slow and discussing each fungi we find.

Kathy has been an amateur mycologist for 14 years which has become one of her major passions of the natural world. She has personally identified more than 450 species of wild mushrooms.

Limit: 12
Rating: Moderate

Wolf Films and Discussions
Led by Bob Landis, Janelle Holden and Bill Campbell
Watch the never before seen, "Growing up in Yellowstone: A Wolf Pup's Story". Discussion afterward with Producer Bob Landis.

Bob Landis is an Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer. He has produced many films for such programs as National Geographic and Nature. His work has taken him to Denali, Kluane and Algonquin national parks, but his home is Yellowstone where he has excelled in the art of wildlife film-making for more than 30 years.

Watch “Wolves in Paradise” a one-hour PBS documentary about ranchers and wolves in southwest Montana. Discussion afterward with Bill Campbell and Janelle Holden. Bill, a former Time Magazine photographer, is an independent producer, videographer, and photojournalist based in Livingston, Mont. He has developed, shot and produced TV segments and long form documentaries for NBC, ABC Nightline, CNN, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel and PBS.

Janelle is the executive director of Keystone Conservation (formerly Predator Conservation Alliance). Keystone Conservation works with Montana communities to find ways for people and predators to coexist. Hailing from a fourth-generation ranch family in Montana’s remote Rocky Mountain Front, Janelle has first-hand experience with the tensions arising from working near large predators. For the past five years, she has been working with ranchers to prevent conflicts with wolves in southwest Montana, and directs Keystone Conservation’s Range Riders program. Janelle also serves on the Montana Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Technical Advisory Committee and was recently appointed to serve on Montana’s Livestock Loss and Mitigation Board to compensate ranchers for wolf losses.

Limit: 35
Rating: easy

The Sacredness of Land
Led by Warren Murphy, Director of the Wyoming Association of Churches and GYC board member
“The Sacredness of the Land” is a workshop that will address why land should be looked at as being special and not just sought for its material potential. We will look at some unique areas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and why they should be treated in a sacred way. This will be an interactive workshop with participation by those in attendance.

The Rev. Warren Murphy came to Wyoming more than 31 years ago to be the priest and pastor of an Episcopal Church in Dixon. He has worked hard to promote a ministry of social justice in the state. He has also served congregations in Lander, Atlantic City, Ft. Washakie (Wind River Indian Reservation) and Cody. In 2004, he became the director of the Wyoming Association of Churches. He has always been an outdoor adventurer and avid hiker. Over his many years in the state, he has developed an appreciated sense of the need to protect Wyoming’s environment and has refined a theology of the sacredness of the earth. As WAC director, he has worked to involve the faith community in joining with the environmental community to develop a common agenda to save our Rocky Mountain heritage.

Warren has also served a President of the Wyoming Council for the Humanities and is presently on the board of Friends of a Legacy (FOAL), which seeks to preserve and enhance a wild-horse herd near Cody.

Limit: 20
Rating: Easy

* Ghost Hotels of the Lower Geyser Basin
Led by Lee Whittlesey, Park Historian, National Park Service, YNP
We will drive to Lower Geyser Basin, visiting the Marshall’s Hotel site without walking it and Lee will lecture on its location, purposes and general history. Then the group will drive south to the site of Fountain Hotel (the hotel that replaced Marshall’s in 1891) and examine the hotel site, the water supply site, the employee areas and the dump site.

Lee Whittlesey, Park Historian, National Park Service, YNP. Whittlesey’s thirty-five-year studies in the history of the Yellowstone region have made him an expert on Yellowstone’s vast literature and have resulted in numerous publications. He is the author, co-author, or editor of eight books and more than twenty-five journal articles, including: Storytelling in Yellowstone: Horse and Buggy Tour Guides (University of New Mexico Press, 2007); A Yellowstone Album: A Photographic Celebration of the First National Park; Death in Yellowstone; Lost in the Yellowstone (with Truman Everts); Yellowstone Place Names, and the voluminous Wonderland Nomenclature (2,123 pages). Another book in which (Dr.) Paul Schullery joins him as co-author is Myth and History in the Creation of Yellowstone National Park (University of Nebraska Press, 2004). Their book A History of Large Mammals of the Yellowstone Region, 1806-1883 is also forthcoming, as is his book Images of America: Yellowstone (May, 2008) and Ho! For Wonderland: Original Travelers’ Accounts of Journeys Through Yellowstone in Stagecoach Days, 1872-1914 (2009).

Whittlesey has a master’s degree in history from Montana State University and a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the University of Oklahoma. On May 19, 2001, because of his extensive writings and long contributions to Yellowstone National Park, Idaho State University conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Science and Humane Letters. Since 1996, he has been an adjunct professor of history at Montana State University.

Whittlesey also published an updated and revised edition of his Yellowstone Place Names in 2006, as well as The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery (2000) in which he and two co-authors revealed to the world for the first time the existence of more than 225 previously unknown waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park. For this accomplishment, he was featured on ABC News, NBC News, the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, and People magazine, and he is often seen on regional and local television talking about Yellowstone’s history.

Limit: 12
Rating: Moderate

Solutions to Climate Change
Led by Alison Gannett, Global Cooling Consultant
Solutions to Climate Change: See how to systematically reduce your personal, business or community carbon footprint to help prevent the worst effects of climate change on our ecosystems. Learn Alison Gannett’s systematic framework used by organizations around the world including Al Gore’s Climate Project.

Alison Gannett is a world champion extreme skier and a global cooling consultant. She has dedicated the majority of the last 20 years to saving snow and our planet from the devastating effects of global warming. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Vermont in 1987 and Solar Energy International in 1991. She founded her first business to battle climate change in 1991 and is the founding president of two global-cooling non-profits: The Office for Resource Efficiency and the The Save Our Snow Foundation. She has led expeditions to document global warming in many countries, including Bolivia, Argentina, South Africa, Canada, Bhutan, India, the United States and Pakistan. She presents her solutions-based framework CROP(Calculate, Reduce Offset, Produce) and works with individuals, businesses and governments, including Al Gore’s Climate Project. This year, she was nominated by Outside Magazine as one of 23 Green-All-Stars, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Leonardo DiCaprio. AlisonGannett.com

Limit: 20
Rating: Easy

* Fire Ecology and Behavior
Led by George Wuerthner, Ecological Projects Director, Foundation for Deep Ecology
We’ll look at how fires burn, the positive benefits of fire and how people can learn to live with wildfire.

George Wuerthner is an ecologist, photographer and writer. He is the author of 34 books, including Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy.

Limit: 25
Rating: Moderate

* Bison Ecology and Management in YNP: The Central Interior, sub-population and the Firehole River Geyser Basin winter Range
Led by Rick Wallen, Yellowstone National Park Bison Biologist
Travel to the Firehole River geyser basin, with stops at key bison Winter range areas, for discussion about how bison use the landscape and how population parameters are tracked for decision-making purposes. Oberve,(hopefully) bison to learn about aging and sexing techniques as well as identifying interactions between individuals.

Rick is the team leader and a management biologist supervising the Bison Ecology and Management Program at Yellowstone National Park. Bison are abundant, mobile, and some are infected with brucellosis. The program is followed by constituents from around the world and opinion about how the Yellowstone bison should be managed (or not) is very diverse. Emotions run high for many conservation groups opposed to intensive management of the species in a national park setting. The Bison Ecology and Management Program collects biological information about bison and brucellosis dynamics and provides recommendations to park managers for use in an interagency decision making process regarding the conservation of this unique population.

Limit: 15
Rating: Easy

* Some like it HOT! Making a living in Yellowstone’s Geothermal Environments
Led by Susan Kelley, Thermal Biology Institute Education Outreach Coordinator
Join us for a field trip to some of Yellowstone’s unique thermal environments and learn more about the colorful microbial communities that inhabit the park's 14,000 thermal features.

Susan is the education and outreach coordinator for the Thermal Biology Institute at Montana State University. She has a Master’s Degree in Earth Sciences and was a Park interpreter in Grand Teton for eight years.

Limit: 12
Rating: Moderate

Exploring the Upper Henry's Fork
Led by Scott Christensen, GYC Private Lands Stewardship Director
Starting at the headwaters of the Henry’s Fork, we’ll spend the afternoon exploring the upper reaches of this incredible watershed. We’ll make quick stops near Henry’s Lake and Big Springs before heading south to Harriman State Park, where we’ll take a short hike on the River Trail. Along the way, we’ll have the opportunity to see pronghorn, sandhill cranes, BIG TROUT, trumpeter swans and great views of the Teton Range.

Limit: 12
Rating: Moderate

* Watercolors in the Wild
Led by Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Artist and Author
Join Jennifer on a short hike to a chosen site to view the scenic landscapes and minutia of nature that can be rendered in watercolor. Learn simple techniques of watercoloring as we do field studies and enjoy the nascent artist that abides in us all.

Author, MSU graduate and Bozeman artist Jennifer Lowe-Anker is known for her whimsical depictions of wildlife, birds and scenic western landscapes that she renders in the unusual medium of livestock marker. Jenni’s work has been widely collected and shown throughout the west for 25 years and can be seen at Visions West Gallery in Bozeman, Livingston and Denver as well as The Kneeland Gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho. Jenni has created and donated the original art to commemorate this year’s 25th anniversary of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. She will present her new book, Forget Me Not a memoir published by Mountaineers Books. It recounts the years shared with her late husband, mountaineer Alex Lowe, who died in an avalanche in Tibet in 1999. Lowe-Anker will be on hand to sign and personalize her prints and books.

Limit: 12
Rating: Easy

* Sea Kayak trip on Lake Yellowstone
Led by Aaron Pruzan, Rendezvous River Sports
The cost for this trip is $75 per person. Please plan to pay your guide from Rendezvous River Sports on the day of your trip.

Noon meet at Grant Village learn basic paddling techniques and embark on a tour of West Thumb, including viewing the West Thumb Geyser Basin from the water.

2 p.m. Stop near Geyser basin for a stretch and snack.

2:30 p.m. Begin return trip.

4 p.m. Arrive back at Grant Village.

Included are all kayaking equipment, (boats, paddles, skirts, life vests etc.) snacks and one guide per seven guests.

Notes: All participants will have to sign an acknowledgement of risk and complete a health form. We will need a head count 24 hours before the tour.

Limit: 15
Rating: Moderate

The Values of Wilderness
Led by Marv Hoyt, GYC Idaho Director
A wide-ranging discussion of the values of wilderness as we hike into the Lionhead recommended wilderness on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

Marv has lived, hiked and backpacked extensively in the backcountry of southeast Idaho for the past 24 years. He served on GYC’s board from 1989 – 1995 and has worked for GYC since 1995.

Limit: 12
Rating: Moderate