Thanks to the Albert Borgmann Fund for Environmental Philosophy, we are able to take all our graduate students on a pair of field trips.
In the fall semester, we take students on a day trip to the . This facilty, expertly run by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, showcases the tribes' role in saving bison in North America. Four-fifths of the plains bison in conservation herds across the United States are descended from animals that gained temporary shelter in this valley. It's a deeply informative day.
When January rolls around, we visit . We meet with ranchers on the edge of the park who are living alongside carnivores while practicing regenerative grazing. We also meet legendary author and retired Park Service employee Rick McIntyre to learn about wolf behavior. So far, Rick has a 100% record in getting us to see wolves. Yellowstone in winter is epic and the experience is always a unforgettable.
Students listening to rancher Malou Anderson-Ramirez in the Tom Miner Basin