Wildlife Tracking Classes

Most mammals are hard to observe directly, so instead, we learn about their presence through the tracks and signs they leave behind. Tracking teaches us how to pay attention to our surroundings and to recognize signs of past events that are everywhere on the landscape - ultimately teaching us how everything on earth is interconnected.
Introduction to Wildlife Tracking

Online class: November, 2026, date TBD
Optional field class (choose one session)

Learn how to identify tracks and trail patterns. This class is designed to help get you started in learning how to track wildlife, focusing on how to see tracks, what to look for, and a great overview of the tracks and trail patterns of the more common mammals you might find. This class focuses primarily on the mammals of the Mt Hood area (though most of the same animals are found in the Portland area as well), and is recommended training for participating in the Wolverine Tracking Project tracking surveys.
Cost: Sliding scale, $65 recommended, but pay what you can and no one turned away for lack of funds.
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Location of field class: Oxbow Regional Park. Meet at the Floodplain, the first parking lot on the left after you enter the park. There is no extra charge for the field class, however, there is a $5 entrance fee to the park. 
Naturalist Training Program: Reading the Landscape
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The Naturalist Training Program is a series of 8 classes designed to give you a wide variety of skills to make you feel at home in the natural world.  Tracking is a large component of these classes, and topics in botany, ecology, navigation and map reading, wilderness survival skills, and reading the landscape are also covered.  
​Tracking at Fernhill Wetlands
Sunday, April 7, 2024, 1:00-3:00pm
Fernhill Wetlands is home to a rich diversity of mammals and birds. Come explore the wetlands and learn to read the story written the tracks we find in the mud, in order to give us an understanding of what animals are living here.  The class is sponsored by Clean Water Services.

When: Sunday, April 7, 1:00-3:00pm
Where: Fernhill Wetlands, 1399 SW Fern Hill Rd, Forest Grove, OR 97116.  See map.
Cost: FREE. Advance registration necessary.

Read more about Fernhill Wetlands here.
Wildlife Tracking in the Cascades
Saturday, August 24, 9:30-3:30
In the heat of summer, dusty dirt roads offer some of the best tracking substrate around. Dust can show very fine details, sometimes showing tracks as small as insect tracks. Visit some of the dusty road on the east side of the Mt Hood National Forest and take your tracking to the next level. Previous tracking experience recommended but not required. 

When: Saturday, August 24, 9:30-3:30
Location: Mt Hood National Forest.  Exact location TBD
Cost: $80. Current Cascadia Wild volunteers receive $10 off the cost, use promo code CaWVolunteer10off at checkout
Wildlife Tracking and Awareness: Awakening our senses and instincts
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A collaboration with Future Nature, a new school in Portland run by Tom Brown III.
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Sunday, July 21, 10:00-4:00
​Who are the animals that live in the woods around us? How do we expand our awareness to be able to find their signs and maybe even get a glimpse of the animal themselves?

Our modern lifestyle cuts us off, not only from the natural world, but from our own senses as well.  In this class, you will learn to undo the focused vision that years of being inside instills, and learn to expand your awareness, through focused activities, games, and practice. The goal is to wake ourselves up, and through the process, expand our observations of the natural world and of the animals we share it with. Throughout the class, we will also be looking for signs of our animal neighbors, learning how to interpret the tracks and sign we see, and learning how to move in a manner that allows us a better chance of seeing glimpses of their presence. By looking and moving differently, a whole new world opens to us, one full of wonder and mystery.

Instructors: Tom Brown III, Future Nature; Teri Lysak, Cascadia Wild
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When: Sunday, July 21, 10:00am-4:00pm
Location: Private land near Sandy, OR
Cost: $160. Current Cascadia Wild volunteers receive $15 off the cost, use promo code CaWVolunteer15off at checkout
​Cybertracker Track and Sign Evaluation
with David Moskowitz
February 15-16 2020

About Cybertracker:  Cybertracker classes provide an opportunity for quality, focused learning from some of the best trackers in the country. They are designed to further participant's tracking knowledge, as well as to rigorously test and document their current tracking skill set. Originally designed to help African Bushmen gain employment on game preserves, they also provide an internationally recognized certification of tracking ability, an important credential for wildlife researchers and environmental educators as well as for people who want test and push their own ability. Evaluations are entirely field based, striving to expose participants to the widest range of tracks and signs as possible. Discussions are encouraged, giving participants a chance to air their thoughts and receive individualized instruction.

This class will be located at several different field locations on the Mt Hood National Forest, within an hour and a half drive of Portland.  It will be held during winter in the mountains, and participants are expected to transport themselves to class locations.  In the event of inclement weather, the instructor may move the course to lower elevations. No refunds will be given for inclement weather unless the course is canceled by the instructor.

When: February 15-16
Location: Mt Hood National Forest
Cost: $275 Early bird registration before February 5.  Not refundable after Feb 5.  $310 registration after February 5.
$25 discount for Cascadia Wild volunteers (use promo code CaWVolunteer25off).

​Instructor David Moskowitz is author of the best tracking field guide in our area, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. Based out of Washington, he teaches tracking internationally.  Read more about the instructor.

Read more about Cybertracker Wildlife Tracking Certifications:
http://davidmoskowitz.net/conservation/wildlife-tracking-certification/
http://trackercertification.com/
Pressure Releases: the Science and Interpretation of Soil Movement in Tracking
December 7&8 2019, 9:00am-4:00pm
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For trackers, substrates don't simply offer the opportunity to identify a species' track, as if its foot was stamped from an inked pad onto paper. The soil itself deforms, flows, shears, fractures, and ripples under pressure from an animal's foot, delivering vast information about body movement and, most importantly, where to find the next track. This class gets you started taking this soil behavior into account during your tracking adventures. You'll examine the landscape within and surrounding the track, learn patterns of soil deformation and be introduced to a layperson's understanding of the physics behind it.
When: Saturday and Sunday, December 7&8, 9:00am-4:00pm
Cost: $95, or $75 for Cascadia Wild and Rewild Portland volunteers (use promo code CaWVolunteer20off).
Location:  Leaven Community Center, 5431 NE 20th Ave

Instructor Willem Larsen has been tracking and teaching for over 25 years - from wildlife in local wilderness areas to Search and Rescue teams in the field. His goal is to keep tracking, the original science of our ancestors, alive and enrich it with modern physics and cutting-edge animal behavior science. 
Trailing
November 2&3 2019, 9:00am-5:00pm
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Learn to follow the trails laid down by deer, bear, humans, and other animals. Instructor Fernando Moreira is an expert Search and Rescue tracker, with over 40 years experience finding lost people all over the world. In this class, he will share the experience he has acquired. You will learn how to observe subtle tracks, how tracks show in different substrates, and tricks for finding a trail when you think you have lost it. Class includes lots of dirt time where you will get to practice following each other’s trails through forest, grass, gravel road, and other substrates.

When: Saturday and Sunday, November 2 & 3, 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Within an hour drive from Portland
Cost: $220; or $205 for Cascadia Wild volunteers (use promo code CaWVolunteer15off).
Introduction to Wildlife Tracking at Hoyt Arboretum
March 21 2020, 9:00am-12:00pm
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Portland's parks and natural areas are home to many different kinds of wildlife.  Many animals are hard to see directly, but you can know about their presence through the tracks and sign they leave behind. In this class you will learn the basics of wildlife tracking and will explore the Arboretum to see what mammals have been living here. 

When: March 21 2020, 9:00am-12:00pm
Where: Hoyt Arboretum, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd, Portland, OR 97221 (see map)
Read more about Hoyt Arboretum