Wildlife Tracking Workshops “I became involved with the [Wildlife Linkages] program because of my love of hiking and being out in the desert, but after many hikes and wanderings I decided I needed more and if I could do some good for all that I love… then so much the better. Meeting like-minded people was an extra added perk!” – Dyna Chin, Las Chivas Wash transect (2002 – present)

Join us for a four-day get-away in a spectacular Sky Island setting, with Sky Island Alliance staff, regional guest experts and fellow volunteers. Workshop participants gain hands-on field instruction and theory in a variety of skills and techniques, including:

Natural history and conservation of regional animal species; track morphology, structure and terminology; the use of global positioning systems (GPS); remote camera monitoring; photo documentation; track casting and tracing techniques; animal gaits and movement; and track and sign identification in the field.

All meals and course materials are provided. Participants each receive a tracking ruler, laminated wildlife track identification field cards, a workshop packet and a copy of Mark Elbroch’s field guide Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species. Complimentary one-year membership to Sky Island Alliance is given to all non-member participants, including a subscription to our Restoring Connections newsletter. Workshop registration will close 1 week before the first date of the workshop, or when full. Class size is limited to 15 participants. A non-refundable deposit of $50.00 per person is required to reserve your space. The remaining amount (or first payment*) is due on or before the registration deadline. Payment by Check: Checks made out to “Sky Island Alliance” may be mailed to: Sky Island Alliance, PO Box 41165, Tucson, AZ 85717. Please note “Wildlife Tracking Workshop” in the memo line. Payment by Credit or Debit Card: online at www.skyislandalliance.org/donate.htm. Please note “Wildlife Tracking Workshop” in the space provided for notes at the bottom of the form. Cancellation policy: The workshop fee, minus the non-refundable deposit, is refundable with cancellation before the first day of the workshop, or may be applied to a future SIA Wildlife Tracking Workshop upon request. Refunds due to cancellation or drop on or after the first day of the workshop will be at the discretion of Sky Island Alliance.

*Additional payment options: You may contact our Finance & Operations Associate to make payments over the phone or to arrange a payment plan, at 520-624-7080 ext 18.

Volunteer as a Wildlife Tracker: Without our citizen scientist volunteers, building a land ethic, gathering data, and advocating for wildlife corridor protection would not be possible. After completing the Workshop, you will have the skills to identify wildlife tracks and to document what you discover. We invite every participant to adopt a transect as part of a small team of 3-4 wildlife trackers, working to protect wildlife in the region. Volunteer trackers are required to attend all four days of training. We ask volunteers to commit to a full day of monitoring once every six weeks (nine surveys per year). To accommodate volunteers’ busy lives, teams can schedule their survey day within a two-week window. This field schedule is available on the program webpage.

Questions? Contact the Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator at Jessica@skyislandalliance.org; 520-624-7080 x21.

Spring Workshop (Camping Experience)

April 26 – 29, 2012 Registration Deadline: April 19, 2012 $325/Regular; $250/SIA member; $175/Student or agency Primitive tent camping with outhouse bathroom facilities. Visit the Axle Canyon Preserve website: www.axlecanyon.com.

Fall Workshop (Lodging Experience) September 27 – 30, 2012 Registration Deadline: September 20, 2012 $450/Regular; $375/SIA member; $300/Student or agency Accommodations are bed and breakfast style lodging. Visit the Amerind Museum website: www.amerind.org

White-nosed coati tracks

Wildlife Tracking Workshop Application Form

I am applying for: _____ Spring Workshop: April 26-29, 2012 _____ Fall Workshop: September 27-30, 2012

Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________________ City: __________________________________ State:____________________ Zip Code:________________ Phone (home/cell): _________________________________________________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Please elaborate on your past wildlife monitoring/tracking experience: Note: no previous tracking experience is required. How would you describe your experience, if any, working in remote field conditions? Feel free to elaborate. How did you learn about Sky Island Alliance, and what interested you in our Wildlife Tracking Workshop? Are you a Sky Island Alliance member? Since: ______ I am interested in volunteering as a tracker for the Wildlife Linkage Monitoring program. Tracking surveys are conducted once every 6 weeks. ______ I am only interested in attending the Workshop, and not in volunteering at this time. Food Preference (please circle or underline): Meat Vegetarian Vegan No Preference Other dietary or medical needs, allergies, or special requirements: Is there any additional information (concerning medical conditions or physical disabilities/limitations) that would be helpful for SIA field staff to be aware of while on the trip? Please notify appropriate SIA staff of any relevant changes in your health that occur prior to the start of the workshop. You may also relate this information in person or by phone. All personal and medical information is confidential.

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Emergency Contact Information: Name: _______________________________________________ Relationship: __________________________________________ Phone number(s): ______________________________________

Complete the questions below if you checked the first option to volunteer as an SIA tracker: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Will you be able to attend every day of the Workshop? Attendance for all days is highly encouraged and is mandatory for SIA tracking volunteer training. Can you commit to a full day of track monitoring once every six weeks as a volunteer? How far are you willing to travel to a transect site? Do you have access to a high-clearance vehicle? Access to some transects may be via dirt road, but owning such a vehicle is not required of participants. Comments or Questions:

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Return completed application before the registration deadline, to:

Jessica Lamberton Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator PO Box 41165, Tucson, Arizona 85717

jessica@skyislandalliance.org Fax (520) 791-7709

please send an email notification with fax

You will receive confirmation by email. lease remember that a $50 deposit is required to reserve your space.

Thank You!

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http://www.skyislandalliance.org/wildlife.htm

What you will learn Wildlife track morphology, structure and terminology;

photo documentation; GPS use; remote camera monitoring, map reading; track casting and tracing techniques; animal gaits

and movements; the natural history and conservation of regional Sky Island mammal species (with focus on jaguar,

wolf, ocelot, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, coati and box turtle); and hands-on experience with tracking in the field.

Wildlife Monitoring Program After completing the Tracking Workshop, we invite you to adopt a transect as part of a small team that conducts a

tracking survey once every 6 weeks. Transects are located in important wildlife corridor areas of southern Arizona and

southwestern New Mexico. This data is used by Sky Island Alliance to protect wildlife in the region!

Sky Island Alliance’s Wildlife Linkages Program strives to protect and restore the movement and dispersal of native plants and animals, and to reduce threats and barriers to landscape permeability, using education, science and advocacy to achieve conservation action.

Wildlife Tracking Workshop

April 26 – 29, 2012

Axle Canyon Preserve, New Mexico

$250/members, $325/non-members, $175/student or agency*

Learn the art and science of wildlife tracking with

Sky Island Alliance at our 2012 Spring Tracking Workshop, held in the culturally and biologically rich Axle Canyon

Preserve located in the Burro Mountains just southwest of Silver City, New Mexico.

Axle Canyon Preserve is an 83 acre riparian and upland madrean habitat situated at 6000’, surrounded by the

Gila National Forest.

Learn more about Axle Canyon Preserve at http://www.axlecanyon.com

Accommodations will be camping with bathroom facilities and a solar powered casita for indoor instruction. Meals and course materials are included.

__________________________

For more information or to request an application, contact:

Jessica Lamberton Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator PO Box 41165, Tucson, Arizona 85717

jessica@skyislandalliance.org

Want to become a Sky Island Alliance member? Join us at www.skyislandalliance.org/donate.htm

*The next Wildlife Tracking Workshop, offered in September,

provides bed & breakfast style lodging: $375/450/300

Photo by Tim Cook

Photo by Sky Jacobs