Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
New this year is the three-week Naturalist Guide Certificate Program, offered April 3-22. This program is longer and more intense than the typical YAI program and is geared for those people who wish to be professional or volunteer guides.
“We have many visitors who are fascinated by specific Yellowstone topics, and we developed many of these new programs to address those interests,” said Jeff Brown, director of education for YAI. “Our summer courses cover a wide range of topics and help to achieve our goal of generating a stronger appreciation of Yellowstone. They are also some the best values in the region.”
Field seminars are multi-day courses are taught by experts focusing on topics such as wildlife, geology, history and more. Most courses last from one to four days and are limited to 13 participants.
Many courses are held at the Institute’s Lamar Buffalo Ranch Field Campus, where simple and comfortable log cabins are available for $30 per person per night. New in 2010, the Yellowstone Overlook Field Campus in Gardiner opened and offers to participants two three-bedroom, two-bathroom modern log cabins for up to 12 people and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin for up to five people.
Field Seminar topics are regularly updated to reflect participants’ changing interests. Several, for example, cover Yellowstone’s fascinating wolf population and the species’ reintroduction to the park some 15 years ago. Multiple courses cover various angles, including the new Wolf Research Updates July 28-30.
Other new Field Seminars among the 25 new offerings include Spring Wildlife Watching April 29-May 1, Putting Some Punch in Your Prose June 16-19 and Protecting Yellowstone’s Hydrothermal System Sept. 2-4.
Scheduled throughout the summer are courses covering topics such as wildlife behavior, photography, history, geology, hiking, writing, plant life and Native Americans. Seminar titles include Forces of Nature: Wolves and Fire, Beginning Fly Fishing for Women, The Art of Wildflower Identification and more. The season concludes October 12-14 with The Wolves of Yellowstone.
For information about becoming a member visit the Yellowstone Association website.
YAI is the non-profit education partner with the National Park Service in Yellowstone. In addition to its Field Seminars, YAI offers Private Tours and Lodging & Learning. Private Tours are tailored for families and small groups and tours typically focus on wildlife watching, natural history and geology, thermal features and hiking. Lodging & Learning programs combine daily field trips with comfortable lodging in park hotels at night.
Reservations for Field Seminars, Private Tours and other YAI programs and cabins at the Yellowstone Overlook Field Campus and Lamar Buffalo Ranch can be made by calling 1-406-848-2400. For Lodging & Learning program reservations call 1-866-439-7375. For more information about any Institute program visit YellowstoneAssociation.org or FaceBook.com/YellowstoneAssociation.
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