Keeping Track Monitoring Program course

The Winooski Valley Park District is excited to announce that it will be partnering with Keeping Track ® and Sue Morse this fall to offer a Keeping Track Monitoring Program (KTMP) course for individuals interested in learning more about wildlife species and habitat conservation in their community. The KTMP course trains citizen volunteers and professionals alike to detect, identify, interpret and record the tracks and other signs of wildlife that are critical to local ecological health. As a participant, you’ll gain valuable skills in identifying habitat types and designing and monitoring study areas, enabling you to document:

·         The presence or absence of sensitive, endangered or other target species

·         Repeated uses of specific areas which could lead to the identification of critical habitat areas and/or travel corridors

·         Positive or negative changes in the status of animals inhabiting an area, and corresponding changes in habitat size and quality

·         The need for both immediate and long-term conservation planning.

Using this documentation, you and other members of your monitoring team will have the information needed to help prevent the destruction of important animal habitats, as well as to make sure your community gets the most from its limited conservation resources.

keeping track

 

The Winooski Valley Park District is looking for interested individuals to join the team who will help it in continued monitoring of sites at its various parks throughout the region. To learn more about Keeping Track and the KTMP course please visit keepingtrack.org. The WVPD will be hosting a stunning presentation with Sue Morse on Friday September 19thtitled Animals of the North: What Climate Change Means for Them? This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the Keeping Track organization, the KTMP course and register for the course. The presentation will be held at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington, doors will open at 6:30pm and the presentation will run 7:00-9:00pm.

keeeping track

 

FIELD DATES FOR COURSE:

  • October 4th  – Wolf Run, Jericho, Vermont
  • December 6th – Montgomery, Vermont (exact location TDB)
  • January 17th – Colchester Pond, Colchester, Vermont
  • February 8th – Wolf Run, Jericho, Vermont
  • March 7th – Wolf Run, Jericho, Vermont
  • April 11th – Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington, Vermont
  • PLUS two evening lecture/potlucks (dates/locations TBD) 5:30-10:00pm

Field classes will meet at 8:30am and go until 4:00pm. Field classes will be held entirely outdoors in the field. To become a part of the Winooski Valley Park District’s team and register for the KTMP course please contact Lauren at info@wvpd.org or call (802) 863-5744.

Courtesy of Lauren M. Chicote, Winooski Valley Park District