A Grand Time had at the Wyoming Naturalist Program's Second Annual Meeting!
Amazing night banding Northern saw-whet owls followed by a day of camaraderie, tour of river restoration project, member recognition, great food and a fascinating presentation on burrowing owls.
Read more about it here.
2022 AWARDS
This year two special awards in recognition of outstanding service were given to members of the Wyoming Naturalist Program at the meeting.
Wyoming Stewardship Award
The Wyoming Stewardship Award recognizes a Wyoming Naturalist whose volunteer service has had a real impact on conservation in Wyoming, above and beyond the requirements of the Wyoming Natu-ralist Program.
Kathy hails from Clark, WY, and is a member of the 2021 Wyoming Naturalists cohort. Besides her active participation in the Naturalist Program, Kathy has served as a board member of the WY Outdoor Council, and the Governor’s Taskforce on Migration, and currently serves on boards of the Nature Conservancy, Absaroka Fence Initiative and Shoot Like a Woman. She participates in numerous community science projects, teaches classes about nature, nature photography, nature journaling and writing for both children and adults, and administers multiple social me-dia campaigns for non-profit organizations, including the Wyoming Natu-ralist Program. In addition, she is the creator and host of the podcast Natural Herstory, which features stories of women’s connections to the natural world. She has also taken on the much of the work of organizing the 2023 annual meeting of the Wyoming Native Plant Society, which will be held in Clark June 16-18, and to which you are all invited. Kathy is involved in many more activities than are mentioned here.
Sagebrush Sheepmoth Award
The Sagebrush Sheepmoth Award, recognizes service to the Wyoming Naturalist Program. This program relies on the efforts of WNP members, to maintain, improve, and expand the program across the state. We would like to thank all of you who stepped up for the Wyoming Naturalist Program, by organizing fieldtrips, teaching classes, and otherwise supporting the program. We couldn’t do this without you.
Jennie lives in Laramie and is a member of the 2022 cohort of WY naturalists. She spent her childhood roaming the foothills north of Boulder, Colorado, where one of her earliest projects was documenting the movements and number of deer in the herds around her childhood home. Jennie received a degree in Agricultural Communications from the University of Wyoming. After a mid-life career change, she obtained another degree in Education from the same institution and a Masters degree from Walden University. Jennie taught high school science in Laramie for many years and is now retired.
The Wyoming Naturalist Program steering committee nominated Jennie for the Sagebrush Sheepmoth Award for volunteering to serve on the committee. Her input with a participant’s perspective has been helpful as we seek to improve the basic training and con-template the future of the program.
Surveying & Recording Tipi Rings Training
by Moe Carins, WY Certified Naturalist
Wyoming State Parks Archeologist, Dan Bach, selected a tipi ring to record that was originally documented by Dr. William Mulloy, the first University of 
This particular ring was probably the better part of 2,000 years old, and on the small side at 12’ to 14’ in diameter. Dr. Mulloy’s article references tipi ring dimensions varying from 7’ to 30’ in diameter. Some tipi ring trivia: Archeologists can estimate the ring’s age based on its size. Vertical poles that held early tipis were likely transported by dogs. The rocks were used to hold the hide to the ground. Following the introduction of horses, rings grew in size because the horses could carry longer poles.
Please contact Dan Bach if you’d like to earn some volunteer hours documenting tipi rings. If you are interested in helping at Glendo State Park Saturday Oct. 15, or Oct. 16th or possibly Oct. 29 or 30th please fill out this form.
Social Media
Sharing Natural Science with Youth Workshop
October 22nd-23rd
Gillette, WY
Join us for two full days of award-winning environmental education curricula! Register soon if you are interested – the workshop will not occur if there aren’t enough registrants.
Click here for more information and registration
All our advanced training opportunities are listed here
Wyoming Naturalist Program on Facebook
The WNP facebook page is a
happening place!
If you are on facebook request to join the group to learn about a wide vari-ety of subjects of interest to WY nat-uralists. Upcoming events, people out and about doing naturalist work, research projects and more!
Whether you are highly social or more retiring; follow along, contrib-ute to the conversation, or just marvel at the wonderful photos.
