Specialist Track & Sign Evaluation

The CyberTracker Track and Sign Certification is an internationally applied, professional-level certification used to promote wildlife tracking and knowledge. This two-day field experience is both an assessment and a training, with an emphasis on open dialogue and real learning.

The tracks and sign of any and all species encountered in the field may be asked, whether big or small, clear or obscure, fresh or old. After participants give their answers for a set of questions, a dialogue ensues between the evaluator and participants to provide the opportunity for everyone involved to internalize field marks, wildlife behavior, and natural history.

The Tracker Certifications emphasize practical tracking and the development of reliable field skills, and are unassociated with any particular philosophy or tracking school. No prior training is required to participate.

​The North American CyberTracker Conservation Evaluation System aims to establish reliable, standardized wildlife tracking training to invigorate and enhance knowledge of natural history and field-skill among biologists and various State and Federal agency personnel, train general public for reliable citizen science, and better equip educators and guides in ecotourism.

​Join Casey McFarland and Jonah Evans at Monahans Sandhills for a unique Specialist Eval March 23-24. Monahans Sandhills State Park protects 3,840 acres of unique sand dunes for plants, wildlife habitat and people. Beneath the dunes hides caliche, a mostly impermeable layer that traps water, forming a perched water table where seeps of water are available for plants, animals, and in the past, were used by humans. Grasses such as the sand bluestem and sand reeds help stabilize the soil. In the spring and summer, the park is a kaleidoscope of blooming flowers such as yellow sandhill sunflowers, pink penstemons, bright white heliotropes, sweet smelling yucca flowers and so much more. A few types of trees can be found in the stable dunes including desert willow and honey mesquite which rely on deep taproots for water. The front of the park is covered with the amazing Havard shin oak that survives on a large network of interweaving root systems. While the shin oaks may be short, averaging 2-3 feet tall, they are mighty, covering an area comprising the largest oak forest in North America! The oaks also provide important acorns and habitat for wildlife. Unique wildlife has adapted to life in the dunes too. Some examples are Jerusalem crickets, javelina, coyote, mule deer, the sand dune sagebrush lizard, ground squirrels, mule deer, kangaroo rats. This will be a super cool Specialist Eval!