Northeast Wildlife Trackers

09/02/2026

Conference 2026 Presenter Focus: Scott Semmens

Join Scott for a hands-on introduction to the art of animal trailing. We'll explore foundational skills such as identifying and following trails, interpreting subtle signs, and understanding how trails age over time. Expect to lose the trail now and then—it's part of the learning—and practice the essential skill of re-finding it. Along the way, we’ll cultivate quiet movement, sharpen our attention to detail, and deepen our awareness of the landscape.

If fresh animal trails prove elusive, we’ll shift into collaborative practice by tracking human trails and refining our stealth and observational techniques together.

R. Scott Semmens is originally from North Dakota. He has taught high school sciences for 28 years. In the last 8+ years, he has taught in the Environmental Studies and Biology Departments at Keene State College. He is an avid animal tracker, tracking animals in NA, southern Africa, and Nepal. His current research is focused on sustainable wildlife management by studying tiger/human interactions in Nepal.

08/28/2026

Check out this year's conference T-Shirt designed by Ana Maria Arroyo!! We have two variations available, Rainbow and Black & White.

To pre purchase your shirt, and to register for the conference, please visit our website and click on Register Now.

08/26/2026

Conference 2026 Presenter Focus: Amy Shamansky

Amy will be taking us on a journey into Nature Journalling. Deepen your connection with the natural world through sketching and writing. Sketching is a way of learning, seeing our subject with its detail and nuance. Writing captures our noticings, questions, and associations. All of this creates more awe and reverence for our natural world. See what this process can do to enhance your tracking senses.

Amy is a certified field naturalist through Mass Audubon. She is a trained expressive arts educator, creativity coach, and taught in the public school system for over 20 years. Her passion is using creativity to deepen her relationship to the natural world, others, and herself. Guiding others to do the same brings as much joy as spending the day with her animal friends.

08/19/2026

Conference 2026 Presenter Focus: Wendy Wu

Register for this year's conference - https://northeastwildlifetrackers.org/conference/

Wendy will be introducing us to Accessing Urban Nature (Philadelphia Wildlife research). The Accessing Urban Nature Initiative (AUNI), led by Penn Vet at the University of Pennsylvania as part of the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), is building a trail camera network across Philadelphia to better understand the wildlife living alongside us in the city. Working with parks, environmental centers, and community partners, the project studies how animals move through different urban landscapes. Alongside these efforts, the Philly Wildlife Tracking Club brings a community-based approach through track and sign observation, public walks, and shared learning about urban wildlife. This presentation briefly shares what the Philly tracking community has been exploring and how local observation can support larger urban ecology research efforts.

Wendi moved to Philadelphia in 2022 and is currently a Master in Biology student in Miami University’s Project Dragonfly program. Tracking became a way for her to connect with community and land. In late 2025, she founded the Philly Tracking Club to create accessible, community-centered opportunities for people to learn tracks, sign, and urban ecology together.

08/12/2026

Conference 2026 Presenter Focus: Emily Carrollo

Emily will be discussing "Returning cougars (Puma concolor) to the Northeastern United States". The presentation will cover three topics regarding cougar restoration in the northeast.

The first topic will be about the history of cougars (also known as pumas, mountain lions, catamounts, panthers, and many other names) in the region, and what led to their extirpation in eastern North America. The second topic will cover basic cougar ecology and life history, and what that could infer about cougars returning to this region. Lastly, she'll cover the Cougar Research Collaborative's research regarding the possibility of human assisted recovery of cougar to the northeast region.

Emily Carrollo is the Cougar Research Collaborative Project Coordinator for Panthera. She has worked as a professional wildlife biologist for over 10 years, and most of her career has been spent working with large carnivores in a state agency capacity. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia, and her master's degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State University. She is an author and co-author on several papers related to wildlife and large carnivore management and conservation.

08/09/2026

Here is a new mystery for this month! Who does this belong to and what part of the body did it come from?

08/04/2026

A clip from Ray Hardy's presentation from last year's conference where he discussed White-Tailed Deer. The full presentation is on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/

Definitely worth the watch if you have not seen it yet!

07/30/2026

When comparing Red Fox vs Eastern Coyote tracks, there are a few key characteristics that lead to properly IDing one over the other. We've created this graphic to help you take a closer look at this common mystery we come across in the Northeast US.

07/27/2026

We're live with 2026 conference registration!

We warmly invite you to be a part of this year’s Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference—a gathering for everyone passionate or curious about wildlife tracking! Read on for information about out keynote speaker and a sampling of workshops to look forward to.

Tickets include meals (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch) and lodging; there are single- and double-occupancy dormitory-style rooms and tenting options. Student discounts and commuter passes are also available. Discounted registration for those with need is available via our Equitable Access Fund.

For more information and to register, please follow the link below!

We warmly invite you to be a part of our Northeast Wildlife Trackers Annual Conference—a gathering for everyone passionate or curious about wildlife tracking, nature, and community. Whether you’re an experienced tracker or just beginning to explore the fascinating world of tracking, this confere...

07/23/2026

Our Keynote Speaker this year, Kareem A. Dieng, sat down with us just about a year ago for an interview that opened our minds and our hearts. If you haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, please set aside 45 minutes to enjoy the words of an individual who has truly dedicated his life to nature and the outdoors.

https://youtu.be/Sak_NMHjPPQ?si=kOrmldvq9MuGTGni

We hope you enjoy this incredible interview with Kareem for our Nor...