Los Padres CA Specialist Certification 4/20/2025

On April 19-20, 2025, the Ventura County Wildlife Trackers hosted a Track and Sign Specialist Certification in the Los Padres National Forest in California. At Specialist Certifications, participants have to answer 57 very difficult questions over 2 days. Two evaluators (1 local and 1 external) are present at Specialist Certifications to ensure reliability and consistency. Casey McFarland served as external evaluator.

Some of our favorite finds of the weekend include obscure black bear claw marks, bark stripping for nests on a juniper by ground squirrels and woodrats, a bobcat scent marking scrape, and quail feeding scratches. All told, we saw the tracks of 22 species, including 14 mammals, 5 birds, and 3 herps. See the photos below.

Congratulations to Kathryn Dean, Beth McCooey, and Jonathan Shapiro for earning their Specialist certification! Congratulations also to the rest of our participants, many of whom came very close.

Huge thanks to Wyatt Harris for organizing and Bob Ollerton and Rachael Pelham, and Sandy Reed for clipboarding.