by Ricketts Conservation Team | Jul 1, 2025 | Project
Field season is officially underway for the Ricketts Conservation Loon Crew, and we’re excited to be back in Yellowstone National Park! So far, we’ve confirmed six active nests—an encouraging start to the season. The loons in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem... 
by Nick Wittkamp | Jun 16, 2025 | Uncategorized
Here in western Wyoming, we are a part of an ecosystem unique to the nation, known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). This ecosystem is a vast area, spanning over 23 million acres across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Ecologically, the GYE is considered... 
by Ricketts Conservation Team | May 16, 2025 | Uncategorized
Spring is slow to come at 7,000’ elevation. According to our on-site weather station observations, the average temperature for the month of April was 32 degrees F., and May has had its fair share of snow showers. But as the snow and ice melted we received our first... by Ricketts Conservation Team | May 1, 2025 | Uncategorized
Giving a Hoot By Ricketts Conservation Foundation Team Several species of owls breed near or migrate through the Upper Hoback River Valley. Most hunt small rodents that they capture using their keen vision and hearing. Each fall, two of the smaller species, Northern... 
by Ricketts Conservation Team | Mar 25, 2023 | Project
By Brett French, The Billings Gazette BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park may be well-known for its role in rebuilding populations of large mammals like grizzly bears, wolves and bison, yet trumpeter swans have a similar story of dogged recovery that is... 
by Ricketts Conservation Team | Mar 15, 2021 | Project
By: Arcata Leavitt and Lily Bailey The Wind River Range (WRR) is a scenic, 100-mile-long mountain range that includes the highest point in Wyoming, Gannett Peak (13,804’), and 19 of the next 20 highest peaks in Wyoming. This expansive range includes part of the Wind... 
by Ricketts Conservation Team | Oct 25, 2020 | The Swan Project
By Brett French, The Billings Gazette BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park may be well-known for its role in rebuilding populations of large mammals like grizzly bears, wolves and bison, yet trumpeter swans have a similar story of dogged recovery that is... 
by Ricketts Conservation Team | Aug 3, 2020 | Project
Earlier this summer, the RCF crew teamed up with biologists Jay & Heidi Carlisle from Boise State University’s Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) to attach satellite transmitters to Long-Billed Curlews on and around Jackson Fork Ranch in Bondurant, WY.... 
by Lily Bailey | May 26, 2020 | Project
When most people imagine scientific research they think microscopes and lab coats. When thinking of conservation they picture park rangers and polar bears. If people even consider loon conservation, they might imagine artificial nest rafts or aluminum fishing boats.... 
by Lily Bailey | Apr 30, 2020 | Project
April showers… are still bringing snow. Springtime in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is finally here — temperatures are above freezing (if barely), birds are migrating through the area (most recently mountain bluebirds and killdeer), and RCF is getting its...