Tracking Big Bend
November 19th - 22nd
with Daniel Hansche
& Chris Grataski
Join us this November for 4 days
of wildlife tracking, reading the landscape, and collective conversation, as we consider how such practices might help us inhabit and respond to some of the deepest questions of our time.
Basecamp in
Big Bend National Park and Terlingua, TX
Tuition: $1180
What does wildlife tracking have to do with the polycrisis?
At the convergence of the Chisos
Mountains, the Chihuahuan Desert, and
the Rio Grande, we find a complex borderland ecology where the connections between human and more-than-human worlds give rise to
questions about movement and migration,
power and place, and the possibility of
survival amidst a culture of extraction,
exclusion, and extinction.
For four days, in the landscape known to some as Big Bend National Park, we'll gather for an embodied exploration of questions that are at once ecological, cultural, and existential.
Questions about wildlife movement, desertification, seed dispersal and other ecological phenomena will be held in one hand while questions about power and place, movement and migration, and the psychology of "borders" will be held in the other.
More of a multi-day conversation than a "course," we'll spend our time attending to wildlife tracks and sign, observing birds and free-roaming horses, and learning from our more-than-human kin, all the while seeking to bear witness to the myriad forces of displacement, extraction, and exclusion that have affected communities -- both human and non-human -- who've lived in this place throughout history and into the present.
Coming together as trackers, naturalists, and conservationists to explore these questions in 2026 is particularly timely. While the land known as Big Bend has long been a contested space, and has in some ways long been emblematic of colonial history in the Americas, it is suddenly a place of renewed concern for conservationists and wildlife advocates, indigenous rights activists, and those committed to migrant justice. As CNN has recently reported, "For generations, the idea of needing to build physical structures to stop illegal migration was considered “insane,” as one former superintendent of Big Bend National Park said. But now the expansive reach of President Donald Trump’s southern border plan has stretched into this remote region that sees only about 1% of unauthorized crossing apprehensions... "Earlier this month, bulldozers were videoed uprooting trees and shoveling dirt as wild animals trotted by. They were doing preliminary work ahead of the budgeted $1.72 billion main construction project designated for the area inside Big Bend National Park."
Who is this program for?
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Wildlife trackers, nature nerds, desert rats!
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Anyone looking to develop greater familiarity with wildlife tracks and sign in the American southwest. (All experience levels will benefit!)
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Folks interested in exploring the connections between wildlife tracking, cultural ecology, social issues, and socially engaged citizen science.
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People looking to move beyond content consumption into a collaborative learning context that is intentionally low-pressure, conversational, playful, and socially engaged.
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Those wishing to ground their response(s) to modern crises in practices of listening to those most affected by violence, displacement, and injustice.
Location, Lodging, & Travel Considerations
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We will spend most of our time in the middle and western side of the park, with a base camp located at Cottonwood Campground, not far from the Santa Elena Canyon. Stone River can offer loaner tents and camping gear on a first come, first serve basis. Please inquire if interested.
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Camping at this site is included in your tuition, though some may choose to stay in Terlingua or other nearby small towns. Please note, the local towns and municipalities in this area are remote, and known for their funky, artistic, semi-primitive dwellings. Be sure to review the amenities of any prospective AirBnB before you make your reservation. Hotels and motels are also available, but limited, and often expensive.
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Cell service is non-existent in much of the areas we will be, including the campground. We will have satellite texting and SOS for use by the group in emergencies. For those wishing to connect, there are locations 45-60 minutes away.
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For those flying, Big Bend is best accessed via El Paso (ELP) or Midland/Odessa (MAF). It is a multi-hour drive from each airport.
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The primary town we will interact with is Terlingua, a tiny ghost town with a few restaurants, a grocery, and a blended population combining multi-generational residents with a somewhat avant-garde desert rat community of transplants. Terlingua will be our source for restocking supplies as well as some excellent tracking sites outside of the park boundaries. Please note that this is a very small village, with nothing open late, and very little cell service. It is also an internationally certified dark sky area, so bring a head lamp!
Facilitators
Daniel Hansche
A wildlife tracker & mentor with over 25 years of field experience, Daniel’s work in conservation & education has taken them to wolf dens, elk herds, rhino encounters, & lion trails. They are a Track & Sign Evaluator with Tracker Certification North America and are certified in Eurasia & Africa as well. They have intensively mentored well over 100 wildlife trackers and taught many hundreds through workshops & trainings. Convinced that everyone has unique gifts, needs, & styles, Daniel's approach to teaching and facilitation is rooted in learning, respecting, and serving each student’s needs while tending to a group’s cohesion. With decades of experience tracking and teaching in North America, their work in Germany, Poland, and elsewhere in Europe brings additional nuance to their approach as facilitator, teacher, and mentor. Alongside their work as a TCNA Evaluator, Daniel's other passions include trailing wild pigs, white-tailed deer hunting, using visual art & somatic field experiences to hone trackers' observation skills, expanding the visibility & value of tracking in urban spaces, and increasing equitable access to connective experiences in wildlife tracking.
Chris Grataski
Chris Grataski is a naturalist, wilderness guide, farmer, and grassroots educator who's spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of social and ecological issues. Rooted in a reverence for the mystery and complexity of the earth, and with an enduring commitment to justice and decolonial futures, his work revolves around sowing seeds for a world beyond crisis and collapse. As a guide and educator, he's passionate about weaving connections between ecology and embodied practice, and helping folks discover their innate kinship with the wild. He and his 13-year old son live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where they can often be found looking for animal tracks, fly fishing, or hanging out at the skatepark.