WWF EXPEDITIONS Northern Great Plains and Glacier National Park A WWF Expedition to Montana with Martha Kauffman and Dennis Jorgensen, WWF Northern Great Plains Program September 19-24, 2017 WWF-US/Martha Kauffman Join WWF for a unique, behind-the-scenes adventure to meet extraordinary women leaders from Montana s tribal communities, stand among thundering herds of bison on their home in the Plains, explore the beauty of Glacier National Park, and see the impacts of oil development firsthand. Learn how World Wildlife Fund is working with tribal and ranching communities, successfully maneuvering some of the roughest landscapes and complex cultures to make significant conservation gains in the heart of North America. Native Americans are this ecoregion s original land stewards, and manage roughly 9 million acres in the region. Women are leading efforts to restore their communities cultural and spiritual connections to the land and its wildlife, working closely with WWF to ensure that the return of wildlife results in improved well-being for their people. On this tour you ll have the opportunity to meet with and learn from powerful women leaders like Jonny Bearcub Stiffarm, Lois Red Elk and Ramey Growing Thunder. You ll also meet inspiring tribal wildlife restoration leaders like Robert Magnan and Bronc Speaks Thunder. WWF s Managing Director Martha Kauffman and Senior Program Officer Dennis Jorgensen along with Off the Beaten Path s experienced guide will enrich your understanding of this complex region and WWF s work to conserve it. Itinerary at a Glance Day Date Location Accommodations September 18 Arrive Williston, North Dakota On own arrangement 1 September 19 Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Wolf Point Sherman Inn 2 September 20 Wolf Point: Fort Peck Indian Reservation Cottonwood Inn 3 September 21 Glasgow: Fort Belknap Indian Reservation Glacier Park Lodge 4 September 22 Glacier National Park Glacier Park Lodge 5 September 23 Glacier National Park Grouse Mountain Lodge 6 September 24 Depart Kalispell, Montana
2 Purposed Itinerary Jay Clemens Day 0, September 18: Williston, North Dakota Arrive at Williston s Sloulin Field International Airport at your leisure. A quick call to your hotel before you arrive will ensure a cab is waiting to transport you. Settle into your hotel and prepare for a week s worth of adventure and inspiration. Dinner recommendations provided upon request. Overnight recommendations: Best Western Plus or Holiday Inn Express and Suites Day 1, September 19: Theodore Roosevelt National Park Our vans will pick you up from your chosen hotel for a welcome breakfast to meet your fellow travelers, naturalist guide and WWF experts. From there our first stop is the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). TRNP was established in three separate areas of North Dakota badlands that Roosevelt visited and ranched in the 1880 s and has been called the most threatened park in North America because of the oil boom surrounding it. On the way to the Park you ll learn about the Bakken, the second most productive oil field in the United States, and see firsthand it s footprint on the landscape. We ll discuss the challenges of rapid oil development and how WWF is engaging the local community in an effort to ensure the integrity of the ecosystem and all that it supports is maintained. At Theodore Roosevelt National Park you ll get your first exposure to the native flora and fauna of the Great Plains. We ll take a hike through the unique and beautiful geology of the Badlands Formation, see bison and other native wildlife and fully immerse ourselves in this splendid national park. By late afternoon we depart the park and make the 2.5-hour drive to Wolf Point, Montana, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. After checking into our hotel, we will gather for a welcome dinner. Overnight Sherman Inn Day 2, September 20: Fort Peck Indian Reservation This will be a full day to explore the vast prairie ecosystem of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, meet with influential tribal community leaders, and learn about WWF s work with Native American communities to restore bison populations, enhance the prairie s biodiversity, and secure benefits for communities. The bison, North America s largest and grandest mammal, sustained Plains tribes for countless generations, and today tribes are leading efforts to restore them in large herds on the landscape. Day s Edge
3 WWF US/Martha Kauffman WWF US/Martha Kauffman Robert Magnan, Director Fort Peck Fish & Wildlife Department Thomas Lee Lois Red Elk, Elder, Language & Culture Adjunct Professor, Fort Peck Community College Fort Peck Reservation is home to the largest herd of Yellowstone bison outside of Yellowstone National Park and a leader in bison conservation efforts. We will have a special guided tour to visit the Yellowstone herd and learn about how Fort Peck is creating the model of a culturally, ecologically and financially sustainable buffalo program. We will be joined by members of the Pté Group, a woman-led group committed to ensuring that the return of the buffalo results in improved health and well-being for the people of Fort Peck Reservation. You ll learn about their successes in developing educational programs, and the challenges they re working to overcome. Lunch on the prairie will allow us to commune with the bison, learning about their behavior while we take in the sights and sounds as they romp, rest, and graze all around us. After dinner, we will enjoy a campfire as we watch the sun set across the prairie. Tribal members from the community will join us and share their cultural traditions including stories of the Nakoda and Dakota Tribes unique connection to the land and the wildlife of the Plains. Overnight Cottonwood Inn Day 3, September 21: Fort Belknap Reservation and Train Ride to East Glacier This morning we make the two-hour drive to Fort Belknap Reservation where we ll meet WWF s partners in more wildlife conservation efforts. We ll travel to Snake Butte, a sacred site to the Nakoda and Gros Ventre Tribes of Fort Belknap, enjoy the breathtaking vista of the surrounding plains, and visit teepee rings and other culturally important sites. Snake Butte is home to bison and a growing population of North America s most endangered mammal, the black-footed ferret, which was successfully reintroduced by the Fort Belknap tribes in partnership with WWF and the US Fish and Wildlife Service over the past several years. You ll see bison, visit an active prairie dog town that supports black-footed ferrets and learn about the challenges of restoring an endangered species. Our Gros Ventre tribesman guide, Ray Gone, will provide a cultural context on the land and the wildlife based on the teachings and stories passed down to him by his ancestors.
4 Rab Cummings After our time on the reservation we continue on to Havre where we catch a ride on Amtrak s Empire Builder and continue west to East Glacier, on the doorstep to Glacier National Park. This will be our base for the next two nights as we explore this spectacular National Park. Overnight Glacier Park Lodge NPS/Tim Rains Days 4, September 22: Many Glacier and Two Medicine Today we have a full day to explore the spectacularly beautiful east side of the park. Our destination will depend on weather, trail conditions and the activity level of the group. The Many Glacier area is considered by many to be the heart of Glacier, and its massive mountains, active glaciers, sparkling lakes and prime wildlife viewing opportunities make it a premier hiking destination in the park. Another possibility is the Two Medicine area, the original primary destination for travelers arriving by train. Anchored by Rising Wolf Mountain and Two Medicine Lake (pictured above), this area s extensive trails take hikers past crashing waterfalls to beautiful alpine lakes and a myriad of amazing vistas.
5 No matter where we end up hiking today, you ll have earned your dinner and we ll return late this afternoon to Glacier Park Lodge to relax and relish the day. Overnight Glacier Park Lodge NPS/Tim Rains Days 5, September 23: Going-to-the-Sun Road, Whitefish, MT Today we continue our journey westward through Glacier over the Going-to-the-Sun road. This marvel of engineering takes travelers up and over the 6,646 foot Logan Pass and clings precariously to high altitude rock faces that provide epic views at every turn. We ll stop for some fantastic hikes along the way; the Highline trail, Hidden Lake and Avalanche Lake are some of our favorite spots. The road also offers numerous parking areas for wildlife viewing, and September is a great time to enjoy the colorful fall foliage and to look for bears foraging on snowberries. Once we finish the drive on the west side of the park we ll continue to the gateway resort town of Whitefish. Here we ll celebrate the memories from the week at a festive farewell dinner. Overnight Grouse Mountain Lodge Day 6, September 24: Whitefish and Flights Home Travelers can fly home at their leisure today. Anyone flying out in the afternoon can take advantage of their time and enjoy one last short hike together just outside the western border of Glacier National Park. (B) What to Expect This trip is rated moderate. There is no strenuous activity involved during this trip, though outdoor activities and some long hikes could require participants to be in good physical condition. Expect to spend 4-8 hours outdoors most days in a variety of weather conditions. Some drives require long transfers across vast distances that may exceed three hours at a time in the vehicles.
6 WWF Experts Martha Kauffman, Managing Director Martha Kauffman is Managing Director for WWF s Northern Great Plains Program, one of WWF s 35 global priority places. As leader of this program for the last 8 years, Martha has engaged leaders from across the region including tribal communities, ranchers, public land and wildlife managers and other conservation organizations to conserve these important grasslands and restore abundant wildlife. A hydrologist and earth scientist by training Martha has been focusing on solving complex environmental problems throughout her career. She has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors, giving her a broad perspective on conservation solutions. She is the current chair of the Northern Plains Conservation Network, and a member of the board of directors for the Montana Conservation Corps. She earned a bachelor s of science in applied earth sciences from Stanford University and a master's degree in earth sciences from Montana State University. Dennis Jorgensen, Senior Program Officer Dennis Jorgensen has worked for WWF as a senior program officer in the Northern Great Plains since 2007. Hired as the programs first field biologist he was based in the northern Montana prairies for 5 years where he gained valuable knowledge of the place, the people, and the wildlife. Before coming to WWF, Jorgensen worked for 7 years as an environmental consultant for the provincial government and the oil and gas industry in Alberta, Canada. In 2009 he completed his master s thesis at the University of Calgary studying the migrations of prairie rattlesnakes in Alberta. He manages WWF s bison restoration initiative in the Northern Great Plains, which will support the establishment of five herds of at least 1,000 bison on tribal and public protected areas by 2020 to ensure the conservation and long-term health of the species. In 2013 Jorgensen was elected vice-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) North American Bison Specialist Group and is currently participating in the IUCN Red-List assessment of the status of NA Bison. He has published peer-reviewed research on the migrations of prairie rattlesnakes and long-billed curlews and is involved in research on the migrations of pronghorn and mountain plovers tagged in northern Montana. Among his distinctions while at WWF, his rattlesnake research was featured in the November 2010 Great Migrations issue of National Geographic magazine and he was interviewed by Dan Rather in the production of a documentary on bison restoration in Montana.
7 Accommodations In eastern Montana, the hotels in Wolf Point and Glasgow are basic and rustic. While they would certainly not be considered fancy by any means, they are clean, comfortable and conveniently located in the center of town. Every room has its own private bathroom with a shower. Glacier Park Lodge: Situated at the southeast corner of Glacier National Park, Glacier Park Lodge is a beautiful historic lodge with a location convenient to many park activities. Stepping inside the lobby is like stepping back in time and experiencing the Glacier National Park vacation of the early 1900s. Guests can relax in the lobby and cozy up by the fire, surrounded by towering Douglas fir trees or walk the beautiful gardens that line the front lawn of the property while Dancing Lady Mountain looms in the backdrop. For your convenience, complimentary WiFi is available throughout the hotel. Glacier Park Lodge is the perfect place to unplug, and immerse yourself in Glacier National Park. Glacier Park Inc. Grouse Mountain Lodge: Located in Whitefish, Montana, the Lodge offers modern accommodations, Montana hospitality and the convenience of being only steps from Downtown Whitefish and a short drive to Glacier National Park. When you return from playing outside all day, the Lodge has everything you need; relax with a spa treatment at Remedies Day Spa or sit down for a delicious snack or meal at Logan's. Glacier Park Inc.
8 About Our Travel Partner Expedition Information WWF is offering this trip with Off The Beaten Path of Bozeman, Montana. Off The Beaten Path is dedicated to delivering outstanding travel experiences that feature distinctive accommodations, accomplished guides, and out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Off The Beaten Path has been developing custom journeys for WWF for over 10 years and is committed to protecting and promoting the vitality of our treasured geographic region and its people. PRICE: $3,275 per person (double occupancy) based on 6-8 guests $2,890 per person (double occupancy) based on 9-12 guests Single Supplement: $650 GROUP SIZE: Limited to 12 guests. Six registered guests are required to operate this trip. INCLUDED: All accommodations throughout the tour; ground transportation including the train ride, tours, and transfers between hotels and activities; OBP naturalist guide services; all meals and activities as indicated in the itinerary; travel for WWF experts; and the repositioning of OBP guide, WWF staff and vehicles to/from the start/end points of the tour. NOT INCLUDED: Travel to and from the start/end points of the trip (starting in Williston, North Dakota and ending in Kalispell/Whitefish, Montana); hotel and airport transfers in Williston, ND on September 18 th ; alcoholic beverages; items of a personal nature (phone calls, souvenirs, laundry, Internet, etc.); optional travel insurance; anything else not specified as included; and gratuities for your OBP naturalist guide. PAYMENTS: A nonrefundable deposit of $500 confirms your space. Payments are accepted by credit card or by check made out to Off the Beaten Path. A completed Traveler Information form is then due within 14 days. Final payment is due 90 days before the departure date. CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS: Cancellations must be received in writing at Off The Beaten Path by U.S. mail, email or fax. At the time Off The Beaten Path receives your written cancellation, the following per person penalties apply: 91 days or more before departure: lose deposit. 90 to 45 days before departure: Forfeit 50% of tour cost. 44 days or fewer before departure: No refund. INSURANCE: We strongly recommend that you purchase trip interruption/cancellation insurance. Such insurance can be purchased directly through OBP. A full explanation of travel insurance coverage will be included with your trip confirmation materials. Travel insurance premiums are nonrefundable unless your journey is cancelled by Off The Beaten Path. GETTING THERE & GETTING HOME: On day one we will begin in Williston, ND by 9:00 a.m., which will require an overnight in Williston, at the Best Western Plus or Holiday Inn Express and Suites. On day six guests may depart Kalispell, MT at their leisure. If you d like assistance with your airline reservations, we highly recommend our partner, Travel Café (800-247-3538). Travel Café offers professional, efficient service and in depth knowledge on air travel. Off the Beaten Path can book any pre or post trip hotel arrangements and can also plan a custom trip extension. The final itinerary and price are subject to change