Spring Creek Naturalist Publishes Field Guide

By on June 24, 2013 Categories: Spring Creek People

As a resident of Jackson, I know first hand about the never-ending supply of natural wonder that the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park host. Even after living here for six years, I’m constantly discovering new plants and animals. Locals know that having a field guide to reference new discoveries in this vast ecosystem is imperative. I have a separate book for flowers, birds and scat but it is time to consolidate with the publication of “A Farcountry Field Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park” by Kurt Johnson.

Johnson’s new book includes everything you could want in a field guide covering rocks, minerals, geysers, waterfalls, mushrooms, trees, wildflowers, insects, amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds, mammals, tracks and scat. If you can look upon it in the parks, you can look it up in this guide. Thank you Kurt Johnson for putting together this fabulous book and making my future Christmas shopping a no-brainer.

At Spring Creek Ranch you can take a wildlife safari designed by the man who literally wrote the book on Jackson Hole wildlife. Kurt Johnson, the author, naturalist, photographer, and wildlife guide is also the Program Director of Spring Creek Ranch’s wildlife safaris. A Farcountry Field Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park is the culmination of 10 years of work on behalf of Johnson. He say’s he didn’t expect writing the book to take so long but, looking at the book, it seems like a miracle that one person was able to amass such a comprehensive guide to the parks in one lifetime.

Johnson knew he wanted to work with wildlife since the young age of four. After earning his Masters of Science in Natural Resources at Utah State University, Johnson has spent over 16 years in the field of wildlife conservation and natural history. For over eight of those years, he’s been a resident of the Jackson area. Before that, he spent time in Africa and Mexico studying wildlife biology. He now leads natural history programs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, including wildlife safaris through Spring Creek Ranch, photography safaris, nature hikes, Yellowstone excursions and astronomy nights.

The book is designed to help people identify what they are seeing and also provides the natural history. It includes around 1,200 color photos taken by Johnson himself. Johnson says that his favorite part of writing the book was becoming more aware of the interdependency of the total ecosystem. Grand Teton and Yellow Stone National Park are host to some stunning large animals such as grizzly bears and wolverines. At the same time the smaller elements of nature such as the wildflowers, mushrooms and insects can be just as fascinating and a lot less intimidating. Learning about the interconnectedness of all aspects of the ecosystem is just one of the great reasons to take a wildlife safari. An expert can help the amateur eye to see all of the wonders, from big to small the parks offer.

Spring Creek Ranch offers a variety of summer wildlife safaris including Dawn to Dusk, The Best of Yellowstone, Grand Teton Photo Safari, Astronomy at Night and more. A Farcountry Field Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park can be purchased at the Spring Creek Ranch gift shop.

Click here to purchase the book online