Wildlife tracker publishes book

Sisters resident Barbara Butler is passing on her intimate knowledge of wilderness ways in her new book on tracking entitled "Wilderness Treks: How to Sleuth Out Wild Creatures and Wayward Humans."

Butler took years to develop the professional skills necessary to write and teach about tracking. The list of the animals Butler has tracked is long and impressive, and some of her methods challenge conventional wisdom.

The method by which she determines the sex of deer, for instance, might surprise the hunter who for years has done so by the shape of the hooves.

"Not accurate," Butler said. "The width of the straddle between the front legs of the buck is wider than that between the back legs, and vice versa for the doe. This can only be determined on dry, level ground."

Butler finds that her craft brings her closer to her environment than she could get any other way.

"Tracking," Butler said, "reveals the habits of a creature and allows you intimacy with wildlife that no other approach allows. You use all of your senses, and enhance your observation, your concentration, and your patience."

Butler got interested in wild animal and bird tracks while living in Fairbanks, Alaska.

"I was out in the bush and observed all kinds of wildlife - caribou, moose, fox, lynx, and birds such as spruce hens. But, then, I wasn't looking for tracks as much as I was looking for the animals."

Butler said that she really enjoyed Alaska and only came "outside" to complete graduate work for her masters of arts degree in clinical psychology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Butler moved to Oregon in 1965. She worked in mental health clinics in Klamath Falls and Eugene before she moved to Bend, where she was employed by the Bend School District. Through her position as a truant officer, she learned human tracking from members of the U.S. Border Patrol.

During her years with the school district, Butler was also a reserve in the Bend Police Department. In addition, on her own time, she received instruction in wildlife tracking from a well-known national tracker and outdoor survivalist.

"At the time," Butler said, "I lived on the edge of the Deschutes National Forest between Sisters and Bend. All I had to do was walk out my door to track a variety of animals.

"In addition," Butler added, "I spent all my free time tracking wildlife all over the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia."

Following her retirement from the school district in 1981, Butler began to teach tracking through Bend Parks and Recreation and Central Oregon Community College workshops. During the summer, she also conducted workshops at Glacier Institute in Glacier National Park and the High Desert Museum in Bend.

"In my workshops, I teach hikers, mountain bikers, nature lovers, and hunters," Butler said.

Butler's first book, "Sasquatch Apparitions," was published in 1979, a booklet on Central Oregon was released in 1985, and one on tracking the Sasquatch in 1992.

In April, Butler plans to retire. "I was once a hiker," Butler said, "Now, I'm a meanderer."

On March 22, at 7 p.m., Butler will sign "Wilderness Treks" at Bend's First Chapter Books.

She has another signing scheduled in April, at Barnes & Noble Book Sellers.