June 2010 Meeting Summary

< Previous Meeting | Index | Next Meeting > Our June meeting speaker was Casey Bradley Gent , owner of Snowshoe Photography in Colorado Springs, representing the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, located a short distance from the town of Divide, is a sanctuary providing an exceptional habitat for the rescued wolves in their care. The center provides educational opportunities and tours to people interested in seeing wolves up close and learning more about the various species living there. The center provides refuge for Arctic Wolves, Timber Wolves, and Mexican Grey Wolves. In addition, coyotes, swift foxes, and red foxes are also housed at the center.

Ms. Gent explained that, for photographers, a variety of opportunities exist to photograph the animals at the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center. The standard tour is priced at $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for children. This tour is 60-75 minutes long and allows visitors to see the animals and learn about them via the guided tour. A second option available is the VIP tour, which includes the standard tour plus an additional one half hour inside one of the wolf enclosures, getting ‘up close and personal’. This tour is priced at $150.00 for the first two people and an additional $50.00 for each additional person, up to six, per the website. Ms. Gent also indicated a single individual can take the VIP tour for a $100.00 price.

For both the above tours, no tripods and no lenses greater than 70mm are allowed at any time. Also, guests are required to sign a photography release and photos cannot be used for professional or commercial use.

For photographers, the center also offers a Private Photo Tour. This tour allows photographers access to the many wolves and animals at the center, subject to the availability of the animals on a particular day. Reservations must be made in advance and are limited. Photographs taken during these sessions may be used commercially. The center asks for a fee of $450.00 per one hour for photographic sessions.

Ms. Gent took a variety of questions from the members as well, explaining many details of the center and what club member might expect during a visit. Both the speaker and the website indicate fall and winter are especially good times to visit the center, as the wolves’ coats are full and the landscape is at its most photogenic.

The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center is located west of Colorado Springs near Divide. From Colorado Springs, go west for about 26 miles on highway 24, through Woodland Park, to Divide. The center is 1 ½ miles west of Divide off highway 24 on Twin Rocks Road. If interested in making a photography day that includes the center, Mueller State Park and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument are also in the area. Garden of the Gods, Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and Palmer Park back in Colorado Springs make excellent photography destinations, and Rampart Range Road out of Woodland Park is an alternate route for the more adventurous.

Additional information is available at the center’s website at www.wolfeducation.org

Other items discussed at the meeting included a recommendation to visit the Colorado Prairie Wildlife Photo Trail (www.PrairieWildlife.net), by one of our members that recently visited the area. Both the March 2010 and March 2009 club newsletters include information on this tour and the Karval, Colorado area. Bob and Nancy Stocker are also a resource for information on this photographic opportunity.

Also mentioned was The Wildlife Experience will start displaying the club’s photographs sometime around August – more details to follow. < Previous Meeting | Index | Next Meeting >