Audra Conklin - Founder and Naturalist Guide
Wildlife advocate, environmentalist and tour professional, Audra is dedicated to sharing unique experiences with her guests who come from all over the world to view the impressive display of animal species in Yellowstone’s Northern Range.
This passion was honed during Christmas of 2009 when Audra received a gift from her “roving naturalist” mother that would change the trajectory of her life: A week of watching and learning about wildlife at the Lamar Valley Buffalo Ranch. Surrounded by bison, reintroduced wolves and grizzly bears was beyond her imagination but five years later, after selling Modern Mermaids, her nontoxic cleaning products company, she headed West to Montana for a three-month hiatus. What initially was to be a summer adventure evolved into almost a decade of unexpected and enchanting events that has led to her immersion into all things “Yellowstone”, as a researcher, educator, and guide.
Audra has a B.S. degree in communications, is a graduate of the International Guide Academy, and is Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and ‘Leave No Trace’ certified. In addition to guiding and operating Lamar Valley Touring, Audra has led Grandparent/Grandchildren trips to all corners of the park for Road Scholar and Student Trips for Global Travel Alliance. She’s had the pleasure of working with people of all ages from all over the world and believes that, “Every person should visit Yellowstone at least once in their lifetime and it is my heartfelt joy when I can be a part of their experience”.
Traveling between Montana and the East Coast to visit with family, Audra is always ready to talk about Yellowstone and its beautiful wildlife inhabitants.
Shauna Baron - M.S.
Shauna saw her first wild wolf while volunteering for the Yellowstone Wolf Project in 1996, just one year after the reintroduction, and has been working to protect wolves and wild places ever since. For over 25 years, she has focused her career on outdoor education and wildlife conservation, including work as a biologist for the USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina, a forest carnivore researcher for the University of Vermont, and as a volunteer at the Colorado based Mission:Wolf program.
Having a B.S. in Biology as well as a Master’s Degree in Science Education has led her to not only to being a published author but also, to developing nature therapy programs for disabled veterans, inner-city youth and autistic groups. Recently, she was the editor for the Yellowstone Wolf Charts and Genealogy publications as well as launching Yellowstone Trip Planning, an online venue for visitors wanting to make the most of their time vacationing in Yellowstone. When Shauna isn’t in the field guiding or helping others plan their trips, she can be found with a scope to her eye or a book(and a kitty)on her lap.
Claudene - Wildlife Whisperer
Claudene has been investigating animals in the field since she was very young; having a passionate teacher, her father, who was a wildlife guide in South Africa. She was bitten by the natural curiosity bug and happily spreads the contagion of adventuring the ‘out’doors, studying and tracking wildlife.
Holding a B.S. in Natural Resources, she has worked in small-scale farming on the North Carolina coast for a decade with pasture animals, medicinal herbs, fruit trees, high value tree crops, and gardening design. She has also had the privilege to work with the National Park Service restoring hiking trails in the Appalachian Mountains. In moving to Montana, she upscaled to advocating for quite a larger range of land.
Outside of touring, you’ll find her recording natures’ sights and sounds, singing to her hearts delight, and being surrounded by instrument-loving folks. She is thrilled to be joining the Lamar Valley Touring team in the 2023 season and joyfully awaits sharing all the beauty of Lamar Valley and the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park.
Best Day EVER
October 2022
“I wanted this birthday to be memorable… Since we still didn’t have individual access to the park because of the restricted entrance via the North Gate, we decided to book a tour with Audra/Lamar Valley Touring. Best decision EVER! Not only did we get to see wolves and meet acclaimed writer and Audra’s friend Rick McIntyre, but we toured the entire park. We spent two hours watching an entire pack of wolves. She had excellent quality scopes and provided video recordings and photos. We had a lovely picnic lunch by Yellowstone Lake, complete with mini cheesecakes for my birthday! Audra is a wealth of knowledge about all things Yellowstone, from wolves to lichens! This was my best and most memorable birthday!”
The best guide in Lamar Valley!
June 2022
“We had another wonderful experience with Audra! She is so knowledgable, personable, and has a deep respect for the animals and natural beauty she showed us. We were blown away by everything we saw - wolves, many bears (grizzly and black bears), bison, pronghorn, elk, birds of prey, mountain goats - even moose! The park was really showing off, and Audra has an intuitive knack of being in the right place at the right time. We learned and saw so much, and it was our favorite day in the park. As a bonus, she brought snacks, lunch, and coffee, and also took wildlife photos for us through her viewing scope and shared them with us afterwards.
We highly recommend Audra as a guide - there's no better way to experience the Lamar Valley. Thank you for such an unforgettable day, Audra!”
A tour with Audra is a must!
May 2022
“Spent a day with Audra touring Lamar Valley. It was the highlight of our two week trip. Weather was iffy but we had a phenomenal day. We saw so many different wildlife and also had some exceptional events. Audra is so knowledgeable and it’s fun to see her get excited right along with us. I highly recommend you contact her for her tour services. We would never have been able to have had the opportunity to see all the things that we did on our own. And to top that, she is delightful company.”
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