In late winter 2023, against record-setting snowfall, two Fort Lewis College juniors joined Southwest Colorado Community Naturalist Keith Bruno and Weminuche Audubon Society Volunteer Kurt Huffman for a 10-mile trek into the HD Mountains near Bayfield, Colorado. Matt Young and Ian Crews were on a mission to record the unique calls of the Mexican spotted owl. Young and Crews are members of FLC’s Strategies for Ecological Education, Diversity & Sustainability Club, and the excursion provided valuable insight into their future careers as land management professionals.